By Ronnie Parris
In life, there’s only one thing that is guaranteed, and that is that we are never in complete control of what’s going to happen to us.
You wake up one morning thinking everything is great, and then life drops a bomb on you and your whole world is turned upside down.
You have only two choices: you can lay down and cry over it, or you can dust yourself off, pick up the pieces, lean on family and friends, and move on and get back to living. Well, the same thing is eventually going to happen to you with fishing. You plan all night on where to go and what strategy is going to catch you the most fish. You leave early, get to the bait shop, buy your bait of choice, arrive at the launch, put your boat in and hurry to that special point, or section of rock, that always holds good fish…only to find another angler that needed one less cup of coffee has beaten you to your spot. What are you gonna do? Give up and go home? Sulk all day knowing he’s catching fish that should be sliding into your net? Or are you going to use everything you know as an angler to save the day? One thing that separates good fishermen from great fishermen is their ability to adapt to new places and new techniques.
I hope in this article, you can find a few tips that will help you next time things don’t go as planned. First, and probably most important, is your fish finder. There are a lot of them on the market these days and most are good for finding fish. Best advise I can give on that is, don’t spend a ton of money. Just get a good one and spend lots of time learning it and trusting what it tells you. Not everything that marks as a fish, is a fish, learn to differentiate between fish and structure, or clutter, on the screen.
Sometimes fish are right where you’re at, but you wont see an arc on the screen. I like to observe the patterns a fish makes on my fish finder after I’ve released them. Don’t be afraid to play with the settings on your sonar, and don’t worry about messing up. You can’t do anything that you can’t get back. If you have problems, all major brands have technicians that will be glad to talk you through your issue. Better yet, if you know someone who has the same unit, get them to go with you and help set yours up.
Next, have a full tank of gas and start checking different spots until you find fish. It’s always a safe bet that main lake points surrounded by deep water will hold fish. Look for downed trees or slides where the whole bank has went under water. Fresh new cover always seems to hold more fish. Any fresh water coming into the lake is always a good spot that holds both bait and predator fish.
When you do find some fish, be observant of where you caught it and what’s around. Was there some kind of structure? How deep were the fish holding? Were you working your bait aggressively or letting it sit for a few seconds? Notice how deep the fish take a certain color or bait type when you’re trying different lures. This will tell you their preference that particular day.
The main thing to remember is, whether it be something in life or your next fishing trip, if you get thrown a curve ball, don’t give up. Just keep on swinging until you find what works for you. If you have a lake in your area you have tried and can’t seem to get a handle on, give me a call at (828) 488-9711 and I will be glad to set up a trip or help you in any way I can. As always be safe and have fun fishing.
Ronnie Parris is the Owner and Head Guide of Smoky Mountain Outdoors Unlimited-Fontana Lake Fishing Guides, headquartered in Bryson City, North Carolina, heart of The Great Smoky Mountains. (www.smokymountainoutdoorsunlimited.com)