In an article slated to run in the March 2013 issue of FLW Bass Fishing magazine, veteran pro Terry Bolton discusses the importance of fishing without preconceived notions of where the fish will be. He also explains that “fishing memories,” or chasing patterns that worked in the past, is a good way to fail in a tournament situation.
It’s easy for anglers to talk about this subject of fishing memories, but putting it into practice can be tough. If you’re a casual weekend angler like so many, it’s understandable that when you have the chance to go fishing, you head to your favorite lake, to your favorite areas and check your favorite spots. Those are the places that have worked in the past, and that’s where you throw the lures you have confidence in. As financial experts say, past performance is the best indicator of future returns, right?
But, any good financial consultant would, I assume, believe that continued success is also a result of adaptation and flexibility – and experience. Same goes for fishing.
If you get locked in on what has worked in the past, you might overlook a golden opportunity to jump on something new, something productive. And as anglers, we should always be looking for ways to improve.
That’s why I believe one of the best tools for developing angling skill is to invest a portion of your fishing time into figuring out a new lake, a new part of a lake, a new lure, a new pattern, a new strategy or all of the above. If you always fish Lake X on the weekends, why not head over to Lake Y and give it a shot. Maybe Lake Y has smaller fish and tougher conditions. So what? If you can figure it out, you’ll enhance your skills, and the reward will be there.
Do you want to know why professional bass anglers are so good? Part of it is their intense passion for the sport. But part of it is also a result of the number of hours they’ve spent figuring out new lakes. That’s how skill is developed. That’s why so many veterans in this sport consistently do so well. Even today’s young pros are coming into the game with much higher skill levels than ever before, simply because the opportunities to fish bass tournaments around the country are higher now than ever before, and they’ve had incredible exposure to a variety of conditions and situations. They’ve learned that in order to fish well on new water, they have to be open to trying new things.
I love covering this sport because the anglers involved never cease to surprise me with new techniques and tournament strategies. Some of our pros produce what I’d call “Fishing Genius” on the water. And they don’t get there by doing the same old thing.
We all ought to consider trying something new, and just maybe we’ll uncover a little bit of Fishing Genius in ourselves.