Sight Fishing: Boat Positioning

One of the keys to sight fishing is boat positioning. Understanding how a bass reacts to your presence and adjusting your position accordingly can cut the time it takes to catch a big fish significantly. To some this topic may seem obvious but to others it will make a huge difference. If you are one of the many anglers who now run power poles on your back deck, your life is easy. For the rest of us, there is nothing wrong with 2 anchors and a handful of rope. When bed fishing, especially in wind it is important to carefully position the boat away from the bass’ bed. Using two anchors instead of one will help reduce the swing of the boat as well.
Next, stay as far away as possible. If you feel you must see the fish to work the bed efficiently position the boat at the limit of where you can see. The farther away you are the more relaxed and approachable the fish will become. All too often anglers want to see what the fish is doing and cause the fish to shut down prematurely.

Here are some quick tips to help you put more fish in the boat regardless of species while sight fishing:

-Position on the shallow side of the fish if possible, don’t cut off their deep water access
-Position as far away as possible, seeing the fish is not always necessary
-Anchor front and back to eliminate swing
-Shut off all electronics and minimize sound (more to come on this topic)
-Don’t be afraid to leave the boat and approach a difficult fish from shore (unless rules don’t allow it)
-If there is current, position on the down-current side of the fish
-When possible, position so the fish is faced away from the boat

Follow these quick tips and you’ll begin to have more success and catch the fish much more quickly. Here is a quick example showing my boat double-anchored on an offshore smallmouth. By anchoring up the boat I was able to ignore the boat and focus solely on the fish. From the moment I saw her to the time she was in the net was less than two minutes do primarily to proper boat position.

This bass was caught on a Dirty Jigs Skirted Football on my namesake “Super Matt Brown” color. Support your local shop but if the baits aren’t available you can get them here: Dirty Jigs at Tackle Warehouse

Float and Fly 101

Throwing a swimbait isn’t always the best way to catch a giant bass. Its putting the odds in your favor, sure, but some days you have to change it up. In ultra-cold water or when fish are keying on smaller baitfish there are few baits that will out fish the float and fly.
My goal today is to introduce you to the technique if you’re not familiar with it, and to shed some light on my approach for those that are.
By no means did I come up with the idea… it was taught to me by my good friend Sieg Taylor a few years ago and I’m sure someone handed that knowledge down to him. Anyone who spends any time researching the technique realizes that the smallmouth guys have been hammering fish with the fly for decades!
That said, very few anglers talk about using the technique for largemouth, let alone using it on the west coast or the deep south. The Float and fly isn’t just a cold-water reservoir technique. It will work nationwide on many species as long as you have clearing water conditions. Once clarity gets below about 3 feet, the technique loses its edge.
While I’ve never caught a double-digit bass on the fly I have had the pleasure of catching largemouth in excess of 8 lbs. This technique works! And let me tell you, a 5 lb fish is a lot more fun on 4 lb line than it is on 30 lb line!

What are your thoughts? Have you used the technique successfully or do you have a unique twist? Share it with the group.