If you follow this blog and my
YouTube channel, you know that I am currently dong a year long experiment where I change my approach to catfishing. Historically, I have always been a fisherman who was on the move. Even when I was anchor fishing, I rarely lasted more than 30 minutes in a spot before moving on the next location. While the "keep my baits on good structure and keep moving" philosophy has served me well through the years, I have always wondered how that strategy would compare to simply parking myself on good structure and waiting. 2019 is the year we will find out as I am anchoring on one to two spots for the duration of my trips this year instead of constantly moving to hit as many spots as possible.
Before embarking on this experiment, I made a few predictions as to how it would all play out in the end.
1. I will catch less fish in overall numbers this year.
2. I will catch more trophy class fish.
3. I will catch more flatheads.
While it is still too early to tell if the first two predictions will come true, the third prediction has already proven correct. I have caught more flatheads in the first four months of 2019 than I have caught total for the last several years. Part of this is due to me targeting locations where I expect to find flatheads which is something I haven't historically spent very much time doing. I also believe the "park myself of good structure and wait" strategy has played a big role too though as many of the flatheads I have landed were caught long after I would have typically moved on from a spot.
Regardless of the reason behind the increase in flatheads being caught, I have had a blast these first four months of 2019. Before starting this experiment, I had never had the patience to sit in one spot very long especially if the bite was slow. With the success I have had this year, I find myself becoming more and more patient and having less of a desire to change spots even when there are long lulls in between the action. I can't wait to see what unfolds the rest of the year.
