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Fishing Method Choice
Blog by: Nathaniel Kolhoff , CO 12/31/2021 (Return to blogs)
This time of year has me contemplating things as I start to run out of prime fishing spots; small creeks running very thin or starting to freeze over, lack of ice fishing equipment so I'm not able to fish the higher mountain lakes I would like to, and just a busier time of year with work. I know I could make the investment to get a sled, sonar, ice fishing rods, jigs, etc. but that's not the reason for this blog post - it is more about a conundrum I am in.
The question is this, as was brought up in the intro: When it comes to catching fish, would you rather fish using a method you enjoy using and are confident will catch fish but maybe not as many - or use another method that you don’t particularly enjoy but has shown more success by other people? Or are you just concerned with the number of fish you catch and you don't care how it's done?
I know from talking with fishing guides this is one of the questions clients are asked. For example - if it's a fly guide, do you want the day to be "dry or die" and just see what kind of dry fly surface action you can get, or do you want to put a bunch of fish in the net throughout the day and just be watching an indicator all day?
Whenever my father and I would hook up with Fish Hunter (a guide service up in South Dakota we used several times), often the question was asked if there was a specific species we wanted to target or if there was a specific method we wanted to use. Typically we were searching for bass in the summer but every so often we would want to try targeting pike or walleye to bring back home. When we WERE targeting walleye we almost never used live bait. I honestly can only think of two times we did use live bait - once on the Missouri River, and once with the aforementioned guide service using live frogs to catch walleye (which was quite effective, by the way). And of course in SD sometimes the wind dictated what side of the lake we fished or what method, because let's face it, it's kind of difficult to throw weightless plastic worms when it's blowing at 30mph.... that wind is no fun to deal with.
All of this is to say that while growing up, my dad and I obviously had our good days fishing and also our bad days fishing, but more often than not we stuck with the methods and lures we liked. We RARELY ever used live bait, and under no circumstances did we ever just use straight power bait or something like that. Of course a lot of that has to do with the success we had previously, and specifically my dad, the 10-20 years of experience of fishing before I was born.
We used plastic worms a LOT, along with all the standard bass lures, when soft plastics wouldn't work - spinner baits, rattle baits, cranks, buzzers (when the water hit the appropriate temp), and floating raps and other topwater lures. Typically each of us had at least 2-3 different lures rigged up, so had plenty of options to see what was working. Almost everything fell under the category of "this has worked for me before" OR "this is the way I prefer to fish".
Now, I remember days on lakes in SD where we'd have 50-100 fish using all the same methods the same way, catching all the same fish, and catching nice fish, but part of me wonders whether we weren't "adventurous" enough when it came to trying out new or at least different techniques. The way we saw it, we would rather fish using the methods we preferred even if it meant we missed out on some fish. The picture here in this blog is me from one of our favorite lakes back home, Lake Cochrane (a lake we know I'd say better than almost anyone).
For example, earlier this summer we went to a lake that was overcrowded with 30 boats, all JUST trolling lindy rigs for the walleye and whatever else was in that lake. We were there for a half hour, realized the kind of setup we'd have to use to catch fish and said "nope, outta here, onto a lake we know better."
Well, during that same day we ended up on another lake in SD we know fairly well but are trying to figure out a little more each time - Highway 81 Ponds. It has plenty of smallmouth, largemouth, walleye, northern pike and tiger muskie. We had been told that you can toss football-style jigs down some of the really thick weed clumps and find smallies hanging out at about 8 FOW.
It was the first time I've tried that in that thick of weeds. We fished that way for about 20 minutes and then gave up on it and headed to a different part of the lake. This was the first time I've ever used football jig heads specifically vertical-jigging for bass. It was very short-lived.
It makes me wonder if we are a little too quick to give up on a new technique and go back to what's familiar or what we prefer? In the end we did have a nice afternoon at 81 doingwhat we prefer, as we landed several really nice bass, walleye, and a 40 inch Pike, allon the same size of lure. It took us several tries but we finally found the forage size that everything was keying in on. Pictured is my dad with his biggest smallie of that outing.
I still find myself hesitant to try new and different things that others have proven to catch fish, especially when they’re not my favorite technique. A friend recently advised me that throwing tube jigs were the key to catching trout on a specific lake he was very familiar with. It was my first time fishing this lake, and my reply to him was "Ya, I'm not throwing tube jigs, lol" - I'm pretty sure that was my exact message back to him. I still found success on that lake for both brown and rainbow alike using my approach, but he and I fished the same lake on the same day and I think he caught at least twice as many fish as I did. And you guessed it - he caught a good number of his fish on tube jigs.
So that takes me back to my original question. Which would you prefer: catching 30 fish in a way that you may not prefer or that's a little more difficult, or bag 15 fish and have it be more fun, or easier?
For me I go back and forth, especially when it comes to fly fishing. I almost know for sure that I’d have more success at certain spots tossing an HD trout, a tube jig, or some other trout specific lure, given that I'm still new to the sport and have limited fly fishing prowess. But I have found that I enjoy fly fishing SO much, and I feel so much more rewarded for catching fish on the fly that I think I only took my ultralight out three times this year to go trout fishing. And the few times I did, I didn't use tube jigs.
I really am curious as to what everyone else thinks on this. I have a feeling that I’m not alone, and that a lot of us do go back to what’s familiar or more enjoyable. And I’m not trying to throw any shade on bait dunkers, or guys & gals who use live bait. It’s just not my preferred style of fishing open water. When it comes to catching walleyes, I do NOT want to try and jig a minnow after every fish, and when it comes to bass I’d much rather see something blow up on a buzzer or toss a plastic worm around structure of some kind. Please tell me if I’m alone and need to venture out more.
I welcome everyone's input.
Tight lines!
Blog content © Nathaniel Kolhoff
Comments
Troutbisquits
12.31.21 9:02 AM
Great article! So for me a good example is how much I love fly fishing for Carp. I know if I were to use bait my success actually catching Carp would likely triple, but I just don't enjoy it. Half the fun with fly fishing for Carp is trying to trick them into taking a fly for me. The other half is battling a species of fish that averages 5-10lbs on a fly rod.
Digginjiggin
12.31.21 10:19 AM
It’s security that you will catch fish on your favored method. Developed and fine-tuned. I force myself to use some of the mountains of new fad lures for 30 minutes many times but usually revert to a dozen or so lures over 3 techniques that almost always work. Taking a guided smallmouth trip on Lake Champlain was a real hoot though to do something totally new!
anglerwannabe
12.31.21 1:13 PM
Nice blog Nate! I find the ONLY way I try new techniques and/or lures is by only taking that with me on my trip. For example, I'll be lured into buying lures because of video's or blogs or it just looks cool and then put it away and always go to what I have confidence in. So there will be days where the only thing in my tackle box is new, never been used lures. That has led to some very pleasant surprises. But my all time favorite techniques here in CO involve, tube jigs, jerk baits and spoons! In TX, Mann's 1-minus, top water and a Horny Toad... Horny Toad designed to be top water but I weight it and use it like a jig and it is totally KILLER!
Nathaniel Kolhoff (author, aka xavierk31)
12.31.21 1:35 PM
That's interesting Jim- certainly a way to force yourself to try out new methods for sure!
fishthumpre
01.02.22 2:05 PM
Your column really has us thinking, Nate. For me, I love trying new techniques and then trying new ways and locations they can be applied. I was an obsessed fisherman as a kid, then let it become an occasional thing as I pursued girls and a career. Many years later, after retirement, the fishing world of the past half century has changed dramatically. Trying to catch up, I found myself at first paying way too much attention to non-local fishing shows and magazine articles, mostly written by anglers from Florida, Texas or somewhere else where giant baits and big boats were required for success. Now, I like to concentrate on what works around here, and that usually means a wide variety of small baits fished slowly, away from crowds. For starters, I recommend an arsenal of Ned Rigs and other tiny baits, developed by a great angler from Kansas willing to share what he's learned about finesse. Bill
nparker
01.03.22 8:45 AM
I have been called a hard-core fly fisherman. I enjoy catching almost any species available on a fly I have tied. I have tried and been successful using lures, bait, etc. I will never forget the day my buddies were having a good time catching nice trout on spawn balls (bait). I did that a lot in the past. I remembered how much fun I had fly fishing near my home in NW Montana when I was a kid. Before that bait fishing trip I bought a cheap fly rod that I used that day. I may have caught one or got a few hits. We all had a good time. That was 30 years ago. I felt like a born again fly fisherman and have never looked back. All methods of fishing are obviously rewarding. Do what you love. I try to use care when releasing fish but enjoy eating one now and then.
fishrmurri
01.03.22 4:37 PM
I read somewhere that there are several levels of fly-fishing. I’m sure if this is exactly right, but what i remember was Level 1 - just want to catch a fish (beginner), level 2 - catch a lot of fish, Level 3 - Catch a really big fish, Level 4 - catch fish using a certain technique. Your blog hits this right on the head. If I want to catch a big fish I probably wouldn’t use a dry fly, for example. Personally I love to see the take so I would catch fewer and usually smaller fish on a dry than to stare at the nymph indicator.
Jabirdaz57
01.05.22 1:15 PM
Nice perspective. I prefer to fish the way I want more than what the fish want...That said, I often challenge myself to try techniques that I rarely use, or don't have full confidence in. Rarely have my best catches been caught using the methods that are producing bigger numbers at the time...that's all the incentive I need to keep mixing it up and going against the grain in busy waters...
About the Author
Hi everyone! I'm originally from Sioux Falls, SD where I spent the first 26 years of my life. That's where I learned to fish, with my old man. We're both bass fisherman at heart, whether it's soft plastics being tossed under boat docks or around structure, or chucking spinner baits and cranks, we were after bass or the occasional pike & walleye. Fast forward a few years, and after having married a Colorado native, I now find myself in Denver, fishing for trout, and loving it.