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I fished this breakline on Sunday. The weed line is 9-10’. There is a 4’ breakline at 14’. From a previous structure that morning I found nothing at the weed line. I had only an hour left to fish before the grandkids came over so I decided to fish the 14’-18’ breakline - relying only on my hummingbird map. On my 1st pass (1 hour after sunrise) I caught a 32.5” pike where highlighted (18 FOW). On my return pass, I caught a small LM (almost the same area (14 FOW) . Because my boat is virtually an aircraft carrier, I can troll both the top and the base. I needed to head back and I thought I was pretty smart making two passes and catching two fish.
By the time I got back to the dock I had a sick feeling in my gut. I realized I didn’t learn anything on that morning. After thinking about it I had to admit to myself that I “interpreted” before I “mapped”; I started deep and went shallow; I relied on my electronics and not the spoonplug to tell me the structure; and, I basically didn’t follow any of the procedures Buck, John, Fran and others have taught me. Now, I have no idea why those fish were there; if was this a movement or luck; was there a school present; was my presentation where it needed to be; or, just because the weedline didn’t have fish did it mean that all weed lies didn’t have fish. I have a lot to learn but more importantly for now - I need to be more humble and do what I’ve already learned.
Lesson for the day: take the time to map the structure and follow the procedures.
Ken
Ken Smith, Minnesota
"If you asked me what I thought was the most important thing we have to master in becoming a great fisherman, I'd have to say it is in our ability to "interpret" the fishing situation"
-Buck Perry
Ken, Enjoyed reading your report! A couple nice fish and how you did it are proof enough you are doing a bunch of things right. Sounds like you had a good story for the grandkids when they arrived...and those questions/reflections headed back to the dock give you food for thought for the next trip! You’ve accomplished a lot in your few weeks doing this. Thanks for sharing...Good job! Scott