Fishing with Kenny | “The Total Picture – Where a Little Means a Lot”

article by Kenny Covington

It was a hot August afternoon and Chris Ginn and I were fishing Cheniere Lake.  Cheniere has always been a subtle fishery with dark clear water and extremely finicky bass.  Getting them to bite can sometimes be quite the chore. As we fished along, slowly, and methodically pitching and flipping soft plastics around the numerous cypress and gum trees, our efforts were in vain.  “What do you think we are doing wrong?” Chris asked me.

“I’m not sure but give a few minutes and I will figure it out,”  spoken out of half confidence and half concern.  “They are here, we just have to figure out how to catch them.”

On cue, I moved the boat around a small clump of cypress trees and with the sun hitting the water at a perfect angle, the key to the day’s success landed right in my lap.  “Chris, when the boat moves forward, look on the side of the biggest cypress tree, in that clump of five.  Tell me what you see.”

Stopping the casting process, Chris peered into the water as the tree became closer and said, “Look at the bream.  They are right under the surface.  They are not noticeably of any size, but there seems to be a good many of them.  What do you make of that?”

“We are fishing too deep.  We are fishing under the fish.  If that many bream are where they are in the water column, the bass are not far underneath them.  We need to switch to a topwater presentation.”  The rest of the afternoon, we caught and released several fish, enjoying the sounds and sights of bass exploding on our topwater offerings.  Discovering success by the powers of simple observation.

It has been widely accepted anglers make the sport of fishing more complicated than it is.  Anglers become focused on secret lures, colors, spots and even ways of using modern technology.  All these things have a place in the lore of bass fishing, but it is usually the subtle clues that make the most difference in a good day or a difficult day on the water.  A little can mean a whole lot.

That day on Cheniere, when I noticed the bream being so high in the water column, knowing the bass feed heavily on bream in that lake, I knew where there was one species, there was the other.  By tweaking our fishing techniques, instead of leaving an unproductive area, we had a successful afternoon.  Instead of using a vertical flipping and pitching presentation, we changed to a horizontal presentation using topwater lures, a subtle move that brought us success.

Many times, over the years, I have seen this happen.  The examples are too numerous to write about in several columns, never mind just one.  What about the time I was catching fish over and around a huge grass bed on a ¼ buzzbait but once they quit hitting the buzzer, I started catching them on a topwater prop bait?  What about when I was flipping trees and had to flip a ¾ ounce jig to get a reaction strike, because they would not touch a slower presentation?  I can go on and on.  You must see, identify, and understand the total picture to have long-term success in this sport.

No matter if I am fishing by myself, or if I am with a friend, there are always questions I ask with each fish catch.  How deep of water was the fish in?  What was the lure doing when he bit?  Was it moving, had you stopped the presentation?  What kind of cover was the fish in or what did it come out of?  Was it an aggressive bite or was the fish just there?  All these questions are key to figuring out what the fish are doing on a particular day.

The more aggressive the strike the more I am inclined to believe I am using the correct lure or presentation.  If the strike is more subtle, am I dealing with inactive fish or does my presentation need modifying.  Am I fishing for a group of fish or am I catching individual fish on a particular pattern.  There are no easy answers but the more pieces you can put into place, the clearer the picture will become.

I have always believed September is the most difficult month of the year to catch bass.  Bass can be deep, shallow, suspended over deep water, and some are moving from their summer to fall transition, making them hard to pinpoint into specific locations.  I find myself targeting more individual fish, catching one here and there, than I do going into an area and catching several bass.  Using moving baits and covering water has always been extremely important.  But do not overlook the subtle clues, they are extremely important to your success.

I recently fished in a tough, mid-summer, grind of a tournament and finished in second place.  My plan was to cover a lot of water with lures that I had confidence in, starting with topwater presentations early and then moving on to a series of shallow crankbaits.  In my practice day earlier, I had noticed a lot of shad moving in the open water areas and when I checked most of these baitfish were abundant in less than five feet of water on my graph.  

My early topwater bite did not pan out but I was able to catch all my fish in shallow water using Norman’s Tiny N and Strike King 1.0 squarebill crankbaits.  By observing these simple scenarios, using lures I had confidence in, and having the focus to keep a good mindset, I was able to formulate a plan that allowed me to do well in an extremely difficult tournament.  Sometimes the slightest detail can make all the difference in the world.

Well, it looks like we have run out of space and time again for another month.  I hope we were able to share a few things with you that will make your next trip to the water more successful.  Keep an open mind and an open eye to what is going on around you, and the odds will move to your favor!  Please be careful on the water and catch one for me!  See you next month!