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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Fishing But Didn ‘t Know to Ask

If someone were to walk up to you and say “I can teach you to fish in four steps” or “You’re just thirty-three questions away from fishing success. Answer these questions correctly, and you’ll be successful,” you’d listen, wouldn’t you? Well, that’s exactly what I’m saying to you right now.

The Decision Support System (thirty-three Fishing Success Questions) that I’m about to share with you is a checklist I’ve compiled over many years. Even more, it is a system to help you get to the facts that will help you catch more and bigger fish—anywhere you are, whatever you’re fishing for. How is this possible? you might ask. All the books and magazines you might read give you answers and not questions. Yes, the answers are important, and I encourage you to get and read every intelligent article you can. You will need answers. But the questions or the framework is even more important because it will tell you what information you should be looking for. And if the book or article you’re reading or expert whom you’re talking to doesn’t have it, you’ll know to ask for it and get it!

I am about to make a confession. I know nothing about fishing in the Desna River in Novogorod Seversk in the Ukraine, in Russia. It is the river where my grandmother, an avid fisherwoman, spent her early years in the late 1800s fishing. She was a fanatical fisherwoman, fishing long days and nights on that river with great success. As hooks, she used bent over sewing needles—the same kind she made for me when I was a kid. It was she who first taught me to fish. Assuming I were to go to that river in Russia today, knowing nothing about its fish, weather, and water conditions, or anything else, how would I ever catch fish?

I might be helped a little bit by reading articles about fishing in the United States. . . but give me the thirty-three Universal Fishing Success Questions and a few days, and I promise you I would start catching fish. Why? Because all fish are affected by the same environmental forces: the season (when), the weather, water conditions, and the fish’s whereabouts.

These four environmental factors affect the four activities that we as fishermen control: the place where we are fishing, the presentation of the lure, the proximity of the lure to the fish, and the persistence of our lure. If we understand how the 4 Ws affect the 4 Ps and what we can do, we have the tools to conquer any fishing situation. Now, that’s confidence!

So whether you’re fishing for smallmouth bass in Tennessee or giant catfish in the Amazon River, you have the mental tools to succeed.

This approach welcomes any and all new information, and is not threatened by new knowledge, as many other fishing theories are. New knowledge is sought and encouraged. Also, this system seeks out and incorporates local factors, which many publications often overlook.

James Beasley of Midway, Georgia, wrote to tell me that he has begun to keep a log of the fish he catches. Now, there’s a guy who can succeed! Keeping a log of all the new information and fishing experiences that you are having with this system is a way to supercharge your learning. He sent us a photo of a six-and-three-quarter-pound bass caught on the Flying Lure. He’s off to a great start! I remember some structure fishing adherents in the 1970s who didn’t feel right unless they were fishing deep-water areas such as dropoffs. At the time many articles about structure stressed fishing deep-water structure. I heard a number of them say so! Many failed at fishing tournaments that I was running at the time because they blindly followed a system. Don’t do this! Don’t be intellectually lazy. Always question what is happening. Even question my questions, and add your own if you like! If you’re not catching fish, go back and review the questions to spur your own thinking. Succeed— it’s in your power.

How the System Works

All we’re trying to do is to see, one step at a time, how nature’s uncontrollable forces (the 4 W’s) affect our controllable responses (the 4 P’s). Let’s take a look at Chapter 6. Answering the questions in Chapter 6 will help us determine the place where we should be fishing.

The following table explains what chapter provides the answers to what questions. Looking closer at Chapter 6, Questions 3 through 5, help us answer how the place we are fishing is determined by when we are fishing. Questions 6 through 10 tell us how weather affects the place we are fishing, and so forth.

Chapter 7 gives us a path to determine the kind of lure presentation we should have.

Chapter 8 tells us how to arrive at the proximity that a lure needs (to be near the fish).

Chapter 9 tells us the persistence with which we should be fishing on a given day.

When you have gone through all the questions, you will know how each of nature’s forces (when, weather, water, and where) determine what we should be doing (place, presentation, proximity, and persistence).

You are now armed with the keys to master any fishing situation. Only you will provide the answers.

THE DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM:

FOUR STEPS TO SUCCESS

Questions 1 and 2, the superquestions, are discussed later in this chapter.

These two questions deal with the big picture only.

The Ultimate Magazine and Book Test

Armed with the thirty-three Fishing Success Questions, you can now dissect any book or magazine article and get what you need. You’ll know if the article is answering only Questions 1 through 5 and ignoring the rest. You’ll know if it applies only to some waters and not necessarily to yours. You’ll be able to modify methods to fit the lake you are fishing. You’ll be able to get the answers to the rest of the questions, or at least know where the holes in the information are. You’re no longer at the mercy of others. By the way, if any article answers even half of the thirty-three questions, it’s probably a pretty good one!

Beginning Your Quest

Before you even begin looking for fish, you must acknowledge what you’re fishing for and what time of year it is. Simple? You bet. Believe it or not, most people never get that far.

If you don’t know what fish you’re looking for, how are you ever going to find it?

What Species Do the Questions and Answers Refer To?

I have tried to keep the answers to the questions general guidelines to spur your own thinking rather than giving you pat answers. Where the species of fish isn’t indicated, I am referring to freshwater North American warm-water fish in general and largemouth bass in particular. Other species are referred to sometimes as well. Good luck!

The Superquestions

“Superquestions” refers to questions 1 and 2 only. They are a synopsis of the thirty-three success questions.

QUESTION 1. WHAT SPECIES OF FISH AM I FISHING FOR?

You have to decide. Most people never do. Fishing for “anything” doesn’t cut it. Know who your customer is. . . and. . . know what your customer wants.

Sometimes I ask people fishing from shore “What are you fishing for?” They reply, “I dunno!” I’ll guarantee you, the only thing you’ll consistently catch with that attitude is a cold. And it’s too bad. An old saying says: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. In fishing, that first step is to determine what fish exist wherever you are fishing and then to decide what fish you are going after.

Where I grew up, a largemouth bass was my game fish of choice. I followed, learned about, and admired those green, potbellied ghosts. They became almost mystical creatures to me. But I had to make the decision to be a bass fisherman first. Other fishermen in the same lakes that I fished became trout fishermen. Trout were the recognized “true” game fish in my neighborhood. At times, I learned about, followed, and caught trout as well. But it was not by accident. In the same lakes, bass and trout were found in different places, took different lures, and required a different set of skills to catch.

Focus all of your skills on one fish first, whatever it may be. Learn, study, and get to know everything about its habits, likes, and dislikes. Once you learn the “language” of one fish, the next one will be easier since many of the same skills apply.

Decide and focus!

QUESTION 2. WHAT TIME OF THE YEAR IS IT?

Fish behave differently as the calendar changes. Actually, they don’t believe in our calendars—they go by the earth’s calendar. The fish calendar is mostly dependent on water temperature, although not entirely so. As you seek one species of fish, you need to know about those changes that occur in fish behavior as the calendar changes. More about this later.

See? So far fishing is simple!

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