Common Mistakes
“Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes” - Oscar Wilde
The thing about humans is that we are far from perfect and were born to make mistakes. When it comes to living life, I believe that there are a lot of aspects that go hand in hand with fishing. Some of those being patience, adaptability, determination, and mistakes.
When it comes to making mistakes on the water, I have learned that a majority of these are small things that an angler might not even realize he’s doing. Most of the time it will go unnoticed by the angler because they may be oblivious to their actions. After all, success to a fisherman can be simply catching a single fish in a day. However, there are a few things that I see some anglers do that could turn your one fish day into being a lot more successful.
FISHING POINTS, BAYOUS AND PINCH POINTS
No matter where you go on the Gulf coast, every body of water has its own distinct and unique features. When you are focusing on the main lake or bay area, there is likely a place that has a point jutting out from a shoreline. More than likely, an angler will be sitting directly on top of the point. I can’t blame them as every point has potential to hold fish. The main problem that I observe is that the angler wants to pull all the way up and anchor directly on the tip of the point. I’m sure that by doing this he might catch a few fish, but there is a more productive way to target this area. Ideally, you want to stop a distance of say 50 or 75 yards off the point and then ride the troll motor toward the point or drift in and fan cast the area thoroughly during the approach. Quite often, I have found fish to be staged just off and/or around the point, waiting for bait to be swept across it by wind-driven or tidal currents. If you drive your boat all the way to the point, anchor and begin fishing, you have likely already spooked and pushed the fish out of the area.
The same thing goes for fishing the mouths of bayous and pinch points between marsh ponds. I see anglers wanting to pull all the way into the mouth of a bayou or slough and then sit directly in the middle of it. Once again, this is the area that you want to be casting to and fishing. The best way to fish the mouth of a bayou or slough is to work your way from outside of the mouth toward the inside. Cover as much water as you can, and once you get a bite, stop and continue to fish. The same principle goes with fishing a pinch point between two ponds. If you watch my video that is uploaded for this month, I show exactly what I am explaining here.
FISHING THE WRONG WAY IN THE CURRENT
Without a doubt, a moving tide can be a key component to catching fish. Moving water means bait will be moving and fish might be feeding. Several years ago, I learned the importance of fishing tidal currents the “right” way. I was fishing a large flat along the ICW and the water entering or exiting the main lake would flow across it. I learned that the outgoing tide produced a better bite than incoming, but it seemed that the fish still preferred my lures presented a certain way.
From my experience fish will always face into the current, no matter the direction of flow. Well, I learned that if I presented my lure in the down-current direction it would ride too high in the water column during the retrieve. If I cast directly in the up-current direction, my lure would sink straight to the bottom and travel too quickly. However, once I started to cast across the current, my lure would stay in the portion of the water column the fish were occupying and my presentation evidently appeared more natural to them. Fishing “across the current” was the key to figuring that spot out.
There are times when fish will stage and feed on certain currents better than others and therefore something we should try to pay attention to. As mentioned earlier, about fishing bayous, pinch points and main lake points, you want to target the down-current side of things as much as possible. For example, if you are looking at a main lake or bay point and the current is moving right to left, you want to target the left side of that point. This is where eddies can occur; bait will be swept across it, and fish will have their face pointing directly into the oncoming flow.
BEING TOO NOISY
If there’s one thing I’ve learned the hard way is that if fish know you are there, odds are they’re going to be tough to catch. Don’t get me wrong; I have found plenty of fish that maybe weren’t exactly the wariest or brightest, but the majority will react negatively. That being said, if you are pulling up to a shoreline, bayou, reef, flock of working birds, etc., stop about 100 yards out and idle or troll in. I have never understood why some fishermen run full speed and shutdown right on top of the spot they’re going to fish. If the noise from the motor is not enough to spook a fish, then the giant wake you roll over them will be. If you don’t have the luxury of a Power Pole or trolling motor with Spot Lock and still using an old-fashioned anchor, place it in the water as gently and quietly as you can. There is no reason to “shot put” a 15-pound anchor into the water.
WRONG TACKLE
I believe that this is going to pertain mostly to people who use live or dead bait. If you plan on fishing with such, I believe that making your own leaders will increase your success. I completely understand that buying a premade steel leader is easy, but making your own is much better. For one, some fish will drop the bait as soon as they get a good feel of that steel leader. Along with that, the leader itself might not break, but the cheap snaps and swivels they use will not stand up to the pull of a strong fish. All an angler has to do is buy a pack of quality swivels, bullet weights, hooks, and some heavy monofilament. By the way – Berkley Big Game is hard to beat. Get all your supplies together and learn to tie a simple Carolina Rig. You can find plenty of instructional videos online; it is very simple.
There are a lot of factors that are easily overlooked and can reduce the odds of having a successful day on the water. Most of the time, anglers have the right idea, but they either get in too big a hurry or simply don’t pay attention to all the details. Sometimes, it takes some trial and error to figure out what works best. What Oscar said, and I believe there’s a lot of truth in it…The best way to learn is to keep making mistakes.
