Yeah that's a problem most people would like to have but hear me out. Last year I had a handful of spots that all required similar presentations and I figured out how to be successful in those spots. If you know me you know that presentation was throwing a frog. Well around comes the winter when the frog bite died down and I didn't do as well. Fish were still there to be caught but I had focused so much on a particular technique I had left others behind. This was never more apparently clear than when I fished a tournament at Mud Creek this year and felt so out of place and confused on what to do and where to go. How did this happen? I felt like a competent angler last year, why am I so out of place now and not able to get on fish? Because I got locked into a rut last year of catching fish in reliable, easy spots.
I hadn't become a better angler, I had become a honey hole fisherman. I'm fairly certain that you take any seasoned angler to the spots I was fishing and they would wear it out. So I decided this year to make a change. I was not going to be a honey hole fisherman, instead I wanted to find new areas, new places that would challenge me to figure the fish out. Have I caught as many fish as last year? Nope. Have I learned more and felt more competent finding and catching fish in new areas? YES! Have I been skunked a few times? Definitely, but I feel like in the long run I will be a better angler and more able to compete against other fisherman when not in my honey holes. I have to admit that going to a new spot blind and figuring the fish out and being successful has been more rewarding than catching lots of big fish in a honey hole.
So what have I learned?
- I need to learn to throw soft plastics more, when the bite is hard natural presentations can make a huge difference.
- You can catch fish subsurface and it can be fun too. (lots better than none at all)
- A chatterbait is a wonderful lure that is a jig, spinnerbait and wakebait all in one.
- The hotspots that I found in the honey holes still hold true to big water, find the points, find the transitions, find the fish.
- Be willing to change presentations, many times I leave with a preconceived idea of what will catch fish and often those days that I end up getting skunked. On the other hand the days I leave understanding I don't know what they will bite I'm more willing to adapt and be successful.
Do you have that special spot that is easy catching? Enjoy it, fish it, and don't tell anyone! However, I think to become a better angler you can't rely on it. You have to break your routine to grow as a better angler, to become more versatile, and to be more successful. Trust me, the new stuff you learn will only help you catch more fish even in the honey hole on those off days and you're not guaranteed that honey hole forever. One of my favorite spots experienced a fish kill last year and it has not been the same since. Hopefully I'll discover a few more spots that will be honey holes in the future by exploring new water and learning new things. Maybe some of the spots I don't consider honey holes now really are and I just haven't unlocked their secrets. One thing is for sure, I won't ever know if I don't break out of that rut, so to speak, of catching fish.
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