Fishing with Kenny: Experience comes from Experiments

article by Kenny Covington

I learned very early on you can’t make a bass do anything it doesn’t want to do. No matter what I thought or how hard I tried, if they don’t want to bite what I’m throwing, there wasn’t a lot I could do to change their minds. The value of experimenting with different lures, presentations, lines and equipment, even while catching fish, has proved more valuable than I could have ever imagined.

Every day we are on the water there are fish to be caught. More times than not we don’t catch them simply because we didn’t throw whatever lure the fish wanted that particular day. Either that or we were in an area that didn’t have a lot of fish in it. Both require being open minded with a willingness to change. I believe being stubborn is one of the leading causes to having an empty livewell at the end of a day.

I can remember my father choosing about half a dozen worm colors, laying them within reach and using one long enough until he felt the urge to change colors. I asked him once why he did that and his response was, “Bass will always hit a worm, I just have to throw different colors until they tell me which one they want.” He was a very simple response but it spoke volumes.
My approach to finding and catching bass is pretty basic. The simpler my approach the more successful I tend to be. At the end of a tournament I can usually tell by how many rods I am using if my day was successful or not. Most of the time if I am only using two or three rods, I have had a very good day. I have found that in order to make the progression of a dozen rods down to a select few I have to be open minded and let the fish tell me what they want.

I start with confidence baits, lures that I know will catch fish. On early summer mornings I will choose topwaters, such as a Yellow Magic popper, a Spook and a Buzzbait, when starting my day. Each lure gives the fish a different look. I can experiment with cadence, speed of the retrieve and colors if I need to. If there is a topwater bite of some kind, these lures will help me find it.
After I have started my morning with topwater lures and I don’t catch fish, what is the next step? I have determined that the fish won’t come up and hit a surface presentation so I then focus on a little bit deeper water. I can switch to a small spinnerbait, a shallow running crankbait and a wobblehead, and effectively cover the water column from the surface down to about six feet with completely different presentations.

It’s important to note the experimentation with lures is only part of this process. You may have to try different areas on the lake or maybe look for areas you have never fished before. If you have been targeting grassy areas, maybe you want to look at fishing boat docks or cypress trees. Fish the available cover and structure before you determine the fish aren’t there, or are not biting. The only time I completely change locations is if my confidence in an area is lacking. You can’t catch what you believe isn’t there.
By now I hope you have a good idea of the process I take in order to find fish. I have spoken about lures and about going to different parts of the lake but I also want to talk about technique specific things you may want to try. For example:
While working a grass covered flat with a buzzbait you had a couple of really good blow ups resulting in one lost fish but also catching one that was barely hooked. At this point I am thinking about the color and size of my lure. Was I using a trailer hook, what type of line am I using or what about the length of my rod? I want to make sure I have the right set up for the technique I am using because these things factor into the experimentation process. You want to catch as many fish that strike so you have to put the odds in your favor.

If I am using a spinnerbait around cypress trees, will I be more effective with a shorter rod? If I am throwing a Spook over a shallow grass bed, using a longer rod and braided line makes more sense. What about pitching a worm to shallow boat docks? Or throwing a squarebill crankbait in extremely clear water? The situations and conditions are endless so the thought process concerning lures, areas, and presentations should be endless as well.

Over the years I have found that one style of hook, treble or soft plastic style, will not work for all situations. The EWG style of hook is great when using creature baits such as a BrushHog but they aren’t very good when using a 10 inch plastic worm. A standard treble hook doesn’t work as well on a squarebill crankbait as a short shank treble hook does. Finesse hooks are for smaller baits and for lighter lines and this needs to be taken into consideration.

Through my own trial and error I have a system for braided line that works for me and it may help you as well. I use braided line for all of my frog applications, my bigger topwater lures such as a Whopper Plopper and for my walking topwaters like a Spook or a Sammy. The only time I use braided line for flipping/pitching is if I encounter matted vegetation and I am wanting to penetrate it with a 1 ounce sinker. Speaking of braided line what about…

As you can see the experiments and the process never ends. That is one of the great things about this sport, it is always changing. I see we have run out of time and space for another month but I hope we were able to teach you a few things that will help make you a better bass fisherman.

Until next time, please be careful on our waterways, drink plenty of water, use plenty of sunscreen and be sure to catch one for me! See you next month!