Recently we’ve had some folks write to us expressing some frustrations about their local waters both in terms of the size of the lakes and the pressure that the fish see day to day. They often talk about wishing that they had access to more and larger impoundments to try to become more proficient at bass fishing.
I know that it can be dis-heartening when it seems as though you just don’t have any choices when it comes to fishin’ holes and the boredom that can arise from seemingly always having only one place to go.
With that in mind, I wanted to take a moment to share with you this little tid-bit from one of the rising stars in professional bass fishing. Brent Ehrler is a native Californian whose home town is Redlands. A small community in the Inland Empire region of So-Cal. I know this city well and the reality is that it is NOT what you would refer to as a breeding ground for professional anglers.
I heard Mr Ehrler interviewed once as he was talking about where he learned to fish. He said that he learned to fish at a little place named, “Ford park”. That struck me when I heard it because I had taken my sons to this same little park when they were young to
teach them how to fish for bluegill and yes, even to catch an occasional bass.
If you look closely at these photos you will see that to begin with, these “lakes” are both very small. In fact, they are not impoundments or lakes or by most standards, even ponds! In most parts of this country they would qualify only as puddles! Yet this star angler took what he learned here and was able to expand that into a very successful professional career.
As I was taking these pictures, I decided to take some approximate measurements along the way. The pond with the small island in it is about 180’ x 60’. That is FEET, not yards. The other, lower pond, which is no more than thirty feet away, is smaller than that. What that means in practical terms is that you can literally cast across these lakes both ways from shore to shore. And yes, they receive an incredible amount of fishing pressure especially considering their size.
I wanted to show this to those folks who are struggling with having very few places to go and wet a line.
The point being that any time on the water is better than none and that as long as there are fish in that water, there is a way to catch them. This is the challenge that we all live for. Finding what makes those fish tick and placing the right lure in front of them so that they will bite.
It doesn’t really matter if all you have available is a small pond down the street or a huge lake around the corner. We have often talked about taking the time to learn A body of water. The lessons you can learn, even from fishing a puddle like these, can help you catch fish in any body of water you might have the opportunity to fish in the future. Simply put, take the time to learn as much as you can, even from small puddles like these. In the end, it will make you a better and more versatile angler.
See ya’ on the water …
