Fishing with Kenny | The Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda of Bass Fishing

BY KENNY COVINGTON

I can remember the tournament like it was yesterday.  It was on Caney Lake, back when the lake had a slot limit on it, and all I needed was to weigh in a single keeper to win Angler of the Year in this circuit.  One.  One single twelve-inch fish and what I had worked the whole season for would be mine.  I zeroed in the tournament.  I caught four slot fish and missed several others on the technique I was using.  I lost that AOY title because I was hardheaded.  No other reason needed to be stated.

After the event was over, I found out that most of the fish, even the winner, had been caught using a shaky head around docks.  At the time, I didn’t like using light line tactics such as a drop shot, and shaky head.  My ego, my stupidity, and the way I preferred to fish, wouldn’t allow me to lower myself to using such finesse tactics.  Guess what?  It cost me!

We have all driven home from a day on the water, no matter if it were a tournament or just a day to fish and replayed the day citing a lack of success and pondering what we could have, should have, or would have done differently.  Such is the mindset of a bass angler.  We don’t think enough when we should, and we overthink when we shouldn’t. 

A few months after the tournament I spoke of in the opening, Chris Ginn and I went to shoot a video for “Louisiana Sportsman” on Caney Lake.  Remembering my previous lack of success, I told Chris I was going to throw a shaky head around docks once the day got past the first few hours of daylight.  I had to see what I had missed, and after several catches, the stupidity level in my head went to an all-time high.  How could I have ignored a technique that was so simple and so deadly?  Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda.

So, now that I have given you the backdrop for this month’s article, I want to pass along a few tips that will help you with your thinking process while on the water but also help to keep you from over thinking as well.  All anglers are guilty of doing both but the more consistent anglers I know, do a great job of managing their mindsets.

The first thing I believe is the most important is to start with a plan.  No matter if you write it down or have it thought out completely, have something to go on before you ever get to the water.  If I am fishing in a tournament, this plan will be based upon whether I have had a chance to practice or not.  If it is a day of practice, then my options are open and more a subject to change.  No plan should be set in stone!

The idea of this plan is to give you a simple groundwork for finding and catching fish and to keep you from second guessing after just a few hours in the boat.  Map out what you are going to try to do and follow your plan unless something happens to dictate you should change strategies.  Weather, boat pressure, time of year, all will come into play.  Just remember, give something chance to work before deciding it doesn’t.

The second thing you want to be careful of is deciding when to abandon an area or a technique versus when to stay and make the best of the situation. There are a lot of variables that go into this scenario, but my common rule has always been this: If I know I am in an area that I believe has a lot of fish in it, I will stay a bit longer and try to figure out another way to catch them.  In tournament competition this decision can be critical to your success or failure.

The third thing is an old cliché’ but it holds true to this day: Follow your instinct.  If something tells you to change from a spinnerbait to a chatterbait, take a few minutes and tie one on.  However, be mindful of tying on the right one.  Often we will tie on a bait, just to change but if I am going to tie on another lure, I am going to tie one on that fits the scenario and the conditions I am fishing.  If it doesn’t feel right, then chances are, it isn’t.

If you are going down the lake and you look at a section of bank or a pocket and the urge to go check it out hits you, then you need to do just that.  I wish I could tell you how many times I have went completely against what I thought I should do because I had a hunch to do something else.  Is it foolproof?  No, but over the years, I have had more successes than I have failures basing my decisions following my instincts.

Lastly, to prove my point, and I hope I have, how many times have you been fishing, and after struggling all day, talk to another angler, only to find out he caught his fish doing something that had occurred to you to try on the water, but you didn’t do it?  Or what about an area of the lake you started to try but talked yourself out of going to?  A technique, lure color, or even making a simple change in the choice of lure choice.  I can go on and on with examples I have encountered. 

The Caney tournament I spoke of earlier, several times during the day, I had the idea of picking out a section of docks and fishing them with a shaky head.  Instead of following what my instincts were telling me to do, I allowed my own stubbornness to overrule what I knew I should be doing.  At the weigh-in my instincts were proven to be right.  What a hard lesson to learn!

Well, once again, we are out of space and time for another month.  I hope we were able to share some insight into the ever-working mind of the angler and make your next trip to your favorite lake a more successful one.  Be careful while on the water, as well as in the woods, but make sure you catch one for me!

See you next month!