Lessons Learned From
the Lake Commandos
What happens when you dump two expert anglers on
unfamiliar water and tell them to conquer it … and each other?
By Steve pennaz
our goal was simple: to highlight the
thought processes successful anglers
use when developing effective patterns.
each week my guest and i fish unfamiliar
water. And before we even launch the
boat, we each announce our chosen
pattern for the day. Then we fish my
guest’s pattern for two hours, then switch
to my pattern for the next two; the most
productive of the two are then used the
around why i was getting thumped so
rest of the day.
bad. We were both throwing a 4-inch
Berkley Chigger Craw in green pumpkin
Weird? Yes. Tough? Always! effective?
and our casts were landing just five feet
most of the time.
apart.
So why do it this way? Because when
you are forced to fish a single pattern
and trying to beat the guy with you, you
do whatever it takes to catch fish. And
that’s when you really start to push the
envelope.
A
Texas buddy of mine and i
pulled up to a bar that started
in 19 feet of water and topped
out in 5. We were both fishing
a Carolina rig, and both using a Berkley
Chigger Craw for bait.
So why did he catch five bass in the next
10 minutes while i remained skunked?
it’s hard not to be fascinated with the
factors that affect fishing success. And as
much as one tries to break things down
to key elements such as bait selection,
speed, location, color, etc., the more
frustrating it can be—the number of possible combinations is endless.
But, when i looked closer at what he was
doing, i noticed he was fishing a fluorocarbon main line, a ¾-ounce sinker
and clacker bead on an 18-inch fluoro
leader. my line choice was braid, my
sinker was slightly lighter at a ½-ounce,
my leader was only 12 inches, and i purponder the following questions a
posely rigged without a bead.
moment: When’s the last time you
burned a bass jig over shallow grass?
You guessed it. As soon as i switched
Tossed a lipless crank in two feet of
from braid to fluoro, increased my leadwater? Compared your flippin’ efficiency
er length and opted for a heavier sinker
with someone using a reel geared a
and bead, i started getting bit. it’s not
speedy 7.9:1 (or even 9:1)? made a color
that his rig was “better” than the rig i was
change simply because a cloud bank
using, it was simply better that day.
moved in? Tried fluorocarbon for vertical jigging in rivers?
Speed is another factor to consider,
especially now that companies like Abu
Lesson One—getting on Fish Fast
garcia are offering models that cover the
One of the best ways to get on fish fast is
speed spectrum. Surprisingly, fast is often
offering the fish multiple choices. That
better than slow. recently, we fished a
means, using your partner to help elimi160-acre natural lake known for producnate bait options. Try not to use the same
ing trophy fish. Yet, two hours into the
bait as others in your boat, and if you
day we had yet to boat a decent bass
do settle on the same make and model
throwing swim jigs, pitching to holes in
lure, play with different lure colors until
the dense weeds or drop-shotting.
a clear winner emerges.
Also experiment with line choice, speed,
hook size, leader length, and other factors in your offering. Time and again i’ve
seen how subtle choices make big differences in success. Case in point, that day
on a classic Texas reservoir i mentioned
When we launched Lake Commandos earlier. At first, i couldn’t wrap my head
48 | BLAZE | Spring/Summer 2014
Out of desperation, i
started burning
a jig over shallow grass, a
technique that
has produced well
in the past. Within minutes a solid 4
pounder slammed the jig, and in the
Accept No Limits | outdoorwomenunlimited.org