Lately, it never seems to fail that each time I plan a day that I am going fishing, about 90% of the time, a front seems to move through 24 hours beforehand. My usual scenario is that I need to be on the water at first light...yes it's exhausting, but it's like religion. You just have to.
Whether it be on a Saturday or Sunday morning, there are always thunderstorms that roll through the night before. Without fail. Even if its not even in the forecast. And as we all know, the result is always this:
The infamous "bluebird sky", where the fish are spooky and can see you coming from a mile away...even if the water is as stained as a baby's diaper. And not even a single breeze to break the mirror reflection on the water.
Granted, most of the times later in the day the wind does pick up, but the fishing usually doesn't. I have never considered myself a good fisherman, just someone that loves fishing. To the point where you will try everything you have for 8 hours straight in hopes of catching a measly bluegill.
Now I have done my share of reading of some general fishing tips and techniques for these types of situtations... "downsize your baits"...."natural colors"...blah blah blah. I guess my problem is that I usually ignore it. Since I usually like to target the hungry fish, instead of working the edge of a lilypad for 20 minutes to try to figure out if the fish that is nibbling on your 4" downsized wussy worm is a sunny, or a lunker largemouth.
My other problem is I just have so many Rapala lures...and dammit, I just flat out want to use them, and more importantly, catch fish with them. Each day starts out with assembling a pile of Rapalas that I know i want to use, usually because they've worked before. Of course the first lure you always grab has 9 other lures attached to it.
Typically when it comes to fishing, I am pretty patient...actually stubborn is probably more like it. But when it comes to lure patterns and when nothing is working...that's when desperation starts to slowly creep in, and the bottom of your boat is littered with baits you've already used, and the next batch of baits you're going to use.
These are usually the days you wish you invested in a 'Color-C-Lector', so you wouldnt be flying around blind, deciding to use a Bleeding Olive pattern one minute, a Hot Tiger the next, and good 'ole Gold the next. I guess it wouldnt matter anyway, since I would probably ignore any said advice, and keep rummaging through my 8 Plano boxes of Rapalas looking for the next gem.
Shallow Shad Rap or SR-5? Original Floater in F-11 or F-13? Countdown in CD-7 or CD-9? SureSet or non Sure-Set model? Jointed Shad Rap or Jointed Floater? Husky 13 off that point? Husky Jerk by the rip-rap? Throw a Japan Special next to that stump? (maybe some other time)
By the end of the day, it usually takes me about 30 minutes or longer to put back all of my baits back into their respective boxes. The bottom of my canoe is littered with failed casts.
Having too many Rapalas will do that. But at least I know I have the right bait in there....somewhere. That's what makes it all fun.
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