PRESENTATION IS A GAME CHANGER
Originally Published the Week of April 20, 2021 in Western Outdoor Publications
Presentation is a simple concept explain. How something looks, feels or even acts has a lot to do with how that subject is perceived.
Perfect examples.
Two hamburgers. Same meat. Same cook. They both taste the same.
But, one is served on white table cloth with nice silver. There’s a nice garnished sprig of parsley and the plate is shiny white ceramic.
The other burger comes in a greasy wrapper.
Most folks would be more inclined towards the nicely packaged burger, even though personally, I’d probably grab the one in the greasy wrapper that’s all messy. But, that’s just me.
But, that wrapper registers an impression in my little brain that the one in the greasy wrapper is gonna taste better.
Possibly a better example:
The young man that comes to pick up my daughter for the evening at the movies. For the first time. First date.
Torn jeans…dirty fingernails…way too many piercings and a dragon tattoo up his arm. And honks for her to come out.
Danger! Danger! Not with MY daughter!
Or the young man shows up on time. Calls me “sir.” Holds the door open for my girl and he’s nicely dressed.
In both scenarios, it’s the same kid. If my daughter is going out with him, I’m sure he’s probably a sweet kid and nice guy despite first impressions. Clothes aren’t everything.
I didn’t exactly look like a prize at that age either.
And the dad writing this article has a piercing and several tattoos!
The nicely dressed kid does get bonus points for calling me “Sir.”
But, first impressions are important. There’s no getting around it.
Fish are a lot like that too. Presentation is everything.
Some folks think if they have a lure in the water or if they have a bait on a hook in the water, the fish will jump all over it. And they can’t figure out why they’re not getting bit.
Or how come the guy next to them is getting hits left-and-right.
There’s the old saying that, “20% of the fishermen catch 80% of the fish.”
There’s a reason. Much of that has to do with presentation and the impression it makes on the targeted fish.
Imagine that “Mr. Fish” has a whole bunch of choices down there.
Why should he bite you? What makes your bait stand out and gets his brain neurons saying, “Eat! Eat! Eat!”
Let’s talk about live bait for the moment.
How is it acting? Lively? Lethargic? Plain dead?
Take dorado fore example. Dorado, are like cats. Fast moving lively things put them into attack mode. The livelier the bait the better.
By contrast tuna can be notoriously lazy and love picking up dead bait or barely lively bait. It’s like they don’t wanna chase anything.
That’s why chunk bait is so effective. Just a big mass of dead and dying bait dumped into the drift. One chunk has a hook in it.
Speaking of hooks…How you rig (“pin”) your bait on a hook can have a massive effect.
For one, generally, match your hook to the size of the bait. Don’t match your hook to the size of the fish you’re chasing.
For instance, if using a 6-inch sardine or anchovy, jabbing a 10/0 hook in it is going to kill the bait, even if you’re chasing 100-pound fish. That’s not doing you any favors.
Simple logic.
Likewise, if your line is very heavy, your bait is gonna tire out faster and you’re not even going to know it. Your line is way out there and you have no clue that your poor little bait is half-dead floating where you can’t see it.
And you wonder why your buddy keeps hooking fish!
A lot of anglers also don’t know that you can actually control how your bait swims.
Pinch-off or cut off a bit of tailfin and your bait will swim erratically. Often, this is a great attractant for gamefish who like to grab injured bait that can’t escape.
Darwin’s theory. Culling the herd. It sets your bait out from the rest of the bait in the water.
Try these next time.
If you pin your bait on the bottom-side behind the dorsal fin, you bait will tend to swim directly away from the boat and down.
If you hook your bait on the top-side behind the dorsal fin, your bait will tend to also swim straight out, but will stay on the surface.
If you put the hook through the right collar, the bait will swim to the right. Through the left collar and the fish will swim to the left.
Handy to know for those baits that continually want to swim under the boat or if you’re on a boat and you can’t get around someone or something.
If how “food” looks and acts is important, consider how something “smells” also affects attractiveness just like smelling a steak on the grill.
When I was first learning to fish as a kid, my old Japanese uncle taught me to keep the bait as fresh as possible.
Don’t touch the bait with hands that touched food or something oily. Or suntan lotion.
He was a smoker and never ever touched his bait with the hand holding his cigarette.
If you do have stuff on your hands, wash it off then put some fish slime or dead bait on your hands to cover up the fragrance of soap or other detergent.
Presentation makes a difference. First impressions are a game changer.
That’s my story!
Jonathan
That's My Story 
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