COLUMN
NEWELL’S NOTES
ROB
NEWELL
I
Timing and rotation
n the chronicles of professional bass fishing jargon, the
term “timing” has recently become popular, just as the
term “junk-fishing” became a cool buzzword several
years ago.
In some tournaments, pros reference timing, or “timing
and rotation,” so much that one begins to wonder whether
they are bass fishing, square dancing or jumping rope.
In all fairness, the notion of timing is real, but the term
gets overused, and its meaning can be confusing because
there are several types of timing involved in tournament fish-
ing. Understanding these concepts can help fishing fans
make better sense of how a pro is catching fish when he
attributes his success to timing, and possibly help them
understand how to catch more bass, too.
The Milk run
Mark Rose
12
One type of timing and rotation involves fishing a “milk
run” of productive spots and running them in the correct
order so that each spot gets the right amount of time to
“rest” and replenish based on its size.
This type of timing is simplest when an angler has the
spots all to himself and only has to compensate for his own
fishing pressure. The milk run doesn’t have to include many
spots, either. This was illustrated perfectly by pros Mark Rose
and Bryan Thrift when they took the top two spots at the
2017 FLW Tour opener on Lake Guntersville.
Rose found a primary staging area that produced a lot of
his fish, but the area was somewhat small. He could fish it all
FLWFISHING.COM I May-juNe 2017