Try Different Swimbaits
Try Different Baits
At this juncture the true swimbait junkies fire up the big motor and run to the next point. I'm not quite that addicted yet. I've just taken the time to put myself in the perfect position on a point and all that I've established is that the big ones aren't ready to eat my swimmer yet. But how do I know I can't catch a good fish on a different application?
Cast numbers 4 and 5 are with my favorite large reaction bait.
For me that is probably a Lucky Craft Staycee 90. I get two casts with that bait. I'll throw one into 20 feet and one in to 10 feet over the point just as I did with the swimbait. Again, on the next point I might switch to a crankbait or spinnerbait. The idea is to have two of your favorites on the deck an switch back and forth between them from point to point until the fish reveal to you which one they prefer that day. If you run 15 points and don't get bit on either of them, then pull out two different ones and try those for 10 to 15 points. But only keep two on the deck.
My sixth cast concludes my time on the point. That cast will be with a small jig, tube or darthead. At heart, I'm still just a kid and I still do just want to catch some fish. I feel that these baits give me the best chances. Otherwise, I'd leave that point and in the back of my mind there would be a little devil and that devil would say to me, "You are an idiot. There was a 3.5 pounder sitting on that point in 20 feet of water and all he really wanted was one slow moving tube.
If you'd shown him that, he would have eaten." So, I must indulge myself and allow just one cast with a "wimpy" bait!
How many points you hit in a day will depend on how far you want to take this. You will need to hit a minimum of 25 points to really give this technique a fair shake. I'd suggest you aim for 30 to 60 points. I have never run more than 55 in a day. That is a lot. I've heard of guys who say they have run 100 or more. Wow. More power to them. That is a lot of up and down and movement. You will also run into guys that may only make 2 or 3 casts per point and may never put the swimbait down at all. Again, those folks are bitten so badly by the bug that they don't need a system like this to stay interested.
My approach is designed to break up the monotony of only throwing big baits, mix in other approaches and still feel like you are maximizing fish catching opportunities. With the 3, 2, 1 approach you are making 6 casts per point and covering different depths with different baits and targeting fish with different levels of aggression at that moment. Yet, the focus is still on big baits (especially swimbaits) and catching larger fish and covering more water.
The approach, in my opinion, works best when fishing alone, but certainly can be done with two people. I then run a 4, 2, 2 with each guy making 2, 1, and 1 casts.
You Need A Good Battery
One last thing to keep in mind before doing this is to make sure you have a good quality cranking battery in your boat and you are fully charged. If you are going to run 30 to 60 points in this style you are not only going to put yourself to the test and get a nice workout in the process, but you may also find that your cranking battery is not up to that many starts in a day.
So what happened the very first time I put my system to the test in the field? I stuck a 7-pound largemouth on cast 2 of point 9 on Lake Berryessa. And I was absolutely hammered again on cast 3 of point 22 but failed to hook up.
Special Thanks: Frankly, I could not have written this article without help from the following anglers that contributed to my research on this topic in the form of books, interviews, seminars, and personal time on the water - Gary Dobyns, John Gray, Aaron Martens, Bill Siemental and his book the Big Bass Zone, Chad Martin, Phil Clark, Ryan White, Mike Tobey, Kent Brown, & Russ Graves.
At this juncture the true swimbait junkies fire up the big motor and run to the next point. I'm not quite that addicted yet. I've just taken the time to put myself in the perfect position on a point and all that I've established is that the big ones aren't ready to eat my swimmer yet. But how do I know I can't catch a good fish on a different application?
Cast numbers 4 and 5 are with my favorite large reaction bait.
For me that is probably a Lucky Craft Staycee 90. I get two casts with that bait. I'll throw one into 20 feet and one in to 10 feet over the point just as I did with the swimbait. Again, on the next point I might switch to a crankbait or spinnerbait. The idea is to have two of your favorites on the deck an switch back and forth between them from point to point until the fish reveal to you which one they prefer that day. If you run 15 points and don't get bit on either of them, then pull out two different ones and try those for 10 to 15 points. But only keep two on the deck.
My sixth cast concludes my time on the point. That cast will be with a small jig, tube or darthead. At heart, I'm still just a kid and I still do just want to catch some fish. I feel that these baits give me the best chances. Otherwise, I'd leave that point and in the back of my mind there would be a little devil and that devil would say to me, "You are an idiot. There was a 3.5 pounder sitting on that point in 20 feet of water and all he really wanted was one slow moving tube.
If you'd shown him that, he would have eaten." So, I must indulge myself and allow just one cast with a "wimpy" bait!
How many points you hit in a day will depend on how far you want to take this. You will need to hit a minimum of 25 points to really give this technique a fair shake. I'd suggest you aim for 30 to 60 points. I have never run more than 55 in a day. That is a lot. I've heard of guys who say they have run 100 or more. Wow. More power to them. That is a lot of up and down and movement. You will also run into guys that may only make 2 or 3 casts per point and may never put the swimbait down at all. Again, those folks are bitten so badly by the bug that they don't need a system like this to stay interested.
My approach is designed to break up the monotony of only throwing big baits, mix in other approaches and still feel like you are maximizing fish catching opportunities. With the 3, 2, 1 approach you are making 6 casts per point and covering different depths with different baits and targeting fish with different levels of aggression at that moment. Yet, the focus is still on big baits (especially swimbaits) and catching larger fish and covering more water.
The approach, in my opinion, works best when fishing alone, but certainly can be done with two people. I then run a 4, 2, 2 with each guy making 2, 1, and 1 casts.
You Need A Good Battery
One last thing to keep in mind before doing this is to make sure you have a good quality cranking battery in your boat and you are fully charged. If you are going to run 30 to 60 points in this style you are not only going to put yourself to the test and get a nice workout in the process, but you may also find that your cranking battery is not up to that many starts in a day.
So what happened the very first time I put my system to the test in the field? I stuck a 7-pound largemouth on cast 2 of point 9 on Lake Berryessa. And I was absolutely hammered again on cast 3 of point 22 but failed to hook up.
Special Thanks: Frankly, I could not have written this article without help from the following anglers that contributed to my research on this topic in the form of books, interviews, seminars, and personal time on the water - Gary Dobyns, John Gray, Aaron Martens, Bill Siemental and his book the Big Bass Zone, Chad Martin, Phil Clark, Ryan White, Mike Tobey, Kent Brown, & Russ Graves.
Source...