Entry 51-5
Mike Wurm on Consistently Finding Bass
Consistency Equals Trusting Your Instincts
Editor's Note: Mike Wurm, from Hot Springs, Arkansas, has fished professionally for 12 years. He's fished in six BASS Masters Classics. In seven of the eight tournaments he's fished in this year, he's earned a check, and he's finished in the top 16 in three of those tournaments. Wurm is one of the most-consistent anglers on the B.A.S.S. circuit. This week, Wurm will explain five secrets to his consistent bass fishing.
Wurm: To be a consistent bass fisherman, you have to learn to trust your instincts. Your instincts are more consistently right than you are. There's a little man inside of you that knows more than you know, and he will tell you things like when and where to move, when you need to change baits, what lures to use and also how to adapt.
Many times this little man will tell you to do something when you're fishing that seems to make no sense at all, but you need to listen to him and try what he tells you. When you get a feeling about something while you're fishing, don't try and reason why that feeling won't work, just do it. If you're fishing along a bank with crankbait, you're not catching any fish, and your instincts tell you to switch to a jig, don't sit there and argue with yourself about why the crankbait is a better lure to fish on this bank. Cut the crankbait off, and start fishing the jig like the little man told you.
Your subconscious mind is working for you even when you're not listening to it. Remember that all you need is one fish to bite your lure to get the information you need to catch more bass. If you can get past the bite and remember what lure you've caught the fish on, what depth of water, what type of retrieve, what kind of cover and how aggressively the bass has bit the bait, then you can put together a pattern to catch more bass. Oftentimes, if you trust your instincts, that little man inside of you will help you get that bass to bite.
This year at Toledo Bend on the B.A.S.S. circuit I finished fifth. All the other competitors were fishing the grass with crankbait and Carolina-rigged plastic lures. I was fishing the grass too. That little man said, "Everyone else in this tournament is fishing on this side of the lake in this grass. You need to go to the other side of the lake and fish a different type of cover and some different fish." Now this thought made absolutely no sense, because everyone knew that the bass were in the grass. Too, the area I was fishing had plenty of grass and numbers of fishermen, but I didn't hesitate. I put my rod in the boat, ran across the lake and found a little pocket with a boat dock in it. I started fishing the Bitsy Bug around the boat dock and caught 10 pounds of bass.
The next day I caught 22 pounds of bass fishing boat docks on the other side of the lake to finish in fifth place. I've learned over the years to listen to that little man within and not argue with him because he can usually lead me to the fish. I have set out to be a consistent winner. To be the consistent winner I want to be, I try and earn a check every tournament so that I can feed my family and continue to fish. I also try and earn points that will put me in the BASS Masters Classic. If I can win the Classic, my career is cemented, and my financial future is assured.
By fishing consistently, I can achieve these goals. If I go out and attempt to win in every tournament I fish in, I may win some, but I also will lose quite a few. I don't believe I would have as straight a road for reaching my goal of one day winning the Classic, while still being able to meet the needs of my family. This reason is why I'd rather be a consistent fisherman over a long time than a winner for a short time.
