Entry 285-3

How to Make Decisions That Help You Catch More Bass with Mark Menendez

Part 3: Why and When to Leave Biting Bass

Question: Mark, how do you make the decision to leave biting bass to find bigger bass?

Menendez: I never leave biting bass to look for another area where I may find bigger biting bass. After I catch my limit or am convinced I’ve caught all the biting bass out of a school, I may fish another section holding bigger bass. I will leave biting bass when I know the history of the lake and how many pounds of bass I need to catch to win. If I’m fishing a trophy-bass lake, in Texas, like Falcon or Amistad, where I’ll need at least a 4- to a 4-1/2-pound bass to place in the top 10, and the bass I’m catching are only 2 pounders, then I need to get away from those little bass and locate bigger bass.

If I’m not catching bass weighing at least 3-1/2-pounds in Lake Champlain in New York, another big-bass lake, I need to leave that spot and search for bigger bass. If I’m on a school of 3-pound bass, and I must take at least 3-1/2-pound bass to place in the money, I’ll leave those 3-pound bass to find bigger bass. Knowing the history of a lake before you arrive is important, especially for tournament fishermen, because it provides you with a gauge by which you can measure the fish you’re catching to help determine whether you need to hold ‘em and keep catching biting bass or fold ‘em and search for bigger bass.

Too, I decide to hold ‘em or to fold ‘em by knowing what I need to do in a tournament to accomplish my goal before I arrive. I have to decide if I just want to place in the money or fish to win as well as if I’ll need a big bag of bass to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic. If I need to qualify for the Classic, I’ll use my flipping stick with Strike King jigs and creature baits and look for the biggest bass in the lake whether the little bass are biting or not.

So, the decision of whether to hold ‘em or to fold ‘em depends on your goals for the day. If you’re just trying to catch bass for fun, then if you find a school of 1-1/2- to 2-pound bass that bite on every cast, catch and release those bass as long as the bass are there. But if you’re trying to win a tournament, and you’re catching 2-pound bass, but you need at least 4-pound bass to win, you may want to leave and search for 4-pound bass, even if the smaller bass are biting.

Next: I Don’t Like Lightning

Contents:

• Part 1: Stay Close or Run Far
• Part 2: Deciding to Change Lures
• Part 3: Why and When to Leave Biting Bass
• Part 4: I Don't Like Lightning
• Part 5: Leading the Last Day