By Captain James McManus
When I sit down to write these articles I often look first at my archived pictures to jog my memory of what happened this time over the last couple of years. It reminds me there are definitely seasonal patterns but it also reveals there is a ton of diversity in success rates, weather conditions, cooperating species and techniques. I use this time of year to sort of clean up my act, things like boat and trailer maintenance, rod and reel servicing and as always, acquisition of anything new that strikes my fancy and promises to be this yearâs secret weapon. What came to mind today was that almost every picture I looked at had some different aspect to contend with, from which I concluded that to catch consistently, you must be prepared for every scenario.
I bought a ânew to meâ Ranger Bay boat a couple of years back and it has a lot more storage space than my previous boat. What I have done since owning it is fill every possible cavity with whatever I could shove into the space. It had gotten to the point that even though I knew I had what I needed to change tactics, I couldnât put my hands on it. So the other day, I took everything out of every compartment. That was a trick in itself because the deck of the boat was triple stacked with coats, anchors, tackle boxes, oxygen tanks, trailer parts, extra bilge pumps, you name it, I had it. The question is that if I had been in an emergency, would the ship have gone down while I was trying to put my hands on the extra pump? Even more common was the question of if the fish were not biting a chartreuse jig and fluke would a perch crankbait do the trick?
Everything being equal, the jig and fluke is my go to bait at Fontana. I would rather throw and feel that little bait walk down the steep banks and feel that little TICK that means you had better set the hook, than any other presentation or system there is. The âbiggieâ is that while that works most days, sometimes you have to change it up. There are windy days where fish are holding off a point like the mouth of Forney Creek or the mouth of Hazel Creek and my little jig just wonât get down far enough to reach the fish. Thatâs when an ice jig or heavier spoon may come into play. To find that blue and silver ice jig or spoon in amongst five tackle boxes requires way more effort than should be necessary. An even more dire situation comes up if the wind is really howling and you need to set up to troll to get down to the fish with downriggers.
I have found that pairing down the amount while still maintaining the diversity is key. I may not have every color of jig head on hand, or every weight of rod for specific situations but I do have enough of each and even more importantly, I know where they are. There will still be times when I canât believe I donât have that 5 bladed A-rig, but I do try and keep a couple of 3 blade ones handy. So before you go out next, try and simplify, diversify, and organize so you will be ready to change tactics at a moments notice. The only problem now is that my boat shed bench is overloaded with everything that came out of my boat, but I feel a yard sale coming on once the weather warms, maybe I can make enough to get some of those new_______; I hear they are the new secret weapon, guaranteed to work every time. Well, have fun, be flexible and enjoy Godâs gift to us in these beautiful mountain lakes, Later, Capt. James
Capt. James McManus is the Owner of 153 Charters. Give him a call for a great day of boat fishing!