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.