One of the great attributes of the exceptional fishermen is how quickly they assess what’s going on. Kind of like the old show “Name that Tune,” the sharpest guys only need a few notes (or make that bites) in order to get in tune with the fish.
It’s not as easy as you think. You can “bid” what you want, but even the most confident fisherman is probably just guessing with too few clues. On the other hand, if he takes too long to recognize the pattern, the time can slip by unproductively.
Here’s my take, remembering that the pace of the method and the amount of water covered will vary from situation to situation. The hope is there won’t be more than 30 minutes ever separating those bites, though everyone knows it doesn’t always work that way.
ONE BITE: While that first strike could be a result of landing right on the Mother Lode, I’ve been disappointed too many times relying on such a limited sample. You might get a huge blow-up on topwater early and the next bite is 3:15 in the afternoon on a Carolina rig in 30 feet.
The fact is, the first light often features active fish, but sometimes they are on the front side of activity and sometimes they represent the last nip for the night. That’s why one bite ain’t enough.
TWO BITES: I don’t ask for a lot. Give me two bites (and hopefully two fish) whether from the same depth, the same lure, the same retrieve speed or the same kind of cover and I will feel a whole lot better about how I proceed. Yet, I almost don’t want those bites to be too close together. If they come bang-bang, they may only represent one little pocket of fish I happened to stumble on, not a true indication of an activity trend.
Also be leery of a fish or two coming off a known spot or key piece of cover. What you may have is a one or two fish spot–and without any other like cover–you really don’t have a pattern at all.
THREE BITES: This is usually the gold standard. If those three bites/fish are split by two anglers in a relatively short period of time, with at least a couple of elements in common relative to bait, method or depth, for instance, then I feel I’m off and running.
On one level, having that kind of sampling usually leads to a fourth and fifth bites before you even consciously respond to what you’ve found. But more than that, with two anglers making independent observations of what they feel just happened, it’s less arbitrary. Splitting the bites often leads to either closer scrutiny if the individual’s ideas are slightly different; or if the agreement is more uniform on what has been found, the two anglers usually proceed with greater confidence.
Anyway, this is what works for me. You may have your own ideas on the issue–and it would be great if you laid them out.
Just 5 George…hopefully good ones!