by Bruce Middleton, December 04, 2006

What’s the difference between a great fisherman and a good fisherman…


What makes the difference between a good fisherman and a great fisherman? We have all met a great fisherman at one time or another. They are the ones who always seem to be able to catch fish when no one else around them can even get a bite. They always seem to be able to land their target species whether it’s bass, trout, Pike, Salmon or whatever. Believe me when I say that this has nothing to do with luck.

These great fishermen all have some things in common that make them better than the average angler. Firstly, great fishermen have a truly deep understanding of the fish they are after. They have spent countless hours studying them, seasonal movements, eating habits, haunts, likes and dislikes and how the preference of forage effects the choice of lures they use to attract them. Their approach to fishing is logical and methodical. They comb the water effectively and are versatile and willing to experiment with various presentations. They are highly organized and use equipment that is in perfect condition and with ultra sharp hooks.

There are tricks of the trade that can help you become a better angler, tricks that the great anglers have already learned and use. The first and primary key you need to know and understand thoroughly is the nature of the fish you are after. You have to know everything there is to know about them, in this case bass, before you can even begin to start catching them on a regular basis. But even with this knowledge you will never be more than an average angle at best.

The second thing you must have is an intimate knowledge of the weather, how these conditions affect the bass and why. Temperatures, temperature changes, changes in water color, wind conditions, water depth, ph levels, oxygen levels and sky conditions all effect how a bass feels and reacts that day or even that hour. Light levels at different depths are all important in feeding patterns as well.

Third is structure and cover. This determines where the bass live and will and won’t be found at different times of the year. Depth too is included as bass move to different depths during the year. Water is three-dimensional, so don’t think in just two dimensions.

And finally, food, the key ingredient that tells you what and where the bass the bass eat. Forage, whether in the form of baitfish, crawfish, incest’s, frogs, snakes, ducklings or other items make up the basic list that is the bass’s menu. And where the food is the bass will very close to it. Forage influences lure choice. Weather and water conditions influence presentation and knowledge of bass influences where you fish and how deep.

Now a lot of this must sound like a broken record that you have heard over and over again, but just for a second go back and reread the last two sentences of the paragraph before this one and think about it. If nothing else, if you can grasp and retain the full meaning of those two sentences, you will become a better angler.

Without these basic four fundamentals under your belt to build upon you will never be a great fisherman. Nobody likes dry reading over and over of the same subject by different authors especially when there is some conflicting information. But bass fishing is full of conflicting information because of personal beliefs. That is just the way it is. But all this reading and experimentation is necessary in order to eliminate the useless and enhance the useful. It is a lot like casting practice. Nobody loves to do it but just 5 minutes a day can turn you into a casting pro who can hit a teacup with 4 different types of casts from 30 feet.

But being book smart is not the key to being the best angler in the world either although you do have to know the subject that well. You have to spend time on the water perfecting your knowledge and adjusting the facts and figures with what you actually encounter in the real world. Basically, you have to know when and how to set the hook and when to let it stay still a little longer.

Great fishermen are not a one approach or one style or one lure specialist. They adapt to change readily and experiment often. They also have and use their electronics to the fullest extent possible. They know what the bottom looks like in their minds eye and they supplement this with maps for an overall view.

There appears to be several common denominators among great bass fishermen than I have observed over the years. One is maintenance. They all spend extra time insuring that everything from the boat, trailer and right on down to the very last hook in the tackle box is perfect working order. All of them are highly organized and have a system that is easily accessible. Many even color code their waterproof storage boxes for easy identification, making finding the exact lure they want quick and easy to find. They all have a selection of different balanced rod and reel combinations to match different needs. A 7-foot medium rod with a spinning reel for lightweight lures and baits, a 6-½ foot med-heavy rod and bait casting reel for spinner baits and buzz baits and so forth. Most carry anywhere from 4 to 7 combinations arranged on the deck on the deck of the boat for easy access and all are pre rigged.

Great angles also have the ability to change from one rod/reel combination to another without needing time to adjust. They can go from a 7 foot medium action rod with a 6.3:1 reel to a 6 foot heavy rod with a 5.2:1 reel and automatically, knowing that this new set up will reel the line in slower and that the action of the rod feels different. And they do with the first cast not with the third or fourth.

Knowing each and every one of your lures and baits and how they should fished is next. Knowing how to rig plastics in every conceivable way and retrieve correctly is vital. Knowing the speed of that each lure runs properly at, and when and when not to use it, as well as when and where not to use them is also vital. Knowing when to fine tune a rig or changing it out completely is a must know. You must become intimate with each lure you own, how deep does it run, what kind of sky conditions is it best under, what colors do you have of it and what color do you use that day or that hour. Is it floating sinking or neutral buoyant and why is that important? Would gold be better than nickel on this day? You have to know everything there is to know about every piece of tackle you own in order to make the best lure choice possible. If the lure you have on now isn’t giving you the results you need, what will you try next? What color? What presentation? What cadence?

Time on the water gives you several things. Confidence and intuition. Intuition comes from trial and error. You have been in this situation before and tried this, this, and this, and out of all of that the one thing that worked the best was lure x. And having used lure x and it worked for you in the past, you have confidence in it and therefore you use it correctly and often. Confidence and intuition only come with experience, there are no short cuts. You have to be systematic in your approach to lure selection and use and you have to be logical about how you pick them and the presentation you use with them. These are all signs of a great fisherman.

Almost every great fisherman I have ever met has also invested around $75 to $200 on the best pair of polarized sunglasses they could find. You need to see what is going on under the waters surface and with polarized sunglasses you can. They are great in shallow water and critical during the spawn where you need to see you bait as well as the bass. Being able to see a bass is a great advantage to you. It can tell exactly where to cast or to eliminate needless casts where you might scare away a bass with excess casting. Polarized sunglasses are a necessity and not a luxury if you’re serious about becoming a bass fisherman.

Boat control in an often-overlooked area of being a great bass angler but definitely a necessary one. Boat control is a common trait of all great fishermen. They can follow a contour line or place a boat in any position to make the perfect cast and retrieve. They never bump into anything making noise that scares off fish for miles and they know exactly where the boat is at all times. They fish on windy days when all others are having troubles holding a straight line and do it almost unconsciously. The boat is always just where they want it.

Great anglers meld intuition with knowledge. They are very intuitive. For them angling is an art. They are meticulous. They find and fish the most productive parts of a lake and eliminate the unproductive parts almost immediately. They know exactly what is going on underwater even before they throw the first hook overboard.

Confidence is the last thing that great fishermen have in common. You can recognize it a mile away. They aren’t cocky or boastful but every one of them loves to share what they know with anyone who fishes with them or asks them a question. They are mentors and teachers and if you are fortune enough to meet or fish with one, you will know right away and you will benefit from their experiences.

Great fishermen have a huge amount of concentration. They choose a lure and stick with it for long periods of time working it for all it’s worth. When they do decide to change lures it is with very careful consideration and though. The boat is never cluttered up with 8 or 9 rods to choose from but usually 4 or 5 well chosen ones. Most are old and reliable, proven lures but they experiment often and when they experiment it is for a day and not for an hour. You don’t build up confidence by using a rod and reel with a new lure for an hour and then change it out. You build confidence by using it for a day under every situation possible. They also swap rods during the day as they move down the lake. They may be using a spinner bait along the shoreline but when they come to a dock they switch to a jig and pig every time and then back to a spinner bait again.

I was fortunate, late in my fishing career to meet a truly great fisherman by the name of Bob Johansen. And for the last several years he has taught me more about bass fishing than I already knew by a factor of 10. He loves to take people out to new lakes and show them the best places to fish and what lures work best and when. His guidance and instructions as well as his friendship were given freely and for that I am forever thankful.

Bob also encouraged me to extend my love of writing as he is a writer himself and today I am a featured writer on this site. I also write for other magazines and publications, which I never would have done without Bob’s guidance. He is the person you have to thank for these articles, even though he disagrees with me on some of the fine points. But constructive criticism from a great fisherman is always worth listening to, seriously.

I hope you find and fish with a great fisherman someday like I was fortune enough to have done. It will change your fishing life forever in many unexpected and delightful ways. Then after you become a great fisherman, remember that it is now your turn to pass it on to others.



bpmiddleton@peoplepc.com