Adjusting Your Gameplan Leave a reply

With summer salmon season right in front of us here in Puget Sound, it is time to think

strategy.  Mooching, jigging, trolling, herring, hootchies, flashers, dodgers, flies, cut

plugs vs helmets, what do I do?  Where do I start?  Well just like in the NFL, it starts

with putting together a game plan.  Just don't be afraid to make some sideline adjustments

along the way.

I start off every day on the water with a game plan.  It's not enough to know just where you

are headed and what you are fishing for and then throwing the same old gear out there.  You

have to ask yourself what types of strategies have been successful there in the past?  Is it

a trolling or mooching area?  Do I use herring or hootchies?  What time does the tide change

and where do I want to fish on the flood and/or the ebb?  I also like to have a fresh report

before I head out as well. 

I use all of this information that I gather to formulate my game plan.  However, as with any game plan,

use it as a guide.  Be flexible, be willing to "mid-stream adjust"

as we used to say in football.  You have idea when you head out on the water of what you would

like to do but what if your buddy calls with a report of a hot bite going on?  Don't be

stubborn, get over there and get in on the action.  This happened to me a few years ago at

the Roche Harbor derby.  I had planned on fishing an area and then heading down the west

side of Orcas where I had caught a few nice kings before.  Well I did just as I had planned

and fished the girl scout camp for awhile before heading down the west side of the island. 

About 30 minutes later John Keizer of Salt Patrol called to tell me to get back because a

hot bite was going on.  It didn't take long for me to abandon my game plan and get back up

there and it's a good ting I did, we had a fish on within five minutes of arrivng.

 Sometimes using a different strategy than you originally planned pays off big!

Signs of life above or below the water can cause me to adjust my game plan as well. I might

be wanting to fish a certain area or use a certain strategy but what I see when I am out on

the water can change that.  If I see birds actively feeding I am going to get my butt over

there asap.  If the birds are feeding on a school of baitfish above the water, guess what's

feeding on that school below? On one recent trip we spotted some birds actively feeding

quite a ways off from the normal spot where everyone trolls.  We decided to head on over

even though it was out of the way and not part of our game plan.  We were rewarded with a

double hook up.

While birds are a great sign of life from above, using your electronics is a great way to

put you on fish by looking at what's below.  If you are working an area that should be

holding fish but you aren't seeing anything on your fish finder, it is time to do some

scouting.  Electronics can be a game plan changer by giving us the ability to see what's

below us in the water.  Once again, if your game plan called for fishing a certain point or

area, don't just drag gear through the water.  Use your electronice to do some looking

around, you can often find the fish nearby. Once you have found what you are looking for it

might lead to a change in strategy.  I was fishing with my business partner Paul a couple of

years ago and had been trolling al afternoon with nothing to show for it.  When we finally

found what might have been the biggest bait ball I have ever seen, we decided to put away

the trolling gear and drop some jigs down.  On the first drop, not 10ft below the boat was a

nice chrome brite chinook.  Our willingness to change it up a little and use a strategy that

fit the situation the best was rewarded.

Next time you head out for a day on the water, make sure you have a game plan. Just

remember, those sideline adjustments might be the difference between winning and losing.