Posts Tagged ‘Open Water’

Once November rolls around in the upper Midwest, we as fisherman enter a very strange period, as far as activity is concerned. Meaning the angler-not the fish. The fish remain quite active, probably even more so than on the much touted Harvest Moon nights we’ve been programmed to believe hold some mystical status

KISS is a widely known acronym for Keep It Simple Stupid and it seems to have special (although often overlooked) meaning in many aspects of the lives of those like myself who tend to overthink and over-do far too many things. Occasionally it does hit home, but usually after the fact and becomes another lesson not learned soon enough, often forgotten, and with a need to be re-learned more than I care to admit

With all of the uncertainties of early Spring (unpredictable weather, spawning, baitfish runs, etc.) behind us, we can now concentrate on putting some firm and relatively reliable late Spring and early Summer patterns together as walleye’s will become much more responsive and begin to feed in earnest.

As anglers, we often find ourselves depending much too heavily on what’s “supposed” to work, in any given set of circumstances. The problem with this is that there are no absolutely hard and fast rules that will apply to all situations…at all times. All of us have been thoroughly and painfully taught this lesson more than once. When we are truly most vulnerable to a poor outing is when we “think” we have them figured out. You know what typically results.

As we put the month of September behind us; too many of us consider this to be the final chapter of another open water fishing season. As most of us have strong interests in several forms of outdoor activities, such as hunting…fishing often takes a backseat to preparations for the upcoming seasons.

As we begin another open water fishing season, I would encourage you to do something a little different this year and break free from your traditional methods, keep an open mind and try some unfamiliar tactics. Perhaps do so in some new locations, and even some waters you haven’t been on.

As the days are growing increasingly shorter and we are inching ever closer to the beginning of another hunting season; we sometimes lose sight of all the potentially good to extremely good open water fishing that is left to be had. Real beauty of this is that your tourist types are long gone, along with the frustration they bring. Can be downright peaceful and leaves you to concentrate on finding and catching fish.

In our quest to catch walleye’s, easily the most important skill any successful angler must have is the ability to actually feel a bite. Without this, all the time, effort, and resources we have expended to get to this point are futile. Yes, some folks seem to have a little more natural sensitivity in their hands, but unless you possess some sort of physical handicap, we all possess the same basic senses.

With hunting season now fully upon us, many of you simply cannot-or will not pull yourself away from your land based quarry long enough to give the fin portion of fins and feathers any serious attention. Once the smoke poles come out, the fishing poles go completely unattended. Nowhere is that more true than in South Dakota where
everything relating to Pheasants becomes all encompassing. But…by keeping an open mind and with a minimum of effort, we can indeed have it all.

The ability to maintain the attitude that you are going to catch fish every time you hit the water is the largest X factor in a successful outing. Without this, you are just putting in your time in, and hoping for the best. The old saying that the fish are always biting somewhere generally holds true. It is our job to find these fish and present a bait to them in a manner that will elicit a positive result them connecting with our hook.