by Billy Darby 
D Adverse conditions can play right into your hands if you adapt to the varied situations by changing your mental approach and taking advantage of the unexpected “ugh-oh”. High water, mud, wind, sudden barometric pressure changes or extreme water flow are only a portion of the variables that can be confronted. Employing common sense and the safety factor are the most pertinent considerations of your approach to fishing bad water.
Here are a few of the adverse conditions that lead to some of my most memorable fishing experiences! In April 1973, red water forced a friend and me up the small creek adjacent to the boat ramp. Fresh rain water was pouring across an asphalt road bed that crossed over the mouth of this little branch. This turbulence was a magnet for big bass. A spinnerbait might have been the lure of choice, but on my first cast with a blueberry worm, an 8-pounder made my lure selection for the day. Eventually, an overwhelming onslaught of trash and debris cut our day short, but 13 bass weighing 104 pounds was not bad for three hours. See the accompanying photo.
Another day of bad conditions happened in 1978. Wind forced me to stay in a protected area. I hid behind a clay point and cast a Big O into the swells and whitecaps that were washing over the underwater extension to a small ditch. Bingo! An hour of madness ensued.
Fast forward to June 1994. Lake Eufaula was rapidly receding from the second biggest flood in the lake’s history. A friend’s son and I ventured into an area where a pond drained into the lake through a canal. Every delicacy known to a fish was washing into the mouth of a feeder creek. We killed them on buzzbaits. As well as I, he had the time of his young life and is now telling his kids about our experience.
These memories are not intended to be bragging material but just proof that with a little forethought, adverse conditions can be an advantage.
Other sour conditions that can ruin your day and lead to learning experiences are motor problems, electronics failure, dead batteries and trolling motor issues, One of these learning experiences is to check your “stuff” before you leave home.