Maries River

[Al Agnew]

My "fast" with WTDs is about two twitches per second, maybe at times a little faster yet. This is with Sammys from the 85 to the 115. With the 100 and 115, each twitch makes the lure move about 1.5 body lengths. With the 85 (modified by taking the big center weight out and re-sealing the body), it moves about two body lengths. I'll slow it down a little bit, but seldom as slow as one twitch per second. I'll also experiment with an erratic cadence with occasional SHORT pauses along with speeding it up and slowing it down. And also, after working it through the zone where I think the fish should be, I'll start reeling it much faster while still twitching it, which will make it zig zag while moving fast, almost like a surface crankbait. There are lots of things you can do with them in special situations, such as hard twitch-soft twitch-hard twitch-soft twitch, which makes it zig farther than it zags, and so you can make it veer toward cover or even veer under an overhanging limb. But I can't seem to master that with my two twitch per second retrieve speed, so I have to slow it down to get it to veer. Kinda like the default retrieve is simple muscle memory, but to do the hard-soft twitch I have to think about it.

[smallmouthjoe]

Hey Al, how long do you experiment with a particular retrieve until you try something different? Or do you just hit a fishy spot multiple times with different retrieves. I can never find or stick with something that I feel is the best, I'm always trying different things feeling like I might be missing out on something that will really appeal to them.

[creek wader]

Well, I'm very new at this "WTD" tech niche. I'm still learning. To start with I have no rhythm (can't dance to the beat). I also, can't walk and chew gum at the same time. That being said. My retrieves have been very erratic. No two retrieves the same. But, what I have found out a faster retrieve is better. The fish go crazy and the blow ups are a hoot. So, while I'm learning, the fish are making it fun for me.

I think I'm going to give the fish in the Maries a rest, for the year. There's another river close by, that I haven't fished this year. I think I'll work the "WTD" on it. I'll let you know how I do ... ...wader

[eric1978]

Well, I'm very new at this "WTD" tech niche. I'm still learning. To start with I have no rhythm (can't dance to the beat). I also, can't walk and chew gum at the same time. That being said. My retrieves have been very erratic. No two retrieves the same. But, what I have found out a faster retrieve is better. The fish go crazy and the blow ups are a hoot. So, while I'm learning, the fish are making it fun for me.

I think I'm going to give the fish in the Maries a rest, for the year. There's another river close by, that I haven't fished this year. I think I'll work the "WTD" on it. I'll let you know how I do ... ...wader

Walking the Dog takes a lot of practice to perfect, but once you get it, you get it. The only thing that's still tough for me is when I'm in a tight spot and I can't keep my rod tip down.

[eric1978]

My "fast" with WTDs is about two twitches per second, maybe at times a little faster yet. This is with Sammys from the 85 to the 115. With the 100 and 115, each twitch makes the lure move about 1.5 body lengths. With the 85 (modified by taking the big center weight out and re-sealing the body), it moves about two body lengths. I'll slow it down a little bit, but seldom as slow as one twitch per second.

Yep, he's right. I got my watch out and really looked at how long a second is, and 1 twitch per second is slow. 2 is much more like it. Once again I find Al's attention to detail is far superior to mine. I guess that's why his paintings look like photos. Good call Al.

[Al Agnew]

Hey Al, how long do you experiment with a particular retrieve until you try something different? Or do you just hit a fishy spot multiple times with different retrieves. I can never find or stick with something that I feel is the best, I'm always trying different things feeling like I might be missing out on something that will really appeal to them.

I kinda go spot by spot. It's really easy on small wading creeks. You usually have pools separated by riffles. Every pool holds fish unless it's so small and shallow it's obvious there can't be any there. So if I fish a pool one way and don't catch anything, I fish the next pool with a different retrieve. On bigger, floatable streams, if I haven't gotten any action after a couple dozen casts, I try something different. If I'm on a familiar stretch of river where I KNOW all the spots that usually produce fish, and I don't get any action in one of those spots, then I immediately try something different.

The hardest thing to do is experiment when you ARE catching fish. Sometimes I just go with the flow and keep doing what is working, but sometimes I'll deliberately try different retrieves then just to see if anything else will work, or work better.

You also have to be alert to what the fish may be telling you. It's like one time when I was floating the river in early spring, and the water temp was only in the low 50s. I was using a jig and fishing slowly in the colder water, figuring the fish wouldn't be chasing stuff very much. The first two fish I caught were while I was burning the jig back to the canoe to make another cast after I'd fished it through the sweet spot. So I switched to a buzzbait and caught fish like crazy. So with WTD lures, maybe a fish hits while you're getting out a backlash. Or maybe one hits as you're reeling in quickly for the next cast. Or maybe one hits while the canoe is drifting toward the lure so fast that you aren't able to catch up the slack to play it fast. Such things might be telling you to speed up or slow down.