The Successful Angler’s Virtue: Paying Attention To Details
When I bait hooks with night crawlers, I always pinch the end off. This makes the crawler a shorter/smaller and easier target for the walleye to eat. We miss fewer fish that way and the 3 inch length represents the common food in a walleye’s diet. It’s one of those small details in a walleye fishing presentation that makes a huge difference.
About half way through an outing a couple of weeks ago, and after baiting everyone’s hooks 5 or 10 times…one of the guests asked if he could bait his own hook. I asked him: “did you see how I was doing it?” To which he replied: “yup.” Many of my anglers like to give it a try, so I tossed him a worm and kept busy with trolling and netting and coaching and netting and everything else that’s happening on board. Sure enough, I noticed that one of the gang was not catching any fish even though everybody else was. I quickly started trying to figure out why he might be slowing down. After I had gone through my trouble shooting list, it dawned on me that he was the guest that was baiting his own hook! I had him reel his line in immediately, only to discover that his nigh crawler had been stretched out to be about 13 inches long! He didn’t pinch the end of his worm off, so it got way too long for the fish. Not only was the night crawler too long, it was bunched up on his hook and it was most likely spinning and tumbling, which walleye rarely care for. 
I had a similar instance take place about 5 or 6 years ago – I had taken a group of guys out that were excited to be fishing, and we spent the afternoon catching walleye. I vividly remember taking them out, because they had hired me to learn how to fish the lake and to get a head – start on the fishing techniques that I used. ( A lot of fishing groups do this so they can repeat the effort while they are around for the rest of the week.) The walleye really wanted green spinners on that trip. The guys had a great time and were excited to get out and fish the rest of the week on their own. Just before they departed, one of the guys spoke up. He asked me what color I recommended they fish with, and then they asked me how deep they should fish. I was really quite amazed. It was beyond me how all 4 guests had missed these details after spending 4 hours on the lake with me!
Now, this is not me being critical of my guests, but rather, a realization that not everyone fishes with every detail in mind. On an instructional level – it’s a shout out for those of you who love to fish and want to develop your fishing skills. If you want to consistently catch fish, you have to pay attention to the details! I get a lot of questions about hook and lure color: “Does it matter?” My answer: “absolutely!” “What about bait, does it have to be alive?” Again, “absolutely!” These may sound like elementary elements, but they are details that are often overlooked by new and regular fishermen. Once you catch your first bite, do not forget to look over absolutely everything that is happening with that catch. Take note of the boat speed, the size and weight of the catch, the colors of the hook and lure, the length of the leader, especially the size, color and type of bait – when it comes to successful fishing, every one of these details matter. Don’t believe the lie that the catch was accidental or just plain luck – trust your skills and track the details. The fish have needs and when you dial into their needs, you are going to have a good fishing experience.
It’s the details that make good fishing happen. It’s the angler that pays attention to every detail that succeeds most often. Sure, it’s nice to have a lucky day on the lake, but wouldn’t it be better if you were able to repeat these positive fishing experiences whenever you head out to the lake? Developing an eye for detail is a prerequisite to advanced-level fishing and it’s the fishing virtue that pays dividends on otherwise tough days.
Good luck on the lakes this fall!
Ross Hagemeister
Meister Giude Service
