Locking Down the Pattern
By Adam JohnsonWe often read about how important it is to vary a presentation to see if it can be improved upon. Slight color modifications might trigger more bites or changing to a different plastic body might solicit more strikes. But when do we lock down the pattern and just fish? Is there a point where too much tinkering can actually hinder the bite and cost you fish?
Let's look at a situation that illustrates this dilemma.
Tim Lesmeister, the Communications Director of Adam Johnson Outdoors, and I were on my home lake chasing bass last fall. We started out in the shallow milfoil flipping topwater lures into the pockets. The first bass was a small fish as was the second bass. By the time that second fish was boated I had tried a few different lure options and none seemed to be able to dig the bass out of the slop. We moved to deeper water.
I started out throwing a crankbait and Lesmeister tied on a big-bladed spinnerbait. He started catching bass right away in the 15-foot depth range where the milfoil ended. I didn't get a bite on the crankbait so I switched over to a spinnerbait as well. As you can see the pattern was developing.
Lesmeister was using a half-ounce spinnerbait with a white skirt and a number-seven Colorado blade. I tied on a three-eighths ounce spinnerbait with a green/chartreuse body and a number-five Indiana blade. I began to catch two fish to every one that my fishing partner was catching; so guess what Lesmeister did? He tied on a three-eighths ounce spinnerbait with a brown skirt and an orange Indiana blade. He never got another bite.
I continued to catch bass while Lesmeister experimented with different styles of spinnerbait combinations. His technique was exactly the same as mine. Cast the lure, let it sink to bottom, slow roll it back. It wasn't the presentation that was hurting him; it was the lure choice.
In fact, Lesmeister could have tied on a spinnerbait just like mine and caught fish, but he chose to experiment. This is his nature and he would rather prove a point than catch fish; which I've discovered is a personality trait of outdoor communicators.
What we proved that day was once you discover what works stick with it until it quits working before trying on something else. Sometimes your window of opportunity to be on a feeding school of fish is quite narrow so if you're playing around with lure combinations to try and discover the best option you will catch fewer fish. That's my recommendation. Figure out the pattern and stick with it until you're forced to change. Your productive lure stays in the water longer and the result is more fish tugging back at you.
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