Simple Systematic Approach to Pattern Fishing

Patterning fish by definition is the science of matching location, a specific bait or baits, and your presentation to a certain set of conditions to maximize the number and/or size of the fish you're catching. And therein lies one of the biggest reasons I love to fish; it's figuring out the pieces of the puzzle and that constantly change all variables that affect fish location and behaviour throughout the year. Few of us get to fish and spend near enough time on the water as we'd like making it harder to know what the fish are doing from week to week; however, developing a systematic approach can save you a ton of time on the water. Try this here's a short-track system, it may help you out. Here's an over-simplification of the system: fish deep to shallow, fish top to bottom, and fish fast to slow! Location: - knowing the seasonal preferences of the species of fish you're chasing is a big advantage here and can be learned off-the-water (ie: Google and study your favorite fish) - simply start deep and work shallow, pay attention to where most of you bites come from or where you're marking "life" (baitfish, insect hatches, non-target species). Find "Life" is the first key; and typically you'll find specific "zones" of activity that are a little deeper or maybe a little shallower which will tell you where to concentrate you're fishing. Bait Selection: - again; knowing the preferences of the fish species you're targeting is a huge advantage here (Google) - having a variety of different baits is critical here; I always have an assortment of faster moving 'horizontal' baits for covering water more quickly (crankbaits, spinnerbaits, etc), as well as an assortment of slower 'vertical' baits for fishing an area more thoroughly (jigs, drop shot baits). The key concept here is faster moving horizontal baits are great for combing the water and finding actively feeding fish, you can switch to slower moving horizontal presentations once fish are located or to see if the fish in a given area simply aren't active enough to hunt down a faster moving bait. - I do a ton of bass fishing and arguably they offer the most diverse presentation and bait options on the plant. I'll choose and work baits from top to bottom; try some top-water, cranking or drop-shotting the mid-depth zone and just off the bottom, as well as try working the bottom with a jig, Texas, or Carolina- rigged soft plastic. Presentation: - Shape and profile are the keys to bait selection for me (colour one of the last considerations for me); but one of the most overlooked things in the world of sport-fishing in my opinion is exactly how you are working your bait. On any given day, a particular cadence, or series of jerks, twitches and pauses etc. will most definitely trip the trigger and catch more fish. This is the fun part and what results in high-level success and what typically separates savvy hard-core anglers from the average Johnny fishing-poles! ;) - almost any lure can be worked slow or fast, shallow or deep; anglers in the know will change up their retrieve until a preference is revealed. Team tournament anglers often take advantage of having two anglers in the boat and start at polar opposites; one working a bait fast, the other presenting it slow. This process of elimination helps save time and allows them to cycle through more bait choices and presentation options much faster... Hope these tips help you find and catch more fish this season; tight lines and be kind, practice selective harvest and do your best to protect our valuable fish populations!