Don't Be Afraid, Change Your Game

If you’ve been fishing for a while without much luck, maybe it’s time to change your game.

The other day while taking in a nice fish from the West River, my fishing partner, Pat, tells me he never has much luck with a jerkbait.

Pat is mostly a bait and spinner guy. He’s one of those guys that like to tie on their favorite lure at the start of the day and stick with it.

It is just the nature of anglers, including myself. The thought is we’ve hooked fish with this favorite lure before, so it will probably hook fish again. But you have different water conditions, different weather conditions and different times of the year when you have to be willing to change your game. Saying you don't have much luck with a certain lure probably means you don’t fish it enough.

Pat shows off a nice striped bass after "changing his game." (Donnie Cooke photo)

You have to get it in your head to make a change to see if the fish what a different presentation, color or lure. Aside from the possibility of filling your boat with fish, it also gives you the opportunity to learn different types of fishing.

Don’t be afraid to try something different; it might land you the big fish of the day.

---