2010 » April » 20

…OR, do you you stay with what has worked in the past? Sometimes they are one in the same and sometimes they are not.


By Chris Heller

A lot of times in this game of river fishing….the method or tackle that worked yesterday to catch the fish might not be the thing that works today or tomorrow. Even if you’ve used one method, bait, lure, yarn color or egg/shrimp cure before that you KNOW works most of the time….you’re still going to be faced with this question at one point or another: Should I switch up to what the other guy is using?

I remember an anecdote once from when I was learning how to be a better bass fisherman (yes I started out my life of fishing with Bass)…..and not learning like ‘this is how you cast’……or ‘this is how you mend a backlash’…but rather really learning how to bass fish. I’ve said before that bass anglers can make some of the best salmon and steelhead fishermen in many cases.

Want proof of this claim? Just look at Tim Rooney for example. Or Craig Newby. Or Big Jake J Money Reardon. Yes, even at his young age I am including him in that sentence. These anglers all primarily bass fished. Shoot, Sal comes from that background as well. Me too. Bass fishing is extremely technical and is more than the jokes we make about pork rinds, frog tails & dudes that talk with a strong southern drawl.

Anyhow, while I was learning to be a better bass fisherman from my very first tackle manager when I was 17 years old he said something I’ll never, ever forget….and it’s typically true of ALL genres and methods of fishing, not just bass.

He said “1 fish doesn’t make a pattern. But more than one? You have to look at that.” Dave Slocum 1992

I always find myself thinking about those words when I’m on a river fishing steelhead. Sometimes salmon. But mostly steelhead. Think about it: We hunt steelhead just like we hunt bass. Steelhead can be extremely territorial and will hit the same bait more than once in a short period of time…like a bass. The two fish have similar personalities despite their polar opposite living environments……and because of that this anecdote becomes relative, to me anyway.

Do you think of something similar before you decide to switch up your rig? For example: If you are fishing with a buddy and you see him/her take down 2 steelhead with the same bait….do you switch up at that point or do you wait to see if A) your rig finally produces or B) they hook up again.

What about if that same person goes for two more fish in a short period of time? Do you switch up at that point to what they are using or do you decide it’s just ‘not your day’?

Running this blog, along with my day job of selling tackle, allows me the opportunity to fish with lots of different anglers…..of all skill levels. I find that some people will switch up right away to something that is working after one fish…..and others it takes a couple more fish to convince. There are even a few people I know that just won’t switch up from their same ol’ way of doing things.

I’m curious and I thought it might be a cool thread to start: Do you switch up to what’s working? If so, how many fish does it take you to throw away what you are doing and pick up the next man’s bag?

Curiously itchy to catch more fish,

Chris ‘h3llcat’ Heller