Presentation

Presentation is the most important part of fishing if it doesnt look natural to fish they arn't going to eat it. If you sat down to eat and your food didnt look or smell right you would'nt eat it you'd push it away,  fish are the way. In most bodies of water there is plenty of forage for fish to eat so you have to present your bait in a way that will make them want to eat it. You can be throwing the hottest bait out but if your presenting it wrong you won't get a bite.

Presentation is a combination of things season  i.e. ,speed, water color, depth, weather, and many others. I'll try to touch on a few of these. For me first and formost is scent, the biggest predator scent to fish is the SCENT OF A HUMAN. After launching your boat and before you start to rig up and fish take a few minutes and wash your hands and spray a little fish attractant on them to mask the scents you may have on them gas, oil, smoke, sweat etc. I also spray a little on my line and reel  to make sure the scent is gone. I know this seems like a lot but have you event been out with someone and your both fishing the same techinique and bait and their catching fish and your not. This may not be the way your fishing but more the predator scent your giving off its strongier in some humans than others try masking your scent and see if you start catching fish,

Now on to setting up match the hatch remember in the start of the season rig small and go slow,if you think your fishing slow enough slow down just a little more. Check the water column for temperture, you may find that the top 2 to 3 feet of water is where the fish will be, the sun warms the surface  1 to 2 degrees more than the lower water column. The fish will be up in the warmier water because its a little more comfortable for them JUST LIKE PEOPLE ON THE FIRST WARM DAYS OF THE SEASON. this time of year, I'll set up a drop shot rig with a small plastic  under a float so I can adjust the depth till I  find fish. Once I find fish I start to fine tune my presentation I drop or raise the bait about 6 inches at a time to see if  I get into biggier or smaller fish,then I start changing bait size to see what the fish want. If you dont find fish this way head for a north shore with a dark bottom and try again this water can be 2  to 4 degrees warmier because of the sun. If you get on fish along the way  remember where you got hit how far from shore and how deep you were setup. Now move you boat and setup  parrallel to the shore so your cast into the strike zone and you'll be pulling back  through it all the way to the boat. Move the bait through the zone slow and do your checking again depth size etc. When you catch fish put them in your live well even if don't want to keep them you can release them later ,COUGHT FISH RELEASE  ENZIME FROM STRESS THAT WILL MAKE OTHER FISH STOP BITING. Also make sure you clean your hands and put some attractant on again before touching your bait.

This may seem like its a bit much,but it has worked for me and others I know,its worth a try, what do you have to lose except a few fish. Good Luck and Great fishing

Pat Harrison
www.patharrisonoutdoors.com