Fish Like a GIRL

It is likely obvious from the title of my column every week, not to mention much of my content, but I am into fishing just a little bit. I have actually cut back on my tournament schedule in the last few years. I usually fish around 15 tournaments a year now. And yes, that is actually down from the maximum I used to fish. For years I was on the water every weekend and at least one week night per week. I would spend up to 30 hours a week in the boat. Not a bad life, if I do say so myself. The last few years I did that, though, it did start to wear on me. I know what people are thinking: fishing? Wearing on you? But tournament fishing is a little bit different animal from fun fishing. And even if I was out on the water but not fishing a tournament, I was likely pre-fishing for an upcoming event. Tournament anglers are usually standing all day, possibly with a butt seat to lean on. We are also casting hundreds of times per day. The weather does not matter on tournament day and sometimes the elements can take their toll. It may be incredibly hot and humid, or it may be raining, windy and cold. I have even fished tournaments in the snow. There is also the fact that, on tournament days, I am now up by midnight to get ready, feed the dogs, take care of all of my responsibilities with them, and to get to the landing in time to get a decent parking space for both the boat and the truck.

Tournaments can be mentally challenging, too. This is especially true for those days when I am not catching fish. I wonder what I am doing wrong. I wonder if I should change baits — which I do a lot. I normally have a huge pile of soft plastics on the bottom of the boat by the end of the day. I wonder if I am fishing in the right areas or fishing the right, “deal” as anglers say. Even on days when I am catching fish, I wonder if I could be catching more or bigger fish if I moved or changed tactics. Every tournament angler goes through that to some extent, I believe. An that is why we need our pre-fishing time.

For those new to the term pre-fishing, it is essentially fishing’s version of practice. Just as with any other sport, anglers practice before their events. Practice is a bit of a weird word, though, and not truly indicative of what we are out there doing, so we use the word, “pre-fish.”

I suppose there is an element of practice involved. We are often working on new techniques or trying different ways of fishing. I would classify that part of it as practice. I also used to practice while on land. I still do that to this day. With long winters (usually) between fishing seasons, an angler’s mechanics can get rusty. I can often be found in the yard in the early spring standing on a five gallon bucket pitching to various targets across the yard. It may be a stick or a rock or a bare spot in the grass. Because mechanics can get sloppy when they are not used, I feel like it’s a good idea to get back to using them before hitting the water for the first time. My accuracy straight out of the gate in the beginning of the year is nothing like it was when I put the rods away at the end of the last season. The time to get that back, in my estimation, is before I hit the water the first time.

Casting accuracy is important, too, but to me pitching accuracy is much more important. Being able to lay a jig quietly in the water within inches of a limb of a downed tree can be important. If an angler is off by just a couple of inches, or the jig’s entry into the water makes too much commotion, it can scare of a fish that might have filled out a limit. Being super accurate is important in situations like that.

Skipping is something that I am not completely proficient at, but when my late husband Rod was alive he could skip nearly anything “a country mile,” as the saying goes. He could also skip a lure with a bait caster which I have never done successfully, at least not on purpose. Skipping is just like skipping a rock — sort of. I find skipping rocks a bit easier, but the idea is similar. 

Some baits are more buoyant and skip better than others, so for those who want to try it for the first time, think about bigger plastics and things of that nature. Or think of wacky rigged weightless worms. Weightless baits can be harder to cast, so I would definitely recommend starting with a spinning reel set up for those. 

In theory, it seems fairly easy. An angler holds the rod tip about six inches from the water, makes a back swing, and comes forward, releasing the bait to allow it to skip across the water’s surface. Easy, right? It seems to be, but it took me a while to get the technique down to the point where I am fairly reliable with it.

Skipping is mostly used to get under docks, boathouses or even trees that are hanging over the water. This is how I use it at least 90% of the time. But it should also be thought of as simply a different way to present the bait to a fish. 

They can get used to seeing baits coming straight down, but something that skips across the water and makes a little commotion might just be enough to attract their attention and make them want to check it out.

As far as I am concerned,  there is no practice for skipping that will completely imitate what happens on the water. Practice can be done in a pool, of course, but short of that, a hard surface such as a concrete driveway will have to suffice for many of us. 

I will use a jig that I am not super fond of or maybe an older lead sinker that I no longer use for fishing (side note: I still have not figured out a good use for all of my old lead sinkers since switching over to tungsten) when practicing my skipping. Obviously, whatever I’m throwing has no choice but to skip across the concrete, but just by the feel of it I can kind of get an idea if my cast would have given the bait an opportunity to skip, or if it would have just crashed into the water uselessly.

It is better than nothing, but obviously not perfect practice.

Sometimes during the offseason, I think it is just a matter of having a rod in my hand. It just makes the time off the water go faster and makes me think of warm weather and soft water. With the weather the way it has been, my neighbors will soon be chuckling at me and asking if I am catching any in the backyard as I stand on my bucket pitching a jig at various targets. And now it’s time to go change line on some reels…

Beckie Gaskill may be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].