Adapt, Adapt, Adapt

On August 8th, for the third time in as many events at this location, my partner Jason and I took top honors at the New Brunswick Sportfishing Association Perth-Andover bass tournament. One would think that we have the "spot of all spots that continually produces winning bags of fish. Others think we have a magic bait that only catches big fish or that we are fish whisperers and command them into the boat. The truth is…we talk to them and command them into the boat! Unfortunately they don't listen! In all honesty, most of our fish came from different areas at all three events. We did fish the areas we caught them before but to no avail; they had disappeared. Of course they didn't disappear…but they sure did move. All of the events presented us with different water conditions. The first event we won there had more favorable conditions with clean water that was just a bit higher than the norm. The second event was preceded by heavy rains which turned the water into chocolate milk and raised the level a couple of feet. The third event had clean water but was a couple feet lower than usual. We knew before heading out at each event that the changing conditions would certainly affect the locations of the fish so we went out "searching like we would in a prefish situation. Most anglers know that changing conditions, whether it is water color/level, water/air temperatures, wind, etc. will often move the fish as they adapt. When fish adapt, we as anglers need to adapt with them in order to have a successful day on the water. I know it is hard to not fish the spots where you hammered them during prefish or where you caught them last year but sometimes you need to "listen to the fish saying "We are not here today! The fish don't always move far but that also depends on the severity of the changes. Dirty water can send the fish packing and they'll move miles to find cleaner water to feed. Heavy winds blowing baitfish into a shoreline can attract fish from miles away to this feeding frenzy. We really need to keep an open mind and not get caught up on what worked before. Adapting to conditions might also include changing your technique to catch them…different bait, different colors/sizes, faster or slower retrieves, or fishing different structures. Fish that were holding on rocks at the last tournament could be over sand flats, or in weed beds. Fish that were hugging the bottom could now be suspended or surface feeding. I remember fishing with Randall Tharp as a co-angler in an FLW event on Lake Champlain and after a not so successful day he looked at me and said "…the darn fish moved on me and I didn't adapt. I had a great prefish in those spots and that's what burned me today. Conditions changed, the fish moved and I didn't move with the fish. When Mother Nature gives you lemons, squeeze the heck out of them…ADAPT, find the fish, fill your livewell and enjoy your lemonade. Happy Fishing!