There are those magical days on the water when everything goes right. The weather is perfect and the fish seem to jump right in the boat with you. There are even the mythical days that produce the yarns like, “The fish were biting so fast and furious that I had to hide behind a tree just to bait my hook!”. If you are like most of us, though, truly magical days are few and far between. Each one can be remembered like it was yesterday. Sometimes you can make your own magic. A fish outing that starts as a disaster can turn into an amazing experience if you set aside your preconceived ideas and go with the ebb and flow. I had one such day that changed my view of fishing permanently.
A number of years ago, while I was vacationing with my family in northern Wisconsin, we visited my grandmother and step-grandfather at their cottage outside of Eagle River. My father’s Uncle Ed was also there visiting. Uncle Ed was in his eighties and was looking to get out on the water one more time. My grandmother thought it would be wonderful if my father and I could take Uncle Ed fishing for a few hours.
My grandmother had a friend with a boat on Marshall Lake. We chose this lake because someone “remembered” that the lake had some good northern fishing. The boat was significant because Marshall Lake is approximately 87 acres and had no public access at the time. Being small and weedy, the lake also offered solitude from all the normal summer boat traffic. So, off we went. When we got there, we found the rowboat. There was no motor. I came to understand why my father had suddenly nicknamed me Evinrude.
It was a beautiful post cold front mile high, blue-sky day with light winds. I had a feeling that it wasn’t a northern type of day. None-the-less, we broke out our trusty array of typical northern lures. After an hour or so, no one had even a hit. My suspicions were confirmed. It would be a real shame to take Uncle Ed out and come back empty handed. For Uncle Ed’s sake, for my grandmother’s sake, and for my dad’s sake, I had a lot of incentive to make this outing work.
I did notice the tick, tick, tick of what I assumed were small panfish or minnows nipping at the end of my spinnerbait skirts and twister tails. I got curious and started downsizing my lure selection. My original idea was to catch one of these small fish and figure out what color or shape lure to use to catch the northern. By the time I started catching fish, I had downsized to a miniscule ice fishing jig and only the curly end of the smallest twister tail I had. The whole rig was only about 5/8” long. It was so light that I had to use my ultra-light rod more like a fly rod than a spinning rod.
That’s when the magic happened. I started pulling in panfish left and right. Granted, many were the typical small stuff, but a fair number of them weren’t. I quickly told my dad and Uncle Ed to downsize. They immediately started catching fish. Uncle Ed no longer had the reflexes to hook as many fish as I was, but, at that point, he didn’t care. We were catching fish. There were some 8” bluegills, some 10” crappies and a few 10” perch. We stopped fishing when we had to go. The fish were still hitting, but we had promised to be back for supper. We returned as conquering heroes and Uncle Ed had his one last great day on the water to brag about. By my count, I had caught 120+ panfish by myself in the space of two hours. That’s not an exaggeration. I caught fish at the rate of one per minute. Uncle Ed had caught 20 to 30, and my dad caught around 50. Yes, I did end up catching a northern. It was about 14” long. It too was caught on the ice fishing jig.
I know some fishermen who adamantly insist on fishing with the same bait, lure or technique no matter what. They go after their favorite fish even if their favorite fish is not a predominant species for that lake. They are the diehards of diehards stubbornly refusing to try anything new or change tactics even if what they’re doing isn’t working. Rain or shine they do their one favorite style of fishing. Of course, they are also the ones who come up with all the excuses for why their catch didn’t match their expectations. They’re the ones that say that their favorite lake is just not what it used to be. Actually, they are right!
The truth is that each day is different, each season is different, each year is different and each lake is different. A great day of fishing that you remember from five, fifteen or twenty-five years ago is not “today”. What were all the conditions that went into making that great day a great day? Was it a colder or warmer spring? Was the water level higher or lower than normal? Was the wind blowing hard or dead calm? Was it overcast or sunny? Was it raining a light drizzle or just overcast? Was it muggy or dry? Was the lake weedier then? Did a lake association just harvest a large portion of the weeds in the lake? Is there more or less boat traffic? Has the forage base changed over the years? You get the idea. On any body of water no two days are absolutely identical.
When I am out on the water I try to take stock of the day. The conditions will not change for you, you have to change with the conditions. I start fishing before I go fishing. I choose the lake I want to fish based on as many conditions and factors I can think of. I try to visualize the whole scenario. When I get on the water I take a look around and feel the day. I fish for a while and then re-evaluate what is happening. I also evaluate me. For example, let’s say I get out of work a few minutes early to catch the sunset bite. In that situation there can be a real tendency to be hyped up from work and in a rush to get on the lake. But the fish may only be responding to a slow presentation. It’s at that moment when you have to turn your emotions off and your senses on. It’s time to channel your energy into concentrating your tactics into a logical approach to find out what the fish will respond to. Above all I try to resist the temptation to be complacent. It may be harder to fish a certain location or in a certain way. It may be more work, but it may be worth it.
I have my favorite style(s) of fishing. I always target my favorite fish (musky and northern of course), but if it isn’t happening “your way” and you still want action you cannot be too afraid to try something else. Maybe you have to target your favorite fish for later in the day. Maybe you can find your favorite fish deeper, or in the weeds, or responding to a different presentation. Make doing something different your beginner’s luck. Beginners have what some consider dumb luck because they are doing what everyone else isn’t doing. With my experience on Marshall Lake I switched to target a different species. In other experiences I have switched tactics and started catching my target species. If you are a dedicated fisherman you probably have a tackle box or two loaded with different lures. How many actually get used? Try them. You never know what may save the day.
Click the mailbox to e-mail. Last updated on ... August 24, 2003