A lot of people say relax don’t sweat the details, but when it comes to fishing it’s sometimes better if you do! I was fishing a team tournament this past weekend on Shawnigan Lake. In the morning, on my football head jig with a spider grub, the fish were biting slowly. On the second spot we had 5 fish following my bait, but they just wouldn’t commit. I tipped the claws of the green spider grub with a garlic red marker. After this change, I went back through the same areas where I had fish follow. There I picked up two fish over 3 pounds.
This wasn’t the only change that affected my results for the day. Throughout most of the day I was dragging the football head spider grub combination across rocks. This can be very hard on the hook. I was noticing after a few fish and a number of snags the tip of the light wire hook started to roll. This prevented me from getting a really good hook set. I thought this wasn’t really a big deal, but after I lost two 4 pound fish in a row I knew I better smarten up. I decided to tie a new football head jig on. Within three casts I landed a 5.6 lb smallie. This helped me win the big fish of the event award.
What I hope you take from this post is to learn to sweat the details Don’t forget to pay attention to what the fish are doing and CHECK YOUR HOOKS because it can cost you. It pays not to be lazy.
Matt Benson
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