Hopefully someone is fishing today!

[Hammer time]

40 minutes ago, Champ188 said:

Couldn't agree more. That's the tendency everywhere, but especially on highland reservoirs like Table Rock and Bull Shoals.

Especially on the Rock!

[Champ188]

11 minutes ago, Hammer time said:

Especially on the Rock!

Another quirky thing about The Rock is that on some of the darkest days when you'd think for sure they'd be feeding up, they'll be looking down and chewing the dickens out of a jig, Ned or shaky head. And I've seen them looking up on some pretty bright days. Hard to tell about them sometimes. Just don't get "Champ Syndrome" and get your mind set on catching them a certain way and not be willing to adjust when it doesn't happen the way you want.

[Hammer time]

39 minutes ago, Champ188 said:

Another quirky thing about The Rock is that on some of the darkest days when you'd think for sure they'd be feeding up, they'll be looking down and chewing the dickens out of a jig, Ned or shaky head. And I've seen them looking up on some pretty bright days. Hard to tell about them sometimes. Just don't get "Champ Syndrome" and get your mind set on catching them a certain way and not be willing to adjust when it doesn't happen the way you want.

That's some of the best advice I've heard and learned over the years. 

Contrairy to many applications, the Rock can change daily, as all bodies of water.

I have realized that fishing your strengths is not the approach to be successful, you must adapt to the conditions and approach each situation as needed.  You have to change your approach and presentation.

Imo, the bass are either in a negative, passive or aggressive mood, so being able to entice a strike, being a 1 in strike zone to 8 ft zone is the most important . 

When you break it down, putting your bait in the strike zone is key regardless of conditions or applications.

Thats just my opinion.

[Donna G]

8 hours ago, gruber said:

You sound depressed Champ, don't let it get to ya, maybe you need a hug but I think Donna should give it to ya because it would be creepy if I did.......

He gets hugs and kisses and foot rubs every day.  So far it hasn't seemed to help us catch more fish, but he keeps promising it will.

[1farmer]

1 hour ago, Donna G said:

He gets hugs and kisses and foot rubs every day.  So far it hasn't seemed to help us catch more fish, but he keeps promising it will.

possible problem=foot rubs

[Champ188]

12 hours ago, 1farmer said:

possible problem=foot rubs

Shut it, farmer   

[Champ188]

15 hours ago, Hammer time said:

I have realized that fishing your strengths is not the approach to be successful, you must adapt to the conditions and approach each situation as needed.  You have to change your approach and presentation.

The pros preach fishing your strengths, and sometimes that's the thing to do. For them, that's MOST of the time because the BASS Elite Series visits the nation's best fisheries at their very prime times. A good portion of their tournaments are held with fish in all three phases of the spawn ... pre-spawn, spawn and post-spawn. With all that going on, there are fish to be had by just about any reasonable method at all. Granted, sometimes they get hit with unfavorable weather or the bite will be off for another reason, but that is the exception rather than the rule.

For us, it's mostly like Hammer Time described above. Sure, some days we can fish our strengths and pound on them, but not always. We have to learn to be proficient at a number things to consistently catch fish on this old lake. I'm not a world-class dropshotter and truth be told, I'd almost rather go home than have to fish with a spoon (unless I'm with Babler and we catch 150 whites in a day's time).

My first order of the day whenever I get to the lake is to figure out what kind of mood the fish are in. So I try to go directly to a place or two where I KNOW they live and see what it takes to get bit. From there, I can expand my horizons (hopefully) and continue learning throughout the day how deep they are, what kind of cover/structure they are using and what kind of feeding mood they are in. You can also experiment with lures, depths, retrieves, etc., to see what it might take to catch better quality fish over numbers, if that's your desire.

Again, as Hammer said, keep an open mind and pay attention to what's going on around you. Not only can things change in a day's time, they can change multiple times within a day.