Lake Fork, Texas ETS Systems

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Catch More Fish

Article: September, 2001
Lake Fork Pro Jim ReaneauThis month's article I hope will help you catch a few more fish. This article will cause you to think if you are a tournament or avid fisherman. The biggest question everyone has when they get to the lake is what to fish with. Most anglers have their favorite baits that they have acquired over the years. The first thing they do is go to their favorite spot and begin casting. Some mornings they will catch a few fish and some they wont. Many articles have covered the lure awareness .of bass. The one thing people have discovered is bass do learn and will stop hitting a certain bait. Lake Fork has been a proving ground for every artificial bait known to man. We have visitors from every state and many from out of the country who bring their favorite lures to probe the bottoms of Lake Fork. Many of these visitors will go home having caught a fish of a life time. The bait they used was something the average local would have never thought of. The area was not a spot where you or I would ever have fished. This brings a lot of thought when you approach the lake the next time.

Bass do learn when they are hooked and may not hit that lure again. Others learn from seeing another fish caught by a bait. Biologist have implanted transmitters in fish and tracked them. They have thrown lures around them and watched the fish swim off soon as a lure hit’s the water. These fish can be transferred to other lakes and they still wont bite. Their off spring will not bite and they have not been caught before. So, now how does that work? The genes are passed on to their young. This maybe why the fishing has changed over the past couple of years on our lake. You may have to change your tactics, lure size and presentation.

We all have been guilty of fishing to fast. How many times have you back lashed and picked it out only to find you have a fish on the other end of your line. I can tell you of many lunker fish caught on trips while you were busy doing something else. Bass have the ability to pick up vibration fifty feet away from a bait. It is hard to believe this but think, in very muddy lakes it is big spinner baits and other large vibrating lures that catch the fish. Bass also have two brains and they control each side of their head. This is hard to believe but each brain controls the left or right eye. That is why some fish can be caught or lost and caught again. Have you ever lost a fish only to pass the same area again and catch the fish you lost with your bait in it’s mouth? If you could remember did you catch it on the other side of the fishes mouth. The next time you approach the lake of your choice try something different when you hit your favorite spot. Work your lure slowly. Everyone wants to catch that fish of a life time. These fish are no different than big game. They didn’t get that big falling for everything that passed them. It takes a lot of discipline to let a bait sit till you can’t stand it then move it and let it sit again. But patients is the virtue. Tournament anglers catch fish from areas we have fished and never gotten a strike. The reason this happens they spend time fishing the area rather than just going by casting. One pro put a pattern together by counting the number of times he pitched a jig to a stump. When he got bite then he would pitch that many times to the next stump before moving on.

Remember the next time you approach one of your favorite spots try other lures and different sizes. Many of big bass have been caught by crappie fishermen on 1/32nd crappie jigs. Work the area through before moving on.
Thanks and Good Fishing,
Jim

Fishing Tip by EX Lake Fork Guide Jim Reaneau

 

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