FISH WITH GARLIC BUTTER SAUCE

 A sublimely simple yet essential fish recipe for every campfire cook and kitchen commander to have in their repertoire.  Quicker than most traditional fried fish recipes and requires only a minimum of ingredients to make a mouth watering meal. 

I've also found the garlic butter sauce to be divinely suited to dip fried potatoes in so if that is a side dish you are also planning to make, then make extra sauce.

Everything is better with butter.

As for the cooking oil, that too is a matter of preference, but my personal favorite is corn oil. 

 INGREDIENTS

FOR THE FRIED FISH

• 12 oz. firm white fish fillets:
• salt
• ground black pepper
• 3-4 dashes cayenne pepper (depending on your personal preference for heat)
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 2-3 tablespoons cooking oil
• lemon wedges

THE GARLIC BUTTER DIPPING SAUCE

• 1/2-2/3 stick salted butter, melted (4-6 tablespoons)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1-1 1/2 tablespoon chopped parsley

Cut the fish into smaller pieces as you'll be frying them.  Season the fish fillets with the salt, back pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste.  Coat fish with cornstarch and set aside.

Make the garlic butter dipping sauce by combining all the ingredients together then set aside

Heat up skillet at a medium temperature setting and add oil.  Once oil is hot, gently add the fish pieces in a single layer.  Fry each side until it is a gently golden brown. When removing from oil, be careful not to break the pieces.

As with all fried fish, it is always best to place them on a paper towel and allowed to drain any excess oil. 

At this point, you can either use some of the butter sauce and toss the fish with it, or you can simply dip each fish piece into individual garlic butter sauce served in separate bowls. 

NIGHT SHIFT IN THE ARCTIC OR JERKING AROUND THE ICEBERGS

Without fail, I typically find myself the only guy at the local lake fishing after Halloween.  Usually its before even that.  If I do see someone else fishing, they almost always call it quits as the sun sets and the cold comes calling.  Something about those first chilled autumn breezes and lots of anglers shrivel and retreat back into their winter dens.

The ones who do stay and fish near me after sunset don't seem willing to brave much past 7 pm, regardless of how much I iterate that the fish don't typically move into the shallows until after that the first part of fall.

So far this fall I can't count the number of times one of these guys has picked up their gear, made the short trip to their vehicle and loaded it up and before they are even out of eyesight, I'm setting the hook into some gravel lizards or bass.

Make no mistake.  Night fishing in freezing weather is almost always a little sucky no matter how well you dress.  I cannot say its fast paced or even action packed most of the time.  No.  Recalling my military service years,  night fishing in the cold is more akin to forced long marches across grueling terrain.  Its a grind, mentally and physically.  Numb stiff fingers, frosty cheeks, feet like ice blocks, heavy clothing hindering movement.  Throw in some freezing rain, snow and a nice stiff 20 -30 mph wind and you got yourself a literal suck-fest.

But the fish are still biting.  Really they are. 

These days, I'm not much of a live bait kind of guy.  Know it works and could probably save me some time fish-wise, but trying to keep it fresh and alive is not a hassle I even want to consider.  Heresy to most walleye guys but  its not very cost effective from my point of view.  Nor do I want to sit on shore and try to watch a rod tip at night with any amount of wind blowing.  I'd sooner watch paint dry.  

Nope.  I'll stick to the jerkbaits, long minnow baits, jigs and shad raps.  Throw in a few blade baits and some plastic moxies and I'll be a happy angler.  Keeps me active and focused and it makes it easier (but not impossible) to ignore the cold.

Right now, a day after Thanksgiving, the lake still hasn't froze up yet, but the temperatures are getting closer to that fateful and utterly inevitable day.  Maybe another week or two and I'll be scrounging for open water to fish during the daylight hours.  

In the meantime, I'll keep prowling the shorelines for "biters".  Hunting for active fish that have almost forgotten the pressure they had put on them during the warmer months.  

I use the word active fish but its relative to the season.  Active in this case means fish willing to hammer a jerkbait or jig without much cajoling.

Under the cover of darkness is the best time of the day to really pull in some big fish. I've found over the last few years that the adage is certainly true.  Throw in the colder months and fish trying to fatten up for winter and there are definitely nights that will make you forget about the cold.  

So if you do decide to venture into the icy darkness of your local fishing hole, here are some definite things you must consider.

• Make sure to venture into the area doing the daylight hours.  Make some casts to identify snags and other structure and orientate yourself to know where they are at.
• Dress warmer than you need to.  Once the sun drops, so does the temperature and usually pretty fast.  You're also on the waters edge and any wind is going to cut through your clothing pretty easily.
• Use a headlamp.  Forgot about lanterns.  This is stealth guerilla style fishing.  And when you do use your headlamp for something, make sure your back is to the water to prevent its light from shining out over the water. .  Why?  The water has already started to clear due to the cooler temps, the plankton and algae have nearly disappeared.  Any lights that are nearby, the fish have become accustomed too.  Anything out of the ordinary or unusual will send them back into the depths and your fishing spot for the night is compromised.  Note however, this is not usually a problem fishing rivers.  Moving water refracts light differently and you can get away with it in my experience
• Hand warmers of any type are a godsend.  You haven't lived until you've tried to tie good knots with frozen fingers. Good times....good times...
• Heavy or warm waterproof boots.  The ground is usually frozen or close to it.  Standing on it in the darkness can numb your feet quicker than you realize.
• Be prepared for long stretches of no action....none...zip...nada.  When these fish come in, its usually in a short quick lived spurts.
• The moon can affect their behavior, especially its brightness during the fall.  The air is crisp and so is the moonlight.  I've usually had better luck this time of year when the moon is non-existent.  Especially fishing jerkbaits.  The fish seem to home in on the rattles better.
• Grow a beard.  Seriously.  They help keep your face warmer.  
• Travel light.  A few rods, a stringer perhaps, maybe a net.  You don't need your whole tacklebox.  A few removable trays in a small lightweight duffle-bag is really all you need.  Figure out what you need to fish the areas you choose and then minimize as much as you can.  
• Be prepared to clean your rod tip of ice build-up.  Its going to happen and will hamper your casting ability.  As my friend Sheridan pointed out, use rods with large eyelets especially on the rod tips.  This helps prevent the ice from building up so fast.

No doubt many of you have read the articles on wading at night in the fall for big walleyes.  I won't disagree that its an  extremely effective tactic, but its not something I am willing to do.  

I am older now and my balance is crap.  The last thing I want or need is to slip or fall over and have my nuggets immersed in a cold bath of lake water and then having to get the waders off and making my way back to the warmth of my truck. before I get hypothermia.  

I urge caution when considering that option.  Especially if you have little knowledge of the areas you intend to fish.

All in all, night fishing in the fall is very rewarding.  Especially when your effort pays off.  The fish tend to be bigger and thicker, and when they do bite, they are not usually shy, they tend towards aggressive.  

Above all, be safe, use prudence and be stealthy.  The fish are there.  Closer than they have been all year.  All you got to do is brave the cold and go out after them.

FAILING TO PLAN IS PLANNING TO FAIL

So I have a ton of things on my mind going into the holiday season.  Not holiday shopping because I'm pretty sure Lana and I both have ours done already.  Thank heavens because as much as I love Christmas, don't think I'm risking this Covid-blizzard anymore than I have to.

My thoughts are starting to turn the direction of lure creation again. As well as a lot of research into salmon fishing, downriggers, walleye and trout behavior, trip planning and some other minutiae most of which no one but me wants to understand anyway. 

I look for natural baitfish patterns and try to put my own creative spin on them and try to plan when and where I plan to use them.  Matching the hatch so to speak.  Not always a great option, but as I've learned over the years, those patterns stay fairly consistent. 

I'm a firm believer in planning.  Lure creation, research and trip planning are no different.  Its the planning aspect of angling in general I feel gets lost in the excitement of getting on the water.  When anglers don't feel the need to do some homework on new waters before they even get into their vehicle and drive to it, the odds of a "skunking" increase greatly.  And really who needs that?

So here I segue towards the meat of this little article.  Don't know about some of you, but I'm pretty damn happy when plans come together, especially on a lake I've never fished before.  While the trip might be amazing, for me it loses a little luster if I go and get skunked.  Scenery and camaraderie don't fill up the frying pan or send your heart racing as line peels off your reel.

Think of each trip, each lake as a puzzle.  In order to successfully complete that puzzle, it would be helpful to have all the pieces.  

Now having all the pieces before hand is never going to happen to most anglers.  I've been fishing for

almost 50 years and I'm still waiting for it to happen.  

But what does happen is that I take the few pieces I have, put them together and extrapolate several possibilities to try and complete it.  In other words, to catch nice fish.

Here's where it should get interesting for folks.  

Failure is usually looked at in a negative manner.  Indeed, the whole premise of this article is to encourage people to plan to avoid failure.  But sometimes, no matter how much we may plan, conditions happen which make failure a certainty.

This is where we all have two main options:

• Roll with the failure and forget about it
• Analyze the failure and try to learn something from it

The first option, for me, is unacceptable.  I'm a result-orientated person when it comes to angling.  I keep very few but I love catching a bunch of them. I,m also an opportunist and failure is an opportunity to improve my "end game".  Not going to let that pass me by.

So, with that in mind, I understood fall and spring were the worse times of year for me even though they are typically noted as being the best times to catch big fish.  They are usually close to shore and accessible to shore anglers.  But there are some drawbacks to these seasons. 

 For spring fishermen, most of us are coming out of that winter "funk" and getting on fish can and often does take some doing.  You may have a few honey holes you've found over the years and know just exactly what choices you have regarding presentations and if fish are going to be there or not.   Still doesn't mean you have all the pieces, but its a fair start.  But what if the options you decide upon net zero fish? Refer back to option #2...

I can tell you from experience, especially when it came to walleye fishing, that I had to ask myself some hard questions about what I was doing, where I was doing it, what I was using and a whole slew of other questions.  I basically had to retrain my way of thinking to find the correct "mode" and I am still not sure I've totally got into the groove.

So after the last few skunkings last year I opted to get serious for walleye and salmon seriously this year. 

I dug up old articles dating from the late 60's through today from my fishing magazine archive, did my research, analyzed my particular lakes of choice and made some decisions on what to use where and when.  This was another reason for the continuous days.  I needed to see and to learn the hard way, to verify results and failures because Im a firm believer in experience being the best teacher.

End result?

I did catch more walleye than I ever have out of a lake I hadn't caught a walleye in for almost 14 years.  Got me a 25 incher, a 23, a bunch of 21's and a host of smaller keepers and unders.  Had some really good days at Oahe and Chamberlain.  Not too shabby but still plenty of room for improvement.  

The salmon.  I put 2 in the boat , lost 2 chinooks at the boat, and popped a 30 incher from shore..  Not exactly the results I was hoping for but still better than the year prior so it is improvement.  

Why the difference?

Lots of reasons.  For starters, the days I can salmon fish are fewer and farther between given the distance I have to travel to get to the fishery.  Second,  there aren't exactly a lot of articles pertaining to fishing salmon on the upper Missouri Reservoirs.  There are some applicable methods used on other fisheries but not much.  The Dakota reservoirs are not the great lakes or the Pacific Northwest coast.  Additionally, the guys that are successful tend to be a little tight lipped.  There were a lot of days spent fishing for salmon with "zero" at the end of the day...a bitter pill to swallow especially when you drive 5 hours one way to fish for them.

Contrast that with the trove of walleye information available on the Dakota reservoirs and reservoirs in general to those who want to learn to be more successful by angling pros.  

And still I plan. Month after month, if I am not out on the water or crafting lures, I'm digging through that archive of information, pouring through older notes, putting together multiple strategies and then ultimately putting them into action to see how they work.

Bottom line?  Put in a bit more effort and you'll see your success rates on the water improve.  Time and experience are the best teachers but observation and research are your best friends.  Use them all to your advantage.

See you on the water

COLOR RECIPES FOR SOFT PLASTIC BAITS

 

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Just stumbled across this gold mine of  information in an old folder on my laptop.  Came across this list of soft plastic color recipes a while back on a lure making forum and saved them for future reference then conveniently forgot all about them. 

Once I finally took the steps I needed to buy the molds, colors, plastisol etc, a few months ago I started looking for this file. 

Need some better file organization.  

Since these have come from anglers and bait makers all across the globe, you are going to see some discrepancies in measuring, naming and definitely see some differences in brands of plastic and coloring.   

Use what you have on hand, or if you have a color wheel, you can do some research and see if you can match the called for color with what you have on hand and go from there.

Be safe with that plastisol, the stuff is no joke and will burn the hell out of you if you aren't careful.  Above all, enjoy

Berkley Camo 
1 cup plastic
4 drops of moss green
3 drops of watermelon 
2 drops oxblood 
now the key I found to give it the brownish effect was the brown Fleck and the gold fleck added into it. I only had .035 and it should be fine fleck 

Berzerk Berry
8 oz Plastic
6 drops White Pearlescent
5 drops Black Grape
4 drops Purple
2 Drops Red 
Add the pearl before heating...Mix Colors in thoroughly.
I like green and blue flake in this one...The color looks crazy in the water, it works well when the sun is up.

Basic Green Pumpkin
4 ounces of plastic
6 drops watermelon
6 drops pumpkinseed
desired amount of medium black flake

Bluegill
Plastic : 1-2 ounces of plastic
Mix : black color-add 1 drop of color to plastic until you get a light to medium shade of smoke.
.035 black glitter
.035 gold glitter 
.035 blue glitter 
put the same amount of black and blue glitter in the plastic. 
put only a very light amount of gold glitter in the plastic. 

Bubblegum
6 oz plastic
5 drops red
10 white,
Turn this into cotton candy by adding red and blue glitter

BLUEGILL

4 ounces Plastic
1 Drop Black (smoke)
Just a touch (or desired amount) of the following glitter: small blue, medium black and gold, large green. Use less large green than the other flakes. 
Another version:
Same as above, but drop the blue flake and pour a light blue vein instead.

Bubblegum
Plastic : 1/2 cup @ 4 oz. 
5-6 drops Florescent Pink
2 drops white 
Notes : The florescent pink must be added before you heat the plastic.

Bullfrog

1 cup plastisol
20 drops yellow 
2 drops black 
fine green glitter 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon
large black glitter 1/4 teaspoon 
fine black glitter 1/4 teaspoon 

Cotton Candy 
Plastic : 4 ozs. 
1 drop pumpkin
1 drop red,
green, red, black, & blue glitter.

Culprit Red Shad
1) black color (with or without red flake) with some red Hi-lite powder mixed in...this is the dark back 
2) strawberry, again with the red HL powder mixed in, usually some red flake...the red belly 
***I frequently adjust the red belly color by adding some drops of black, blue or purple to darken it a bit. Sorry, but this is strictly a "to taste" recipe. 

Frog Formula
4 oz Plastic
8 drops lc kudzu green
add 1/4 teaspoon of medium black flake. This is the top of the frog 4 oz Plastic
1/4 teaspoonful white pearl powder. This is the bottom layer of the frog. 

Ghost Hologram 
1/2 cup plastic 
1/8 tsp Large black Flk. 
1/8 tsp Small Silver Hologram Flk.

Golden Punkin' Seed
8 oz plastic
5 drops pumpkin seed 
10 drops flo yellow 
Add 1/4 tsp med. black flake
dont forget 1/8 tsp pearl white
Alt recipie instead of using flo yello use chartreuce, then substutie the pearl white with green hi lite's 

Gourd Green
Root Beer or Amber Brown with medium and large green flake will both make nice Gourd Green colors. Pumpkin works too.

Gourd Green
get real close to Zoom's gourd green using LC pumpkin and medium green flake.
I don't remember an exact formula for it, but use it sparingly and you'll get there, I am thinking around 3-4 drops per 8 OZ. Try adding some small black flake too, really cool effect. 

Green Weenies
Mine is amber brown on top and lime green on the bottom (black & red flake). Another popular one is straight brown over avocado. Makes a darker version
4 oz plastic 
3 drops watermelon 
2 drops Moss Green 
black flake to taste
PART 2 
4 oz plastic
3 drops straight Brown
1 drop Jet Black transparent 
2 drops pumpkinseed. 
NO FLAKE!
You can stick with 6 drops of brown if you have to but the formula above makes a far nicer chocolate

Hot Bubble Gum
8oz. plastic
12 drops bubble gum
8 drops florescent pink

Ice Blue
1 cup plastic 
2 drops blue 
1/2 tsp pearl white powder
1/2 tsp Large Blue Flake 
1/2 tsp Small Silver Holo Flake 

June bug
Plastic : 1 ounce 
add purple color until you reach a medium to medium heavy shade.
add green glitter( enough to your able to see the green shade). 

June Bug
1 1/2 cups plastic
40 drops of black grape
55-60 drops of red

June Bug
Plastic : per ounce of plastic 
add three drops of indigo (black grape).
when plastic is hot stir in green glitter until you get the desired effect. 

Motor Oil Camo 
4 oz Plastic
5 drops natural brown 
20 drops motor oil 
2 drops green 

Motor Oil 
4 oz Plastic
2 drops black
14 drops golden yellow

Motor Oil
4 oz Plastic
2 black 
4 amber 
5 yellow 
10 fluorescent yellow
Add your choice of flake. If you want it just a tad darker, try adding 2 drops of purple.

Motor Oil
1/2 Cup Plastisol 
10 drops Chartruse (must be mixed with plastisol before heating) 
10 drops Motoroil 
If you cut the colorant to 7-8 drops each, the color comes out more on the watermelon side. Add a little fine red flake to this produces a very nice color. 

Motor oil pepper 
1/2 cup plastic
2 drops yellow
1 drop pumpkinseed
1/4 tsp Large Black Flk.
1/16 tsp Small Gold Flk. 

Motoroil Red Color
motor oil red is simply motor oil color with red glitter. 

Motor Oil camo
4 oz. Plastic
5 drops natural brown
20 drops motor oil 
2 drops green 
brown/silver/red/and green glitter 

Motor Oil
4 oz Plastic
2 drops black 
14 drops golden yellow

Mustard Seed 
Plastic : 4 ounces
6 drops Transparent Yellow
4 drops Amber Brown
3 drops White 
black flake 
green hi-lite (optional)

Natural Worm
4 oz. Plastic
4 drops pumpkinseed
1 drop natural brown 
glitter your choice 

Oxblood Lite
4 ounces of plastic
1 drop of purple
1 drop of red

Pearl Peach
8oz. plastic
8 drops bubble gum
4 drops yellow
8 drops minnow silver

Pink

1 cup plastic
6-10 drops red
1-3 drops white
1 cup plastic
4-6 drops of red
silver flake

Pink Shades
3oz Plastic
5 drops red 
3 drops Yellow
3 drops chartreuse

Plum
Plastic : 4 ounces
6 drops Black Grape
5 drops Strawberry 

Purple Camo
4 oz. Plastic 
14 drops purple 
14 drops natural brown
green glitter 

Plum Crazy 
1/2 cup plastic 
2 drops rasberry
3/8 tsp Large Purple Flk.
1/8 tsp Small Gold Flk. 

Rainbow Trout 
In 4 ounces of plastic
Belly: 1/2 teaspoon of pearl white powder, 3 drops red color, large black flake 
Back: 6 drops green color, pinch of blue hi-lite powder, large black and medium holograph (or silver) flake 

RED 
1 cup plastic
20 drops red

Smoke With Flake
Plastic : per ounce add one drop of black per ounce of plastic for light clear smoke and two drops of black per ounce of plastic for a medium smoke color . 
Add silver and black flake to imitate baitfish ,Red to imitate crawfish or another good crawfish imitator is made by adding red,green,black,and copper (or orange)flake to smoke colored baits. This is essentially the Yamamoto grub color #180

Tubeman's Magnetic Wammo Camo 
1 cup plastic
9 drops rootbeer 
13 drops amber 
8 drops carmel 
small red glitter 1/2 tsp (estimated)
small green glitter 1/2 tsp (estimated) 

Transaprent Metallic Green Pumpkin
8 oz Plastic
6 drops Pumpkin 
3 drops Watermelon
3 drops Amber
A SMALL quantity of metallic silver powder (about the size of a match head?)
I like this bait seasoned with either Large Back Flake or LC Holo String Glitter.

Watermelon (dark)
4 oz Plastic
12 drops motoroil
4 drops watermelon
glitter of your choice.

Watermelon Gold
1 cup plastic, 
6 drops Avocado Green,
1/2 tsp Large Black Flake 
3/4 tsp Small Gold Flake 
1/4 tsp Small Silver Hologram Flake

Watermelonseed- NB 
Plastic : 5 gallons
6.8 grams school bus yellow. 
4 grams black. 
1/4 cup small black glitter.
1/4 cup large black glitter. 

Watermelon Candy 
Plastic : 4 ounces 
4 drops MF Watermelon Brown
Lots of small & medium purple flake 
touch of medium red flake 
touch of medium black flake 
touch of medium blue flake 
touch of large green flake 

Watermelon Red 
Plastic : 2oz
2 drops LC watermelon
1/8 tsp fine red glitter 
a hair over 1/8 tsp med black glitter
1/2 tsp salt. 

Yamamoto's Cinnamon 
is just very light brown; 1 drop of brown per every 4 ounces of plastic with medium black flake.

Yamamoto Watermelon with large green flake
1/2 cup Plastic
16 drops watermelon
1 drop black(just added this part to try and darken it up).

Heavy Salt Watermelon
4oz plastic
8 drops Watermelon
4 drops black/grape 

Dark Watermelon
4 oz Plastic
12 drops motoroil
4 drops watermelon
glitter of your choice.

Zoom's Margarita
1/2 cup plastic
8 drops of florescent yellow
large chartreuse and black glitter
medium green and black glitter 
*add flakes to desired amounts. 

Zoom Green Pumpkin
In 4 ounces of plastic
6 drops of watermelon
6 drops pumpkinseed
medium black flake.
You can also add a couple drops of brown to Lure Craft's green pumpkin for a darker effect.

Zoom's Red Bug
4 ounces of Plastic:
Plum (6 drops black grape
5 drops strawberry) 
medium and large green flake 
small copper flake

THE ROUGH CHOP: A STRATEGY FOR STEPPING OUT OF ANGLING COMFORT ZONES INTO UNFAMILIAR WATERS

Farm ponds, rivers, the local creek...you know, those unassuming rural places we all went to,  were my introduction into the sport;  where a wildfire of bold adventurism was stoked and prodded by the waters quicksilver transparency and the mystery each promised yet hid within their shadowy depths.  

Throughout my older youth I fished  whenever  I could, mainly for pleasure and for whatever was biting. Bass and sunfish were usually the main targets as they usually had the largest appetites and were the easiest to catch.  An added bonus was that most of the time, I could see their reactions to my offerings and I watched their behaviors eagerly.  

Catfish, bullhead and carp rounded out the usual list of hard fighting thugs and a few times a year, in mid to late November, my grandfather, dad and uncles would get together for a few nights of sauger and walleye fishing below Gavins Point dam. 

Back in those earlier years on the river, one could expect to catch the occasional paddlefish, sturgeon and serpentine eels beneath the crisp ebony sky and the raspy hiss and flickering light of the trusty Coleman lanterns sitting on the shoreline rip rap....those fish were true monsters for me at the time and as always, the Titans of the Missouri were bigger than anything I had previously imagined; grand visions of Leviathans, Gargantua and Behemoth fish that swam just out of reach and slightly beyond my periphery

Entering early adulthood found my fishing time seriously curtailed.  Gone were the lazy days of fishing with no worries or serious expectations.  Instead, those were replaced with trying to earn a decent living, raise a family and keep all the bills paid and still have cash left over.    They were definitely lean years, with occasional excursions to whatever water body was closest and trying to bring home some enough eating size fish to make the trip worthwhile.  

Most of the time I was successful, but sometimes, the dreaded skunk followed me home.    The stench of angling failure hung around me like a shroud for weeks.  And as my fishing trips and time on the water slowed to a trickle, the success rate I had enjoyed before plummeted.  I had trouble locating active fish and even when I did, the numbers I used to enjoy seemed a distant memory.  Nothing I tried seemed to work.  I had become "lost".

I made the best of it, as best as I could, fished as often as I could and dreamed of a time when I rounded that corner of hardship and could fish as often as I wanted, practically anywhere I wanted.  But with that came the realization I needed some serious strategy.  

Fast forward almost 20 years later.  I've arrived at that time I'd dreamed about and suddenly find myself fishing a lot of unfamiliar water and dealing with all the challenges that come with it.  

I still fish the local lake primarily because it is close, is ranked as one of the top 10 bass lakes in the state, has a decent population of bigger crappie, catfish and bluegills and an emerging population of walleye.  Actually fish it quite a bit.  

That said, I bypass a lot of my old stomping grounds, due to ever increasing boating crowds and angling pressure, exploding zebra mussel infestation, and a population of various and equally voracious rough fish that barely make the trip up there worthwhile.    Call me an elitist or what not, I don't care.  If I wanted to fish for gar, skipjack or anything else, I'd stick closer to home and save my gas and time.  

Thus, the road trips.  More often than not, but not as often as I like, I find myself on the long drives along I-90 to places like Lake Pactola, Lake Francis Case by Chamberlain or up to Pierre and Lake Oahe.  Different types of water bodies, different prevailing weather patterns and most certainly different tactics.  Throw in a lovely wife who loves eating a lot of fish and suddenly you have a ton of pressure to catch something to take home.  Not an ideal situation, but one that is usually manageable if I apply some general  principles to the places I find myself in.

Lets take Oahe as an example.  Since I am not a local ( I wish), the time frames I am present there are often separated by weeks.   Depending on the time of year, that can pose some serious problems.  Fish locations can change quickly given water temps, water levels,  food availability, water clarity etc.  Places that were hot yesterday can be totally devoid of fish today.  While I usually take my boat up there most of the time,  that's still a lot of water to try and cover both quickly and successfully.  Here is the primary tactic I typically employ.

Enter pattern fishing.

PATTERN FISHING

Remember I mentioned I needed some serious strategy?  Pattern fishing was eventually my answer.  Developed by bass tourney fishermen back in the late 70's and early 80's, its been an invaluable tool and has helped me stay on fish.

The general short theory is that given any water body section, if one catches fish and the bite suddenly stops, you should be able to move to a similar location, say across the lake, find similar conditions and find some active fish at the same depths, using the same tactics.  Its simple logic and its a proven tournament winning strategy.  Works in reservoirs of all sizes.  

What many people fail to realize is that for huge reservoirs like Oahe is that there are typically several types of forage options available for fish and those options are not generally going to all be in the same areas,  thus you can have several distinct patterns happening at the same time.  Smaller lakes too can exhibit similar situations but usually to lesser degrees.

They key therefore is to do some research before the trip to get a general idea on where the fish are, what depth they are holding, what the locals are catching them on and what weather conditions are going to be prevalent when you are there.  Also doesn't hurt to make sure you have a backup plan in case the weather conditions change as they are wont to do across the Plains.  I usually try to have some shore fishing options lined up just in case.  Since most of my fishing experience revolves around shoreline angling, I am not usually too upset about not getting the boat out if the wind is howling.

Once (if) you do manage to locate and catch some fish, you now have a baseline idea on what to look for, what to use and what depth to use it at .

There are several caveats to this strategy though.  The lake needs to be divided into no less than 3 parts; The upper section, the middle section and the lower sections.  Also, if any large bays are present, you can divide them up in the same manner.  

Recognizing where you are in terms of water body sections further helps to eliminate more water and keeps you in areas where your tactics should work.

Another thing to remember is that some patterns will typically be comprised of bigger fish than others.  Bigger fish tend to eat bigger forage and bigger forage typically inhabits differing areas than smaller forage. 

 Note the word typically...while usually the case, there will always be exceptions.  Mother Nature can be fickle and there are no guidelines she will not bend if not outright break occasionally.

Another note of interest:

If you live in an area where nearby reservoirs are the same general type, say for instance flatland reservoirs, their depths, forage options and cover  roughly being similar, that pattern fishing methodology can help steer you to more starting points and put you on fish quicker.    

As I normally fish almost daily, I do occasionally switch out what water bodies I fish.  Keeping those lake choices as close as possible to the current water body type I am fishing, I can usually expect to find active fish in similar spots on those other reservoirs and catch them using similar tactics.  Its not totally a fool-proof plan, but I believe it does help me get into the ballpark.  A lot of fishing involves memory and awareness.  

So there you have it.  A relatively simple game plan to help eliminate a lot of water and put you on fish quicker.  The tactics you chose to employ ultimately affect your fishing starting points and each species tends to have its own methods leading to success.  I'm not going to pursue that avenue in this post.  Suffice to say, know your quarry, learn how to read topographic maps, pay attention to fishing reports both current and past years, do your due diligence and you'll arrive on new water with a better arsenal of knowledge and baits that should help make your trip a success.

THE JOURNEY STARTS WITH ONEFEATHER (or the cumulative benefits of angling persistence)

"I have got to be insane," I thought.

It wasn't the first time I'd asked myself that very question. Here I was, standing out on a windy pier in 20 degree night-time temperatures, breath visible, frost crystals glinting in the dark, a few inches of snow on the ground and casting Rapala Husky jerks for errant keeper walleye in the shallows. Surely insanity was just one nice word to describe this unnatural example of personal stubborness and curiosity.

What was even more insane? The fish were biting...and I wasn't surprised. I'd seen it before.

What had started out as a personal challenge in early June has morphed into a big ugly monster. I made a decision and challenged myself to fish every day as long as I could.

Given I work 12 hour shifts and a rotating shift, I never had any intention of going longer than a week or two in any given stretch. Anything longer didn't seem possible given my other interests and responsibilities. But like always, life had other plans for me and I found the streak of continuous days fishing steadily pressing onward.

To further clarify this situation on how I reached this drastic point, I have to take you north, to the windswept plateau reservoir of South Dakota's Lake Oahe--223 miles, 200 feet deep and 370,000 surface acres of prime walleye and pike water, and home to both landlocked Atlantic and Chinook salmon.

It was here the seeds of inspiration were sown. It was here, I met quite possibly one of the greatest shoreline walleye anglers on the planet. And it was here, my life changed as my goals suddenly came into view.

Its funny in hindsight. Everyone always believes in the illusion they are better than they perhaps really are. For some anglers, its about trophy fish all the time, for others its about having fun and relaxing. For most I suspect, its about falling somewhere in the middle of the extremes and just being happy outdoors. I seem to fall somewhere outside the range of the norm and it wasn't until I met Sheridan Onefeather at the Causeway that first early trip up there in the spring that I finally began to piece together what had been missing in my angling adventures.

What I saw as the stormy April evening wore on was the man putting on an effortless display of angling mastery, a wizard waving a modern wand of graphite and monofilament.

For over an hour, I totally forgot about casting and just watched in amazement as the man stalked the wooden expanse of the Causeway like a hungry beast and plied scrappy marble-eyed treasure from the frigid waters with the subtlety of a surgeon. Without a word, he expertly analyzed the surrounding environment, recalled decades of previous experience and made quick and correct assumptions on where the fish were. In short, he caught fish while others struggled or outright gave up.

I've known a few great fishermen over the course of my nearly fifty years on the water. Met way more who believed they were better than they really were. I've always felt greatness needs no introduction or real fanfare. Consistent daily or weekly results speak for themselves, not seasonal one offs.

Sheridan is local legend whether he wants to believe it or not. Always more than happy to divulge where the fish are and what they are biting on. And always on the water. In short, he is an inspiration.

As I talked to him at length that night, he volunteered the secrets to much of his success. A dogged determination and desire to fish as often as possible, in all kinds of weather, particularly during the winter. He literally fished every day...every day. He's never owned a boat and sees no real benefit for himself in having one. And as someone who has personally caught more big walleye 28" or bigger than anyone I know, with photos to prove it, his words were etched into my memory and have stayed with me since.

And as time went on, I thought about them alot. and the more I thought about them, it made sense. Its easier to stay on fish and to respond to their changes in behaviour if you are on them everyday. Deviations from the norm then quickly become apparent and adjustments can be made to find and be on active fish again.

This type of thinking was not something I usually considered up to that point. Work and sleep, get out a few times a week, rinse and repeat...but there was also little improvement in "my game."

I'd always been pretty good at catching fish, just not a lot of large fish. Bass were an easy target, very rarely did I fish for walleyes and my big trout fishing took place in South Dakota. Deep down, I knew it was time for a change. One cannot repeat the same tasks with the same effort and expect different results and frankly, I was ready for a leap to better results.

So fast forward 7 months and here I am, out on the water again, having fished over 200+ days so far this year. At this point, I am at 156 days straight with another 230+ excursions in the books. The results I have had this year speak volumes. over 10 bass 20"or longer, 10 white bass 17" or longer, 1 pike 37 1/2 ", 14 rainbows 20", a chinook 30", a few walleyes 23"-25", 2 smallies 20", several bigger catfish than I usually catch etc, ..in short, this year has been exceptional in large part to persistence.

I changed a few things up in minor ways, hit new locations to expand my knowledge and awareness, but I honestly believe that just being out on the water everyday upped the odds in my favor. And I really owe it all to Sheridan for opening my eyes to the possibilities persistence brings...

In short I do encourage more people to challenge themselves, to push their boundaries and to make some sacrifices in order to become better fishermen. Most anglers fish fewer than 50 times a year, a few go beyond that and maybe hit a hundred...only a small percentage ever go beyond that.

It all comes down to how good do you want to become, how much are you willing to sacrifice to make it happen and how much time can you realistically devote to achieving those goals?

One last thing, with more time on the water, you are probably going to catch more fish. Consider practicing Selective harvest, especially if you are fishing smaller bodies of water.It don't take much on these small lakes to make a huge impact.

If it aint tight, it aint right.