“ I could talk about this stuff for eight hours ,” he says . “ It ’ s the tip of the iceberg and the greatest path to go down in bass fishing .”
Sounds daunting . Yet Klein begins his instruction practically .
“ There ’ s two things that we as ( avid ) anglers possess ,” he continues . “ Time on the water , which leads to practical experiences , and from there , we can build recognition .”
In essence , what Klein is referring to is creating a set of rules based on success or failure . For instance , if I routinely catch bass in 50-degree water on a Wiggle Wart , I can recognize that something is going on there , and perhaps I can search for a reason .
“ Vibration – I refer to it as water displacement ,” Klein says . “ Everything underwater has a presence . Bass are conditioned by the environment they live in on how they utilize that .”
Through over four decades of fishing all across the country , Klein has found that bass living in generally clear water seem to key most on their sense of sight
ILLUSTRATION BY JOE MAHLER for feeding purposes , whereas those living in murky water key on water displacement and noise . He utilizes these rules by fishing flashy , aggressive baits in crystalline waters , but always throws in a triggering mechanism , such as a directional change .
Not surprisingly , Klein then subs in noisy , hard-wobbling baits in stained water , but his approach goes far beyond these bass fishing basics . Since the beginning , Klein wanted to learn more .
“ Often , in fishing , nothing or everything matters ,” he quips . “ It ’ s the tough times where we learn the most .”
Here , Klein concludes that the down times bring out the particulars of bass behavior . His aim is always to learn the answer behind the occurrences .
“ We start understanding lures and recognizing the feel and vibration of different line sizes – even different rod types ,” he says . “ An angler develops a feel . That ’ s the subtle feel of the bait displacing water .”
Therein lies the most basic building block of today ’ s lesson . Klein insists that it ’ s that subtle feel that constantly changes with the slightest modifications to our approach .
Throughout his career , a number of repeat occurrences peaked Klein ’ s curiosity .
“ For instance , I recognized how many times I ’ d lift a crankbait out of the water and have a fish following it , or get a strike right at the boat ,” he explains . “ It ’ s a very common occurrence , and one I wanted to define .”
Through repetition , recognition and reason , Klein began to solve this primary bass fishing mystery .
“ In the beginning of a retrieve , most of the line is off our reel ,” he says . “ Our inches-per-turn , then , is less ( than normal ), as we ’ re winding line onto a small diameter reel spool . At the end of the retrieve , our spool is much larger , our inches-per-turn more , and therefore the lure is traveling faster .”
Using this logic , nearly every lure we cast and retrieve gets faster as it approaches the boat . This , Klein believes , causes following fish to rush the bait at the last minute . As we then begin to pull the lure from the water , a directional change ( and vibrational change ) is made , often triggering a quick strike , the result of subtle variations that can be systematically defined .
Today , Klein performs a deliberate directional change with every cast-andretrieve bait , on every cast .
“ It always adds multiple fish to my stringers throughout the year ,” he says .
Klein insisted that nothing should be taken for granted in terms of triggering a hit from bass .
“ Without a doubt , there are no coincidences , and there ’ s a reason everything happens in bass fishing ,” he asserts .
After 44 years on Tour , it ’ s logical to think he ’ s on to something .
“ As professional anglers with so much time on the water , we ’ re always seeking ways to become more efficient ,” Klein acknowledges . “ We ’ re more conditioned and catch a higher percentage of our bites , and we recognize these things more often .”
By simple mathematical sample size , Klein ’ s overwhelming amount of experience allows him to perceive these subtle clues more readily .
Everything makes a difference in bass fishing , but we need to learn to realize it in order to duplicate it . For instance , the same lure on the same line , winding on the same reel might fish different on a rod six inches longer than the norm . And that might be all it takes .
“ I could be in the boat with you , and make these subtle changes , and you ’ d be blown away ,” he says .
Klein again emphasizes that everything comes down to feel – really the changes in feel associated with direct changes below the surface – and that it ’ s all being constantly modified by our choices and actions .
So , it ’ s out there . The answer to bass fishing ’ s biggest mystery . According to one of the true pioneers of competitive angling , our fishing results can always be quantified . This comes from an angler who has made more casts and retrieves , through a greater portion of his life , than maybe any other . There ’ s a reason behind every strike and rejection that the bass throw at us , which do , in fact , boil down to vibration , or something like it .
It ’ s just up to us to harness the power of the X-factor .
APRIL-MAY 2023 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 23