Jack of all trades, Master of _________

Jack of all trades, Master of none. I am sure we have all heard this phrase at some point or another, but what does it mean for fishing? Well, it doesn’t directly apply to fishing unless you are KVD and are a master of all. Talking with Mark Zona at the 2013 Schaumburg Fishing Expo, he told me that to be successful fishing at any competitive level you have to be good at almost everything but have one or two go to techniques that you mastered in your bag of tricks. Use that logic to look at any pro on the tournament circuits, 99% of them have one or two trademark technique that they are known for being a master of. So from that logic, it should be changed to “Jack of all trades, Master of One” for fishing purposes.

Any given tournament, you could be fishing any one of the many techniques that are out there. Your boater will have a pre-set technique/pattern for the tournament and if what they are throwing is all that is working  … you better already be good at it or be super quick to learn it to be successful. Over the years, I have learned from reading magazines, articles, YouTube videos, seminars, and talking with other fishermen about the wide variety of techniques and tricks I need to be successful. From that information, I have gained confidence in many lures however I have two lures that will ALWAYS have a spot in my box.

As said in the last post about having a proving ground. Find that place you can go practice and learn those new techniques there. Why? As you are learning a new technique, you probably aren’t going to get it correct right away. Learning at a productive spot will tell you quickly what you are doing correct or wrong because you will either be catching or not catching fish. It is instant feedback on correct presentation and helps to build confidence in the technique, which is tip number two.

Building confidence in a technique can be a double edged sword. You want to be confident in what you are using. For example, if you are in a situation where you need to throw a spinnerbait and all you have to rely on is what you have read and you think to yourself “I have never caught anything on a spinnerbait”, your confidence is already shaken and you won’t be in a mindset to be successful. If you had taken the information and applied it on that small pond to catch a few fish, it would show you that it works and your confidence in picking up that bait will be much higher when you need it.

DON’T LET YOUR CONFIDENCE BLIND YOU when learning new lures and techniques. In my early stages of learning techniques, I found myself wanting to learn a new technique but using another that I already had confidence in as a crutch. I would bring the confidence lure along “just in case they weren’t biting” and found myself using that bait more than the one I wanted to learn because I didn't have to prove that caught fish. So when learning a new technique, as Zona told me... commit to learning it and don’t bring a crutch; learn how to make that one lure do a variety of things to fit the given conditions.

That point of making a lure work in a variety of conditions will help you more than you can imagine. It will also give you opportunities to do something different than your boater which may pay off for you. An example would be the Jack Links Major League Fishing, when all the pros were flippin/pitching jigs around docks but Ike was flippin/pitching a chatterbait, and the extra action on the lift and fall paid off for him.

Hopefully that helps you prepare for tournament fishing, and figure out how to make those final preparations before you jump in. Build your confidence and learn how to make all your lures work smarter for you.

Interrogating your boater for information

Let me preface this by saying that you are in no way shape or form tying up your boater and torturing them for information. Now with that said, let's move on.

So you meet your boater and try asking him what seem to be some basic questions to solidify the details about the day and to help you plan out what you need to bring, but he avoids answering your question by providing vague answers. This doesn’t tell you anything about what you are going to need and the only tools you have to go by is your internet research of winning weights, patterns, and possibly lures used. Then again, your boater might not fish that last tournament’s winning pattern due to seasonal differences, weather patterns, or their own fishing strengths. This happens all too often at the local club level where boaters and non-boaters compete against one another. So you need a way to convince him to provide you with some information so that you are able to plan a successful attack from the back of the boat.

What do you ask then??

As stated above, asking your boater, “What should I bring?” or “What am I going to need?” is probably are not going to get you much information for you to pack lightly and still be successful. You will probably get a response like “Well, bring whatever you think you are going to need,” or “Pack what you have confidence in.” He wants to win the tournament just as much as you do, so he’s not going to pass out his secret lures and colors. It all comes down to how you phrase your questioning to maximize the information that he gives so you can select your tackle and pack to be successful.

“How long of a run do we have?”

This may not seem like a valuable question, however, it will help you to decide quantity of items to bring. If it is a longer run, the minimalist approach is best. Also, with longer runs, the boater may be more open to share a little bit of information so that you don’t over pack weighing down the boat for the long run.

“What is the primary forage species?”

A small question you should be able to find in your online research but this will help to hone in your color selection as well as rule out some options of lure selection. For example, if the primary forage species of the lake is Threadfin and Gizzard Shad, your color palette is much different than if the primary forage is crayfish. Most times, your lures and techniques change as well.

“What types of structure/cover are we going to be fishing?”

Knowing you are targeting points opposed to fishing grass mats or deep trees is key in your selection of lures. It provides insight into some lure and techniques you are going to be fishing. It allows you to start honing in what your confidence lures for those situations should be.

             

“What depth ranges are we going to target?”

             

Final question to hone in your lure and techniques is to know the depth. Shallow cranks are not going to be the best idea to fish shell beds in 25’ of water, and deep diving cranks and 1 oz spinnerbaits are not going to be best suited for fishing that 0-5’ depth range. Granted, it might be able to be done but its not going be the best idea. 

You want to give yourself the most information possible without asking what to specifically bring. Also, this lets you pick stuff that fishes to your strengths. Where your boater may pick up a spinnerbait, you may pick up a crankbait. Both do similar jobs but your confidence in what you are using is going to be key to your success.