Transitional Swimbaits Pt.5

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It can be really hard with big baits to decipher when and where you need to pick it up or put it down.  Trying to force a bite rarely works in my opinion.  There are particular times when fish flat out don't want to eat the big stuff.  I don’t generally catch hard bait fish just burning banks. There are specific things that I look for. Particular differences in a bank where those bigger fish consistently gravitate towards. Whether it be current cuts or some sort of structure, those fish setup on these areas and take control of the entire bank through these avenues. Areas that are unavoidable in terms of navigating that particular spot. Meaning any forage that live here have to pass by these specific danger zones. Those bigger fish lie and wait in these ambush points. My most consistent hard bait technique is on a slow roll crank down with random pauses incorporated in. When there's structure, it's even more crucial to add the changes in cadence. I like to focus my pause as close to the ambush points as I can. Those fish wait for their opportunities to feed and generally prefer an easier meal over something that requires a lot of effort. Especially in the post spawn months where a lot of these fish aren't the healthiest and are trying to add more weight back to their now skinny frames. I talk to a lot of anglers that love throwing wakes and I too have had success doing so but to me the most natural presentation is gonna be subsurface on the crank down. You will see plenty of followers doing this but don't get discouraged. The fact of the matter is the majority of those fish weren't gonna eat at that point in time just curious more than anything. Now that doesn’t mean they won't eat at all but it may require a low light situation, change in the weather, or the tide to switch. I use to get so mad when I'd see followers and it would constantly make me wonder what I did wrong to not get them to react. Well, that's not the right way of looking at it. I was making the right calls to fish these specific areas it just wasn't necessarily the right timing. It's not a negative when fish decide to show themselves but it does require some strategy to figure out what it's going to take to put them in the boat. I've had days that were loaded with followers. Cast after cast you see shadows tail your bait back to the boat. Those days can be incredibly frustrating. Knowing you're in the right areas but not successfully creating the bites. Sometimes all it takes is mother nature to kick in and those fish decide they want to eat. Something as simple as getting a little breeze can turn those followers into committers. You can generally figure out rather quickly whether or not they wanna eat the big baits. It’s always nice to give yourself options when you’re on the water. I always bring too many rods and my reasoning for that is simple. I like to be ready for any situation that presents itself. I’m out there to catch fish in the end even if that means resulting to throwing a Senko. The hardest part of big bait fishing is knowing when to put it down. There are obviously certain anglers that only throw the big stuff. More power to those guys that can grind it out. I grew up conventional fishing so it’s a lot easier to transition back and forth when its necessary. If you are struggling with finding the bites on the big baits, put it down for a bit and try something else. Swimbaits are a tool. Use them when the circumstances are right rather than forcing something that’s not there at that specific moment.