For quite some time, bass fishermen thought they had it all figured out. A more serious group of anglers couldn’t be found, assuring that the principles of our quarry were carved in stone.
However, recent advancements like forward-facing sonar (FFS) confirm that lots of bass live in places we never thought possible, and engage in very “unusual” behavior. Or, what we once considered unusual, anyway.
Soon we’ll have an entire new set of rules.
In reality, we’ll simply modify our existing principles to match new information, all the while attempting to analytically fill in the holes. While bass viewed on FFS may seem to be aimlessly swimming around in open water, there is a method behind their madness, I can assure you. Nothing in nature is haphazard.
So our understanding of the fish won’t change, but modify. Improve, if you will.
We’ve seen these monumental shifts before. Many credit Buck Perry for opening up America’s eyes to offshore fishing and the principles of structure. Others go further back, discussing the very concept of bass on top vs. bottom. Early bass fishing lures were primarily topwaters, as that’s where bass lived, so we thought.
More recently, there have been three monumental breakthroughs in bass theory responsible for most of our modern learning. Follow along:
1. Pattern Fishing
This concept is routinely credited to Roland Martin, though I can’t confirm. In any case, he certainly popularized it. The pattern-fishing concept essentially states that the majority of bass in a given area are living similar lifestyles. They’re utilizing the same depth range, cover type and likely feeding on the same prey species. Shallow bass in the springtime on secondary rocky points; that sort of thing. Or bass bunching on a certain form of cover, like willow trees.
Today, we take pattern fishing for granted. We all do. We catch a bass on an isolated shallow willow tree and what’s the very next thing we do? Look for another willow tree. Often times, the concept pays off.
It seems so elementary that it’s hard to believe that, at one time, this type of fishing was considered new wave. Patterning fish like a pro, they called it. Pattern fishing forever changed our world.
2. F+L+P=S
Created by In-Fisherman founders Ron and Al Lindner, the FLP system states that “fish, plus location, plus presentation equals success.” And, you know what? It does.
This method was created in the mid-1970s when the Lindners discovered that their own success could be simplified into a basic formula. Master anglers for a variety of species, the Lindners often went to foreign bodies of water and immediately outfished the locals. Their trade show appearances were legendary. Later adding a magazine and television component, as well as a traveling band of additional accomplished fishermen, the Lindners upped the game of millions of anglers with their FLP concept. Al Lindner went as far as taking the show on , fishing and winning several national tournaments before leaving competition to concentrate on media.
Know the fish and its habitat, understand the location of that fish and why it’s there, present the correct lure properly, and you succeed. It’s that simple.
3. Clunn’s reservoir breakdown
While lots of media centered on fishing lakes and rivers, Rick Clunn was one of the first anglers to systematically break down reservoirs. His need to do so was based on tournament venues of the 1970s and '80s, as big league bass took to massive southern impoundments and allowed little time for traveling anglers to learn the ropes.
Through his analytical mindset, Clunn devised a way to immediately break down gigantic bodies of water into the most productive sections. Often, 90 percent of a reservoir would be eliminated before the first cast.
Clunn’s concept took the entire body of water and divided it into sections: the lower section by the dam with the deepest and clearest water, the mid-sections, upper reservoir and riverine areas. From there, each section was again divided similarly, including major creek arms. In essence, Clunn broke down the reservoir into a handful of sections matching each category.
He then applied seasonal patterns to his search. In spring, Clunn looked for shallow, warm water (the upper end of the reservoir or creek). If muddy water was an issue, he went to cleaner, deeper sections. Summer found mid-lake ledges productive, and so on.
Once official practice started, Clunn would have a number of productive sections circled on his topo map and rotate through each. By Day 1 of the tournament, if he wasn’t on the motherlode, he was likely close.
Clunn used his elimination approach to become the most successful tournament angler of his era. The specifics on his system were the subject of many magazine articles and are still relied on today by tournament anglers across the continent, whether they know it or not.
Each of these three approaches seem so basic today, yet were complete game-changers in their day. Will the same be said for knowledge gained by FFS?
Will we someday learn the reason more bass are often swimming behind us than in front? And where are they going, anyway?
Narrowing those questions down to a proven formula may take a while.
(Joe Balog is the often-outspoken owner of Millennium Promotions, Inc., an agency operating in the fishing and hunting industries. A former Bassmaster Open and EverStart Championship winner, he's best known for his big-water innovations and hardcore fishing style. He's a popular seminar speaker, product designer and author, and is considered one of the most influential smallmouth fishermen of modern times.)
