Thinking Like a Pro

By Legendary Angler, Gary Roach - Mr. Walleye

angler Professional anglers don’t really fish much different than the weekend anglers, we just think differently. Here’s an example. When a pro-angler takes to the water they know where the fish should be and they go there. We’ve been patterning a particular species of fish for so long we have confidence in the spots we go to because, through experience, that’s where those fish should be.

The twice-a-month angler doesn’t get to spend as much time on the water so they must rely on information from the bait shop or join a group of boats. Some look for their own school of fish, but without the assurance of a bite or two in the spot they pick, it’s tough to put much effort into a location that isn’t producing, and much easier to hang with the crowd.

The only way you will ever gain confidence in your search for a school of non-pressured fish is to get good at finding productive spots. Since you can’t spend a lot of time on the water you need to substitute that lack of time with some equipment. That would be a top-of-the-line sonar.

By researching the period and the species you’re targeting you can get a general idea of how deep and what kind of structure the fish are on. Then it’s just a matter of going to spots like that on the lake and performing your search. Searching is faster and easier with a high-end sonar.

I find that most anglers have a tough time deciphering what they see on their sonar screen. If that’s your situation consider an underwater camera where you can actually see what you’ve got on that sonar screen. This sure shortens the learning curve. It won’t be long before you will be at a master-class level in sonar reading and finding fish, your own fish that aren’t being harassed by a bunch of other anglers.

Another area where pros think differently is with lure choice. It seems that the weekend angler tends to get stuck on a technique and they use it whether it’s producing or not. It’s easy to get locked into one presentation because it’s the technique you’ve used enough to get good at, but techniques are only as good as the conditions that make it a good or bad choice.

Here’s how the pros think. It is in fact more detailed than this, but if you understand the basic program you can fine tune as you gain experience.

When fish are tightly grouped you use techniques that target them, like a vertical jigging presentation or a Roach (live bait) Rig. If the fish are spread out you need techniques that allow you to cover some ground, like a crankbait or a spinner rig.
An example would be walleyes that are spread out and suspended over a deep hole next to a sunken island. A Roach Rig would keep the bait on the bottom and the fish are suspended, but a crankbait trolled through the scattered fish would work great.
Here’s another example. Largemouth bass are in the lily pads. The best pads are those that are shallower and surrounded by thick mats of milfoil. Time for a topwater lure. Even a spinnerbait would be no match for this heavy cover, but a floating topwater bait will generate some bites. If those bass were on the deeper pads that had sparse cover on the edges I would tie on a jig and just make short pitches to the edge of that cover.

We pros are always thinking about how we can tailor our presentation to match the condition of the fish, not the structure. Let the fish dictate what you tie on.

The average angler tends to not only use the same technique whether the situation calls for it or not, they also fish at the same speed no matter what the mood of the fish.

I’ve witnessed anglers continuing to put live bait on their jigs when the walleyes were biting like crazy. I switch over to a scented plastic trailer to tip that jig with because when the fish are aggressive I can catch three to one if I don’t have to rebait after every fish.

When the bite gets tough you just have to slow way down and add a whole new dimension to what you qualify as finesse. When the weather shuts down the fish I’ll use the liveliest bait, because lively bait catches fish, dead or lethargic bait won’t.
I will also sit right on top of fish. On a tough bite you have to coax bites. That can mean leaving a struggling minnow in front of a fish’s nose until it decides to commit. Once you understand that a negative bite requires determination and concentration you’re thinking like a pro.

Finding fish is the first priority of the pro-angler. We use our sonar to make sure we are putting the bait in front of fish. Then we look at how the fish are positioned, stacked up or spread out, to determine the lure choice and if the weather or some other factor has put the fish in a negative mood we modify our approach to compensate for that. You can all fish just like we do, but if you start thinking like a pro, you will not only be fishing like we do, but catching like we do too.

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