Occasionally, as a tournament angler, you ask yourself, "Why am I out here? Why can't I figure out a good fish-catching pattern?" These are just a couple of questions, and many others, I recently asked myself during a mid-June tournament on Sam Rayburn. Then I started trying to make excuses as to why I was not catching fish, like the lake is 7 feet too high, the wind is not blowing, and there are too many people on the lake. The excuses were endless!
For me, and this might be an age thing because I hate summertime fishing for one main reason....it's too damn hot! I would rather fish in 30-degree weather than fish with temperatures in the mid to upper 90's. I can put enough clothes on to stay warm and comfortable, but I can't take enough off to get cool. Nothing is worse than when sweat is dripping off your nose, running down your back, and down the back of your pants.
This is when you must fight through all the negative gremlins running through your head and refocus yourself. But nothing helps your mindset more than when you start catching bass, even if they are not the size you need to win the event. Just getting bites gives you reason to have hope that at some point you'll find some bigger bass. This tends to keep you in tune and alert, making it easier to stay in the right frame of mind. But when you're not getting bites, and it's hotter than a frying pan full of Crisco, frustration starts to set in, and your mind starts to drift.
It's also when you are constantly trying to figure out what technique will work the best. Should I be throwing a topwater bait, a crankbait or maybe a spinnerbait, or do I need to tie on a good Texas rigged worm and go to work? Do I need to be fishing shallow or deep brush tops in 20 feet of water? But no matter what I decide, nothing seems to be working and did I mention IT'S HOT!
Summertime fishing can be more of a mental challenge than any other time of year. It's the time of year for tournament anglers when we go "trash fishing." Now what is trash fishing? This is when you cannot seem to figure out any sort of pattern but can still catch fish on several different baits using many different techniques.
For me at Sam Rayburn this past June, I was totally locked in on a trash fishing pattern. I caught fish on a topwater bait, a spinnerbait, a crankbait, a Texas rigged worm and a jerkbait. Five different baits employing 5 different techniques! Here's the remarkable thing about this particular day. Five times during the day, I picked up a different bait and caught a bass on the very first cast with that bait! That has never happened to me before!
But that's what trash fishing is all about, catching bass on several different baits. It is a typical summer pattern, if you even want to call it a pattern. So, the next time you're struggling to catch fish on one of those hot summer days, don't load the boat and go home, tie on ALL your favorite baits and go trash fishing.
Till next time, good luck, good fishing and be sure to wear your sunscreen and good protective clothing because Melanoma does not discriminate.
Steve Graf
Angler's Perspective
