Bobs Bass Blog 

I went fishing the other night on the day after the full moon. Now this is something that typically I would do as often as getting a root canal without anesthesia. However, with no other options in sight and since I was starting to go through the DT’s, I decided to go ahead and go knowing that that my chances of catching much of anything would probably be limited at best. So I made my lure choices which were pretty easy, tied them on, loaded the truck, got my coffee and off to the lake I went. 
               
I didn’t get to the lake until a little after seven p.m. I found the same conditions that greeted me the trip before which were a lot of slop on most of the surface of the lake although the water was somewhat clearer where you could see it. I started with the One Knocker and began casting in the open water. The sun was still high as was the temperature and there was just a slight breeze to break things up. Yes, in good ole So-Cal it is the dog days of summer most of the time and that has to be taken under consideration whenever you go fishing.  
               
At any rate, it took a while for the first strike but I just kept casting, confident that it would result in some bass at some point during the evening. Sure enough, about forty minutes after I got there, I got the first strike. Unfortunately, the @&%* fish completely missed the lure. After a deep breath, I threw it back out there and started walking it back in. No takers on that or the next several casts. So I started throwing the Eeliminator and the Shadiloicious just to mix things up and give the fish a different look. Another bite without a hook-up, this time on the Eeliminator, @%*& fish! Another deep breath and I decided to change spots. After all, one thing about fishing, you can move or change lures or do something when things aren’t going the way you want them to. 
               
After a short hike around the near side of the lake I settled into a corner of sorts and started fan casting with the Spook and this time got a strike that stayed buttoned on and my first fish of the night was on my thumb. Two casts later, a big bass missed so I immediately grabbed the rod with the Shadilicious and threw right where that fish missed the Spook. I didn’t get three turns on the reel when he flat out hammered that little swimbait and after a spirited fight, he was on my thumb. A solid four-pounder as the sun was starting to set.  
               
I kept working that corner for the next three hours or so catching three more fish on the One-Knocker and three more on the Shadilicious. The rest of my fish all came after sundown with most of them coming after the moon rose above the mountains. There really isn’t in my view, anything quite like fishing at night under the moonlight. While it’s dark, there is a little bit of light that really helps when it comes to casting and picking where you’re going to put your lure. When you get a top-water strike directly in line with the reflection of the moon on the water it’s really a sight to see. Not to mention being able to watch the fish surface and jump as you’re fighting it to get it in. It is just a bit more exciting than the equivalent day time catch. Furthermore, when you’re using a lure like the Shadilicious at night, it seems as though the strikes are that much more aggressive than during the light of day.  
               
The bottom line is that night fishing, if you haven’t ever tried it, almost certainly will make you a more aware angler and tends to force you to pay more attention to what you’re lure is doing at any point during you’re cast and retrieve. It may take some time to find a location in your area that allows all night fishing, but if you’ve never tried it, jump in and give it a whirl. You may find that you have much less competition on the water from other anglers and that the fish are that much more receptive to what you are offering

The last few months have seen a lot of action in professional sports including the NBA championships and the world cup. It seems as though these, along with other sporting events, carry with them warnings and discussions of what may happen in the aftermath of the event. It seems as though there are always reports of reprehensible conduct by so-called fans after their teams win. I have been and am a fan of some of these sports but it has never occurred to me, after watching “my” team win, to go out and burn or loot or commit some other form of mayhem as a way to celebrate that win. 
               
What has occurred to me however is, what if bass fishing fans celebrated the winning or losing of their favorite professional angler in the same way as some of the fans of other sports do. Would that mean that immediately following the weigh-in at the classic that some individuals would, out of their enthusiasm for an amazing win, go out to the parking lot and burn a few trucks and the attached boats to show their support for an angler? Or would frustration from watching their guy lose by a mere few ounces drive them, out of their despair, to burn or break all of the docks around the initial launch area? Or possible the sheer excitement of the moment as they wait for the final six anglers to make their way to the scales, produce a stampede that eventually would see the crushing deaths of several on-lookers from the mass of humanity as they rush the stage to get close-up photos of the winning moment.  
               
No, I don’t recall any of these things happening in my years of following the sport. On the contrary, all I see evidence of is appreciative fans applauding their favorite pro’s and seeking autographs or some other token by which to remember the moment. But maybe that’s the wrong tact. I suppose you could make the case that panning the crowd at the Classic and the camera finding several young fans shirtless, a single letter painted on their chests and wigs that would make Bozo the Clown proud would for some lend an air of credibility to the event. Oh, we cannot of course forget to get close up’s of them yelling and waving their beer of choice in the air as it is spilling on the fans in front of them. 
               
Another thing that might liven up the broadcast and make it more news worthy is for there to be a stabbing or other near fatal confrontation in the parking lot of the selected venues. After all, in the news business, if it bleeds it leads. And this would spawn, like other sporting events, all the talk prior to the actual game and give the sport of bass fishing some free press.  
               
On the other hand, these events are currently ones that draw families who come to see and interact with their fishing heroes because they tend to make themselves more available to the public than other sports figures do. And the sponsors who bring their new products to the various venues to make them available to the audience, and the fishing clinics hosted by other professional anglers and the kids ponds where so many kids catch their first fish. We can’t forget the care, time and money spent to make these events into something more than just a contest with a singular prize for an individual contestant but to transform them into a family friendly destination with activities for every age group. 
               
So in the final analysis, I’ll take the low key approach of bass fishing and its fans. I can always, if the spirit moves me, go attend another more ”exciting” sporting event if property destruction, riots, fires or other examples of depravity appeal to me as the apex for fan appreciation. But for now, I’ll stick with the family friendly approach of the major fishing events and not having to worry about possible maiming or death in the parking lot from an opposing fan simply because I was wishing for a different outcome than he was.

Another bass fishing trip is in the books and once again it proved to be a very memorable one as so many are. My son and I, as we tend to do this time of year, didn’t get to the lake until about 6:30 in the evening. We were after all targeting bass and using mostly top-water lures. We decided to start with two of the most productive lures that we have, one being the Reaction Innovations Barely Legal Vixen, the other being our new favorite, the Heddon Spook One-Knocker. Both of these walk-the-dog type plugs have been more than productive for us in our area.  
               
When we got there we observed that the water weeds have been on quite a growth spurt. There were weeds as far as the eye can see and not that much clear water to cast to. Be that as it may we started walking and found a spot that looked good and started casting. On my third cast, I had a nice three pounder blow up on the Spook well off the shore. After a nice fight and dragging the fish through the weeds, I landed the bass and was off to a great start. Within 15 minutes I caught two more and was up 3-0 on my son. Just a side note, typically when one of us catches two fish on one pattern while the other hasn’t caught any, we switch rods to keep the score a bit tighter. This night, my son didn’t want to switch at two and decided only after my third to go ahead and switch with me. 
               
When he did, he caught his first after only a few casts and got on the board. He ended up with two before we decided that we needed to let that spot rest and move on to another. So after putting the rods back into the truck we headed toward the other end of the lake and started fishing there. Unfortunately, the result was not quite as good as our first spot. Between the weeds and other growth, there was almost no water to throw our original lures to. However, we kept trying for a while with nothing more caught than a lot of weeds. Oh well, that’s fishing for you. On to the next spot. 
               
We pulled up to a spot that was bordered on our right by an extensive patch of stick-ups and started casting there. Once again, I caught a couple very quickly although not of great size. The sun was setting and it was time to follow up the top-water baits with a swim-bait. For the record, my choice at night is the Strike King Shadilicious. I have used this bait at night as a follow up for top-water and I just haven’t found anything that I like better or that catches more fish. Furthermore, the action that the lure has can be felt easily through the rod and when it gets bit, there isn’t any real question as far as whether or not it is a fish on the end of the line. At any rate, I was using the swim-bait and a Spook as the sun set completely. I caught a couple more and had a few miss the lure. My son was getting tired and didn’t want to cast the Spook around all those weeds in the dark. After watching me catch one more fish he decided to take the plunge and take a few casts. 
               
His first cast was wide right of the intended target and didn’t produce anything. His second, wide left. I told him to take a couple more so that at least he would be able to say that he hit his target at night. The next cast he put precisely where he wanted and before he could even engage the reel, the lure was sucked down without a big splash and he reared back to set the hook. He set and started trying to reel the fish in. It wasn’t but a few seconds before he realized he had a good one on and started playing the fish through all the weeds. It took several minutes before we got a glimpse of that bass but when we did we were both extremely excited. We knew she was a good one and after getting her out of the water and getting all the weeds of the line, he was rewarded with a solid eight-pounder, the biggest bass he has ever landed. The rest of the evening was nothing more than reliving that moment even when we caught more fish.  
               
Another memory and another skill gained. I have no doubt that our next bass fishing trip will see my son casting that same lure without hesitation well after dark and with some luck, it will yield another great bass.

In my last post I discussed some of the more far reaching lessons that I firmly believe bass fishing teaches children. In tonight’s post I want to discuss some of the basic lessons that I have seen angling teach. 
               
One of them is of course motor skills development. Like so many folks, before I ever took my young children on a fishing trip, I took them out to the back yard and we worked on casting. We set up targets and I showed them step by step how to cast, retrieve and then re-cast their lures. Through this simple process they were working on motor skills they would not have gotten anywhere else. Not to mention that it was a downright fun game to play that left them smiling ear to ear every time they hit their target. High fives were the order of the day and we spent a number of hours playing together and trying different casting motions to accommodate each of them so they could become competent at placing their lures where they wanted.  
               
Just a little side note, one of the stories that we all still get a laugh from is the time my then seven year old son hooked and landed his very first trout all by himself. He was using a spinning reel and decided to try a little soft plastic grass hopper imitation. He chose to throw this without weight and placed it perfectly parallel to a tree. As he began his retrieve, a trout hammered his bait hard! His rod bent almost double as he fought that fish and to watch him trying to reel and walk backwards at the same time was comical to say the least. It was all I could do to keep from rolling on the ground laughing. He did fight and land that fish which wound up weighing a solid 3 pounds! Not bad for a seven year old, fifty pound kid. 
               
Another thing that fishing has taught them all is the importance of conservation. Whenever we go fishing, inevitably we find some trash or line or something lying beside the lake that doesn’t belong there that was left by some inconsiderate folk. We always stop to pick it up and put it in the trash because we don’t want the water or the area fouled simply due to someone’s laziness. We talk about the importance and practice of both catch and release and selective harvest. We consistently engage in both because we enjoy a meal of fresh fish but also want the resource to endure and be there long after we are done using it. 
               
And finally, especially in today’s world with all the electronic media that is available to all of us, I can’t help but believe that the time we spend preparing to and going on fishing trips is certainly more productive than using that same time to sit in front of a television or video game or a computer playing a video game. The conversations that we get into and the time we spend together outdoors is time that we are all extremely fond of and produces stories that are told and retold with each passing year. After all, it is said that God does not deduct from one’s lifespan, time spent fishing. I for one believe it!

It occurred to me the other day while inviting a friend to go fishing with me that every time I talk about fishing, I also end up talking about one or more of my children. That is because I usually have one or more of my children with me when I go. While I have my eldest son to thank for the initial and ongoing addiction to this hobby, I have subsequently taught all of them, sons and daughters, to fish. In doing so for the years which I have, I have come to believe that this simple act of sharing this wonderful pastime with all of them has been more than just fun for me and my children. I believe that it has taught each of them some valuable life lessons which they can use in other pursuits as well.       
               
The first of which is preparation. Before any fishing trip there is time set aside to check and clean all of the equipment that will be used. Line needs to be checked to make sure that it isn’t frayed and if it is, that line is cut off and the lure retied. There are times when reels need to be re-spooled before the next trip. Hooks need to be checked to make sure they are sharp and if not replaced. Drag settings need to be adjusted, rod eyelets cleaned etc. The point being that while it can get tedious for the youngest of the brood, they all understand that preparation is one of the keys to ensuring a good experience. This lesson is applicable to so many other areas of their lives including school, sports, testing job hunting, job promotions and on and on. Fishing and the preparation for a trip can teach them to prepare. 
               
The next most important thing in my opinion that children learn from fishing is delayed gratification. It can take hours before their first bite yet they seem to understand that you can’t catch a fish without a line in the water and that simple fact has consistently kept my kids throwing it out there even when the bite is slow or non-existent. The chance that the next cast might produce the first fish of the day is ever present and seems to be motivation enough to keep them chucking and winding. This again is one of those life lessons that I believe is essential for people to learn. Sometimes you have to put in a lot of work before it pays off. 
               
Another lesson I believe fishing teaches us is adaptability. I for one usually have an idea of what lures I am going to use before I ever leave the house. I am anticipating certain conditions will exist when I get to the lake and I choose baits based on those assumptions. However, it doesn’t always work out quite the way we intend and I have certainly found myself faced with different factors that force a change of approach and with it a change of lures. Once again, since I have my children with me more often than not, they have learned to be adaptable to the conditions they are faced with. Not to be preachy but the fact of the matter is that the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry and when they do those that adapt the quickest tend to have the most success. It’s funny how my eight year old will now point out something that I hadn’t noticed and recommend a lure that she believes will be successful based on her observations. It is that kind of awareness that once learned can readily be applied in so many other areas and one that fishing teaches.  
               
It may be that this wonderful, simple little hobby can teach us all some life lessons that for whatever reason, seem to be more easily learned when you are outside, next to some body of water pursuing that first bite of the day.

Today’s entry is all about hitting your spots. You will notice the pictures of the lake that were taken shortly before sunset the day we last went fishing. I’m sure that this looks a lot like many across this country that people like to go to because they are close and convenient for them.  In good ole So-Cal at this time of year, the water is getting filled with all the various kinds of aquatic vegetation that grows here. Furthermore on shallow lakes when the folks who run these establishments try to control the growth chemically, they tend to treat close to shore the heaviest which also tends to drive the bass far from shore. This is where the” hitting your spots” theme comes in. 
               
We got to the lake about 6:30 p.m. and found that the growth was well under way. We went there to fish top-water and have a good time. We knew that the moon phase was very close to full but we were willing to deal with that. We just weren’t expecting to find the growth so advanced and had to change some of our lure selections due to that.  
               
We fished for almost three hours before anything began to happen and the first fish was caught. This is where hitting your spot was absolutely critical. After having fished the entire lake and throwing everything, including the kitchen sink at them, we found one small area a good way from shore that ended up being the honey hole for the evening. The spot that we had to hit was about fifty to sixty yards out from shore and only approximately twenty feet wide. I really have no idea why that spot was holding fish or why it seemed to be holding the only aggressive fish in the lake. What I do know is that the only fish we caught were from that spot. 
               
Once we found it we continued to cast to that one spot and at one point caught two in a row with a third missing the lure on the next cast. Of course I went right back in and got him the following cast. Not bad, three fish in four casts. None monsters but all fun and feisty and all had to be brought back to shore from a good distance. I prefer it this way just for the thrill of having them on the line for that extended period of time and  watching them jump and fight all the way in. Just a side note, all of the strikes once again came on the Heddon One Knocker Spook. I really need to pick up some more of these as the two that I have are getting a bit scarred up from all the strikes they are receiving.
               
The point is that on this trip it took a while to find them but once we did, we had to continue to hit a very small area a long distance from shore. This ability only comes from putting in the hours with your equipment to get to know it and from the practice that is required to be consistent enough to take advantage of this kind of situation. So for me, on those trips where the fish just have a bad case of lockjaw, don’t waste the trip. While you may not be able to catch fish every time you go fishing, you can practice casting every time you go. Make it a point to pick a spot and see how many times consecutively you can hit that spot. Chose some targets further, some nearer and keep casting until you can hit those spots consistently. This makes for a good trip and you can have a competition with your fishing buddies involving just casting. Without being able to “hit our spot”, we simply wouldn’t have caught the amount of fish that we did. All of them came after dark from that one tiny area and all were a blast to hear and see when they hit the surface to get our lures. The only negative I can think of involving the trip was that I had promised we would leave the lake by 11:00 p.m. I have no idea how many more we might have nailed in that tiny little spot but I am certainly looking forward to finding out next time we go.

The other day one of my friends and I were talking about what else, fishing. At one point he asked me how I got started and how long I have been fishing. After thinking about it for a few seconds, I had to tell him the story and I figured I might as well put this one in the blog as well.  
               
About fifteen years ago my then 13 year old son announced one day that he wanted to try fishing. Apparently one of his school friends went regularly and this interested my son. So one day he came home and asked me to take him. At the time I was working some50-60 hours a week, had never been fishing and didn’t really see how spending what little time off I had sitting around a lake and attempting to catch something could possibly be any fun much less productive. My son however was persistent and in the end, I did what every good father should do, I got my mother-in-law to take him. After all, she is from the south and had to know much more than I about everything that had to do with this subject. I forget now whether or not he caught anything that day but something about the experience stuck with him and he kept after me to take him. Of course I continued to resist and made every excuse I could think of. 
               
Shortly thereafter my father-in-law bought him his own fishing rod and reel and then the pressure was just too much. I finally gave in and took him to a lake close to our house for him to fish, not me. Again, I don’t remember him catching anything that day but he did make me promise to get my own rod and reel so that I could fish with him. Unfortunately I can’t break a promise and found an inexpensive spinning combo at a local store and bought it. At the time I didn’t know anything about actually catching fish but now I was going to learn. We went again to this local lake in the middle of what is winter here in sunny So-Cal and found out that this private lake stocks trout during that time of year. So we tried, albeit clumsily, to catch some trout. Again, no success.  
               
Then while sitting there not catching anything we noticed a fellow that was catching some fish and I went down to where he was to ask him how he managed to get those fish to bite. He was more than happy to tell and show us what he was doing and using so off we went to the tiny general store to pick up a few supplies and try it for ourselves. After rigging up our lines with bait we threw them out and within 10 minutes we had a bite on one of the rods. By the end of the day we managed to catch a couple of fish apiece and the rest as they say is history.  
               
From there I was hooked. We started watching the fishing shows on TV, reading magazines or anything else that had to do with fishing and of course experimenting with different lures and methods for catching fish. We began to learn how to fish for trout, crappie, bluegill and of course bass which wound up being my favorite freshwater critter to pursue. All of this because my son just would not give up on the idea of fishing. His persistence is the catalyst that turned me into the addict I am today. I cannot thank him enough and we still laugh when we talk about those early days and the learning curve that became this wonderful adventure in becoming a competent angler. Son, thank you again.

We have all had memorable fishing trips including catching our biggest fish, the most fish we have ever caught, the worst conditions we have ever fished in and so on. These trips are what make the memories and the stories of those trips so vivid and worth repeating to friends and family. I will never forget one trip in particular that is the top of my list as far as flat out weird. 
               
My son and I went fishing one evening late July last summer. We went to our favorite close fishing hole and were having a good night and enjoying the sunset, the coyotes howling and of course the fish were biting voraciously that night. We were casting over slop at one end of the lake and I was using a Bronze Eye frog. Just to my right side was a tree that had some bare branches at the top about twenty-five feet off the ground. I had just brought in a cast without a strike when an owl lit on those bare branches. I turned to my son and commented on how cool it was for this bird to come so close to us without flying immediately away. We watched it for few minutes while taking a short water break and then picked up our rods and got ready to make our next cast. I went right back where I was, just left of this tree with the owl just sitting there watching me. 
               
It didn’t occur to me that the owl may have an interest in what we were doing so I reared back to throw the frog and let it fly. As soon as that little lure was airborne the owl jumped off the tree branch, took flight and the next thing I know, he picked my little frog up in mid-air and headed for a large patch of stick-ups to my right. It all happened so fast that my immediate reaction was to try to make that bird let go of my lure. I didn’t set the hook as if a bass had just blown up on it but I did try to jerk it out of his talons before it got hopelessly entangled in all the stick-ups.  
               
Fortunately for me, that reel was spooled with 40 pound Power-Pro braid and I had every confidence I would be able to drag my little frog back through all that brush without harming it too much and would continue to use it. So there I was tugging away, making some progress and knowing I was getting closer to getting my lure back. When I figured I only had about fifty feet left the line all of the sudden jumped and went limp for a few seconds. I reeled as fast as I could to pick up the slack when it took off skyward and came flopping down on the ground about thirty feet from me. Unfortunately, there was my frog hooked to the back of the neck of that owl that we had been admiring just minutes ago.  
               
I have caught some big fish in some odd ways and had to be creative to land them but this was something I had no idea how to handle. A large owl, wings spread, on the ground with my lure hooked into it and he is not at all happy. He is brandishing his talons and making some pretty interesting sounds that seem to be implying he is ready to tee off on us for ruining his night. We went round and round for a few minutes about what to do with this owl while he is rushing us, then backing off, then rushing us again. We finally decided to get a drop cloth out of my truck and try to cover the bird with it so that we can cut the line and get this over with. So I hand the rod to my son, grab a drop out of my truck, manage to get it over the owl’s head after a few attempts and prepare to cut the line.   
               
I managed to get within about 18 inches of the bird, reached out and cut the line. After cutting it I reached down, grabbed my drop and pulled it straight up. That owl took off faster than he had when he grabbed my frog and disappeared into the night. We sat there discussing the entire episode while I retied another frog on my rod. I like to think that the owl made it just fine with no more to show for that night than a memory that keeps it from going after any lure in mid-air. For us, it is one of those stories that we will retell many times.

Another fishing trip is in the books and our latest is the epitome of why it’s called fishing and not catching. We loaded the truck with all the gear, lures tied on, rods and reels cleaned and lubed and our various other sundries packed. I was really amped for this trip and thinking it was going to be a great trip. We got to the lake to find less than optimal conditions but nothing to daunting to overcome. Mainly just too much wind for my liking but not enough to make it impossible to fish.  

Out of the truck, chose our weapons, walked to our first spot and started casting. It seemed a little unusual at this time of year with everything that the evening should have had going for it including the near new moon, high temperatures and lots of emerging vegetation that we weren’t getting more strikes than we were. Only after about forty minutes of casting did my son get the first bite and brought in a nice chunky 2 ¾ pounder. At least one of us was on the board and that had to mean that the bite was about to get hot, right? Wrong! 
               
We didn’t see another bite for another twenty minutes which I got close to shore and wasn’t able to set the hook on. You know what it’s like when you see the fish roll on your bait, take it down but you’re unable to set the hook before he spits it out? Yes, that was only the precursor for the rest of the night. 
               
We went to our next spot which had all the markings of a great spot and started chunkin’ and windin’ there. On my third cast I allowed my lure to sit for a short time and let the ripples in the water subside. I twitched my bait twice and a saw a big boil right next to my lure but the fish completely missed. I twitched it again twice and the same exact thing happened! This fish couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn if he had too. I kept working that spot by fan casting around and came back to that original spot to see if that fish was still there. He was, he came up on the bait again and just as before, completely missed it. With that it was on to the next spot before I was to tempted just to get out a stick of dynamite and throw it at the fish. 
                
Around to the other end of the lake and this time with dark upon us out came the swim bait which for me has produced so many good fish in the past particularly at this time of night. I start casting and get hit on the second cast but once again could not hook up. This is really getting frustrating so I tie on a night time spinner bait and use it alternating between the swim bait and the spinner bait. Again, several strikes with both but I just couldn’t get a hook into any of these fish. I can’t get skunked so we stay until about eleven thirty so that I can land at least one. It was a beautiful night other than the fishing. I threw in the towel without a single nick on my landing thumb to show for it. At least I got to go fishing and enjoy great conversation and laughter with my son and a friend.  
               
Now I don’t know about anyone else but that trip bugged me all night to the point where I just had to call the lake the next morning. I had a thought that something had to have happened outside the norm and just had to see. When they answered the phone I asked if they had done anything unusual to the lake prior to our trip. Without so much as a thought the women answered, “Why  yes, we blue stoned the lakes on Monday to make sure the weeds don’t get out of control!” I knew from the tone of her voice that she was very sincere in believing what a wonderful thing they had done. Unfortunately for me, that tends to make the fish rather dopey for about a week which explained their spastic behavior  that night. Oh well, fortunately they and I will recover and do battle another day and this is precisely what keeps me coming back!

Woody Allen said, "90% of success is just showing up." Well, he was almost right. The key is showing up prepared. Anglers talk all the time about that big fish, the one that got away, and anything else you can think of, but rarely do we talk about the preparation that goes into a trip. Preparation is exactly what we are going to discuss today.

For me, the first order of business is checking my line to see if I need to retie any of them. Just a side note, I do use snaps for certain lure classes including hard top water and wake baits. I find that while it does change the action of some lures, it also enhances the action of others. Besides that, it makes changing lures in most situations much easier particularly in the dark which is when I do a lot of fishing during the summer.  

The second thing I do is think about the last trip to review what had happened and whether I could have made better choices in my lure selection or at least tried something different. This little mental exercise is really a two edged sword as I have made both very good and very bad lure selections prior to a trip. With this in mind, I religiously go through my tackle box to see if there is anything hiding in the dark recesses, long forgotten, that will catch more fish. Following this little procedure, I sit and look at the lures that are tied on and see if there are any that I want to change. If so I change them at that point as I really like to get to the lake and start chunking and winding as soon as I get out of the truck. The one caveat to this is a new lure. I really enjoy, much like the spook versus the vixen in my last product review, using two similar lures on identical tackle and matching them against one another cast for cast, to see which one comes out ahead. I find that this really highlights the differences in the given lures better than any other procedure I know of.

Next, I like to think in terms of the time that I will get there and how long I will stay. Personally, I have most of the tools involved with fishing in my truck at all times but there are some special items that I have to remind myself to take with me. With these parameters in mind, I like to pack the little extras such as bug juice, sun block, water and any other little goodies that are going to make the trip more enjoyable. I have found that you can do this and still pack very light.  
               
Finally, after having tied everything on and set out everything that I intend to take with me, I like to take a few minutes and put a drop of oil on the bearings of each reel that I will be using that trip. Since I typically rinse all the rods and reels that I use the day after a fishing trip, I just believe that one drop of quantum hot sauce not only helps the reels to perform better but also helps to prolong their longevity. What can I say? I really enjoy getting new equipment when something fits a particular need but don’t feel the same when something breaks down and knock on wood, that hasn’t happened in a long time. So now that the preparation for tomorrow evening is complete, stay tuned, I have another new lure that I will try all evening long and see how it performs and of course will let you know how it does in the real world soon.

If you have some preparation techniques you use, leave them in the comments and I will put them all in another post.