Take Your Own Advice - Karyn Sanchez FLW Outdoors Angler

Take Your Own Advice

It seems every time my dear husband goes to practice fish for a tournament, he asks “What would you do?” or starts sputtering comments about the wind speed, lake conditions and weather, expecting me to respond with some help. I usually laugh and think through all the memorized articles and tournaments in my head to return advice that helps him catch some keeper fish and build a pattern. For some reason when I get on the lake to fish on my own, all that knowledge turns to mush. When it does surface, it gets suppressed by that stubbornness to stay with what is “supposed” to be working. That issue surfaced this week on the body of water that every FLW angler dreads…Beaver Lake. This particular lake is truly unforgiving to even long time veteran anglers. You hear all the talk during practice…”I’m on em this year”, “It won’t be as bad as last year”, “I think I can make a top 10”….etc. Most of the anglers know that when practice goes that well on Beaver, don’t count on the fish. The elusive bass on this lake are notorious for being there one day and gone the next. The few that remain are below the 12 inch limit and swallow your baits wasting more time to remove the hooks than it takes to each a complete 4 course dinner. So here I was, finding myself in that predicament. I had a great practice with a wonderful angler from the west who was “on em”. The tournament started and the fish were not where they were the days prior. Well, the fish were there, but they were all small. The night prior we had a terrible thunderstorm blow through complete with tornadoes. About half way through the day, when I realized the larger fish were not up shallow I began thinking….”they pulled out because of the weather…” Why I did not start throwing to deeper water, I do not know. My boater was flipping and pitching and caught a keeper here and there, but nothing like there should be. I knew where they were, but I afraid to change my tactics for fear of missing fish. I managed to catch 2 fish that day and I went home shaking my head. The second day we started out fishing deeper water. Nice, I thought, this is where we should have fished all along. We fished several points throughout the morning and no keeper bites. We finally decide to start flipping shallower water on the points hoping for a few larger fish. I am not sure at what point I errantly through out the deeper side of the boat…but BAM! A nice keeper spotted bass! I didn’t think much of it, except that I started watching the graph a little more for structure. Something I used to do quite a bit and got out of the habit. About an hour before weigh in, I again tossed my bait to the deeper side. BAM! Another keeper! At this point I decided not to waste the final hour. I began throwing deeper. It is such a difficult mental process. You watch your partner boating fish, albeit short ones, by pitching shallow. You have to make yourself believe there are more fish on the outer side of the boat. Fish that have not seen a bait. Reflecting on the tournament I realized that all along, I knew that better fish were further out. Had my husband called me listing the conditions, I would have told him to pull out and fish a little deeper. Lesson learned: Fish the conditions and take your own advice

One of the biggest pet peeves of professional anglers is lack of respect for the boat. I can honestly say that I have fallen into this category at least once when I was starting out. Hooking a boat seat is a definite NO NO, and I still owe Debra Hengst a little dough to cover the repair. She was nice enough not to take it at the time, but it still haunts me to this day. Always hook your baits on the hook holder near the bottom of your rod when not in use. Never leave your hooks hanging on the first eye of the rod.

Another co-angler mistake comes around getting the net. The net should always be clear of tackle so don’t leave things laying around the deck which may cause the net to be constrained when you need it. When landing a fish, the net goes in the bottom of the boat, not on the deck. I actually had a pro tell me that he had a fish jump back in the water from the net laying on the deck, and luckily it was still stuck so he could bring it back. You should always be aware of your boater and what he is doing. That means multi-tasking. While fishing, you should pay attention to the boater in case he gets a fish and you should be at his feet with the net ready before the fish gets near the boat. Personally, I have wandered off in my head a few times and literally watched a pro fling the fish over the side before I realized what had happened. No matter how hard I try to pay attention, sometimes my mind wanders. I do ask my pro’s each day to please speak loudly when he has a fish on so that I will hear him and can react. You should leave your bait in the water and get the net. On more than one occasion I have come back to my rod and had a fish on, so the favor definitely gets returned. If you are quick with the net, you can generally be sure your boater will be to when you catch the big one.

A boat is a professional office. When you walk into your co-workers office, do you leave trash laying around or spill soda on the floor (of coffee in my case…..and yes it has happened)? Cleaning up after yourself is appreciated. Take your trash with you when you leave for the day. That includes old worms from the deck of the boat. My practice partner, Chris Slopak, still has a coffee stain on his deck compliments of me. I learned to drink the coffee before getting on the boat and still apologize every time I fish with him.

It happens to the best of us, but you should try to stay cognizant of your actions and be responsible for your actions. Always offer to fix any damages…better yet, don’t let them happen.

Co-Angler Note 101: You are a guest for the day in someone else’s workspace. Treat it like a neighbor’s house not your own.