The Fear of Calm Days
There are probably no worse conditions to fish in than the days where it is dead calm; the problem is the summer is generally full of these calm days and it adds to the summer time stress of catching fish. No wind, clear water, hot summer time temperatures generally add up to tough fishing conditions and you as a fisherman must make some adjustments.
The changes that must be made is many times in your presentation, many fishermen believe that the first thing they should do is go to some sort of a finesse bait and slow your presentation down. While this has merit if the water is stained it’s not generally the case when you combine the calm with clear water, I believe you don’t want to give bass a chance to see your bait for any extended period-of-time; you need to speed up your retrieve to get the bass to react to your bait going bye. You want them to investigate and chase your bait and if you are moving it slow they will quickly turn away from it if it sits in their face. Speed will be your friend, many times I reel as fast as I can with this mind to cause a reaction bite.
It’s also important that you do not crowd your fish, back off your spot, make long casts so the bass cannot see you in the clear water. Remember bass feed upward that is a proven fact, meaning they are looking upward and can see you from a distance in the clear water. If your sitting on top of them the chances of them biting on a clear calm day is slim; use the rule of a good cast away by just being able to reach their location at the end of your cast.
You also don’t want to overpower the fish with bright bait colors, use natural colors to entice the fish with. If you combine a fast pace retrieve with natural bait colors, you are giving the bass a reason to investigate what went by them and a reason to react to your bait. Think about your surroundings, what you wear, how much noise you make and how speed can help you might be the edge you need to have a successful day when we hit the dog days of summer.
Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service
www.fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice.com
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Email: bassguide@comcast.net
Call: 256 759 2270
Capt. Mike Gerry