Mark
Strand
Rapala
Pro Fishing Tips & Tales
3077
Meadow Brook Drive
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MN 55125
651-578-7676
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Bernie Schultz’s Shallow
Search Strategy
A Talented Pro Describes His
Favorite Fishing Approach
As he makes cast after cast, each one a thing of beauty,=
a
two-treble Rapala crankbait gently touching down in contact with brush but
somehow never getting snagged, Bernie Schultz is asked to think out loud ab=
out
how he approaches the search process.
Standing in the bow of his boat, his posture resembles t=
hat
of a blue heron stalking the shallows, and Schultz explains that his streng=
th
is stalking the shallows.
“I’m looking shallow most of the time,”
says the Florida pro, who is at home chasing bass or inshore saltwater spec=
ies.
“Generally, there are going to be more fish distributed along the ban=
k,
particularly in the springtime. So looking shallow is the best way for me to
compete. My basic approach is very lateral, horizontal. I use baits that co=
ver
water. I make long casts, starting with reaction lures, crankbaits, jerkbai=
ts,
that kind of thing.
“Those baits might not be the best choice on
tournament day, but they give you some kind of response from the fish (so y=
ou
can get them to betray their location, at least). It gives you something to=
go
on.”
In this series, we are always trying to show how the
approach of a tournament professional should be imitated by even the most
casual weekend anglers. After all, even if you have no logos on your shirt,=
the
challenges you face are the same as those of the pro trying to cash a check=
in
high stakes competition.
Schultz, ever the thinker, knows that he might be missing
out on fish by not methodically probing deeper water. “Looking deep i=
s a
tedious thing,” he says, “especially in a big, deep
reservoir.” He nods in the general direction of a distant boat fishin=
g a
deep-water spot and talks about deep cranking masters like Jason Quinn and
David Fritts. When he doesn’t have to put together a productive patte=
rn
in a couple days, then, of course, Schultz says, he spends time fishing
deep-water spots, too.
On many days, there are plenty of shallow-water fish to =
be
caught if you can find them and figure out a presentation that opens their
mouths. For anybody who just plain enjoys fishing shallow, the Bernie Schul=
tz
approach is a great one to imitate.
Thinking Out Loud
We ask Schultz to think out loud, and the topic of moving
water comes up right away.
“I definitely look for current,” he says.
“In a reservoir, it might be from the dam. In a natural lake, it migh=
t be
induced by wind. Moving water is something that can cause fish to position
themselves.” It is exactly the same thing trout fishermen in a river =
look
for: creases, current edges, where predator fish can sit in slower-moving w=
ater
looking for food to be moved past them by the adjacent faster-moving water.=
“All I try to do in practice,” says Schultz,
“is locate the right areas, places that fish are either holding in, or
places they will come to at some point in the day. Or, a place that will
replenish itself, where you can catch some and others will move in there.
“One potential problem with shallow patterns is th=
at
you can be dealing with rogue fish, individual fish that might live on a
certain piece of cover. If you catch that fish in practice, that same fish
might not bite again in the tournament. But the thing you have going for yo=
u,
when you find a good spot, is that the best shallow habitat is occupied by =
the
biggest fish. If you find a brush pile under a key dock, even if you catch =
one
nice fish there, chances are more fish will show up.”
As for his overall approach, Schultz says, “to me,
looking for fish is about moving and seeing lots of water. I don’t ju=
st
look at the exact spot where I catch fish; I also look at what’s near=
by,
what connects to it.” That becomes critical, he stresses, when condit=
ions
change and fish move.
“Even when you locate fish and figure out how to c=
atch
them,” he says, “you have to know that the weather is going to
change, and you have to assume the bite is going to change, too.”
Most modern anglers are aware that weather changes impact
fish. The classic shift comes from the dreaded cold front. Yet, for all the
talk about it, few anglers adapt successfully when it arrives.
“You can be spankin’ ‘em real good,=
221;
says Schultz, “and then it gets really cold. That puts the fish in a
lousy mood, and sometimes it concentrates them.”
You really have to go to work when the weather changes a=
nd
your established pattern quits producing.
“It helps if you have enough experience to underst=
and
that, when the bite changes, you have a good idea of how it’s going to
change,” he says. “Fish move, and their mood changes. A lot of
people just give up when it gets tough, but that’s when you should st=
ay
on the water and keep trying things until something works. Keep looking for
where the fish went. Keep trying to catch them. That’s how you build =
that
experience level, that confidence base, so you can deal with changes when t=
hey
come up again.”
Note: This article was crafted by the Rapala Pro Staff. =
For
more fishing insights, go to www.rapala.com.
-30-
CAPTION FOR SUPPLIED PHOTO
Photo: Searching Success.jpg<= o:p>
Looking like the shallow-water predator he is, Rapala pro
Bernie Schultz fires a pinpoint cast tight to shoreline brush and is reward=
ed
with a nice bass. He is a methodical, hard worker who looks for moving water
and pays attention to where fish are positioned. Schultz searches vast area=
s,
finds fish, catches them, then goes back to work when conditions change.
(Photo: Mark Strand/rapala.com)
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