90% of Saltwater Anglers do this BACKWARDS (On the Water Decision Making)
- By: Pat Ogletree
- on
- Found In: Fishing Tips
Tired of throwing everything in your tackle box and still coming up empty?
In this video, you’ll learn a simple “decision tree” strategy to help you dial in your lure choice and catch more fish!
On the Water Decision Making
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Very informative, concise, and easy to learn from. Thanks Pat
Great points, love your lure tree. It’s a great way to dial in on what the fish are looking for.
Thank you Pat, this is very helpful!
Lots of great info in this video Pat, thanks! Walking us through the decision tree was very helpful. Especially the strategy for each lure based upon observed behaviors.
How did you stay calm while recording the video with fish jumping next to you??
Thank you for the great advice and guidance, Pat. We can all learn from this video. My wife says I have too much tackle but I mainly have my tried and true artificials in a couple of colors. Thanks again.
Great information Pat!
Thanks Ron!!
This is really helpful and so informative like always. Thanks Pat!
Glad to hear you find it Helpful Bryon!
The “old” SS was basically only one lure in slam shady color. And there were the knocks on Bass Pro and tackle stores selling a large variety of lures in all types of colors. And they cater to many different types of fishing, not just inshore. The “new” SS is an ever widening selection of lures in a variety of colors. Most of the SS lures are close imitations of ones proven to produce but by SS product branding their own, it cuts out the middleman and increases profits. Your decision tree approach should be helpful to those who are going through a lot of lure changes to catch fish, and hopefully focuses them on the upper parts of the decision tree rather wasting time finding that perfect lure that’ll load the boat with fish. On the other hand, that 90% doing it backwards are the ones trading their money for an array of lures. We’ve all been down that road before, and some never turn back. One thing I observe is that those who are long time members and good at catching fish, stay with their same few tried and true lure selections for the most part. Another observation is when a new lure and/or color first arrives, it’s greeted as one of the most awesome lures ever, and then quickly fades from the scene. Appreciate your honesty Pat, and trying to help out our newer members find someway to bring sense to all of this. Fishing was never rocket science and didn’t require a PhD degree, and it’s supposed to be a pleasurable and recreational pursuit!
Excellent comment Rob I agree. All of the coaches have said that one needs to learn how to work a lure effectively but most don’t. “Just keep switching lures until they catch something “ law of averages says you will eventually catch something Thanks for your comment
It’s always best to become a master of a few lures than have a boat full of lures in every color and not know what to do with them.
I believe as humans we have a tendency to focus on the wrong thing. And with so much information available to us on the internet it’s hard to weed through it all. With one person catching a bunch of fish on a specific lure and then another person catching just as many if not more on a completely different lure, some will focus on the tool being used and not the craftsman using it.
Do the lures work? Absolutely, but they’re not magical. Put those same lures in the hands of someone that doesn’t know what they’re doing and the results will more than likely be different. Give me the same paint and brushes Michelangelo used on the Sistine Chapel and I still couldn’t paint a stick figure.
One of the observations that I have is when we post a new lure or new color lure, that blog will get hundreds of comments, even though a new lure or color is not going to make a massive difference in their fish catching ability. A post like this will get maybe a couple dozen. Even though the information in this video when put in place, especially with struggling anglers, will change their success rate. The magic pill is just easier to swallow.
I agree with you about the Insiders that are successful, Eric L and George L in Tampa for instance use one paddle tail almost exclusively on the water, the Slam Shady Diesel Minnow. John P in Grant uses the Gold Digger Bomber and always seems to catch those big snook. Is the lure or color doing all the work? No, it’s the angler that settled on a confidence bait and then concentrated on finding the fish. If more people adopted that mindset, they would become much more successful.
I appreciate all the help you give to other Insiders. Its members like you that make this group special. Thanks for all you do.
Fantastic thoughts, Pat, and hopefully helps a few others see the light. The three anglers you mentioned were ones I thought about, and two more are Jeff T. and Bill Olson.
Great presentation. Pat! I am a firm believer in the in the water assessment as being the most important aspect to pick spots. I use the macro conditions, season, trends, etc. to pick an area and the rest happens on the water.
Thanks David! The water assessment was one of those Ah Ha moments that happened to me one day and changed my fishing future. Planning is important but being able to pivot when things are not what they should be is huge.
Great stuff Pat!
Thanks Carrol!