Test your angling expertise

1. When fishing near shore in saltwater, you see a slightly calmer spot and smell watermelon; what does this mean?
A. Someone has dumped garbage here.
B. There’s an oyster bar just beneath the surface.
C. There are feeding seatrout present.
D. You’re having serious personal problems.

2. When fishing in muddy water, what color plastic worm is usually the most effective? A. Black. B. White. C. Chartreuse.
D. The different colors are just to attract anglers, since bass are color-blind.

3. When fishing from an anchored boat in a ripping current, what’s the best technique to use?
A. Cast a top water lure down current and reel slowly while making it dart
B. Cast a deep-diving lure up current and twitch while reeling
C. Cast a swimming lure or plastic paddle-tail jig, put your rod in the holder
D. Cast a dead fish, click your reel into gear and give it some action to make it appear to be alive.

4. When fighting a large fish that’s taking out drag fast and is heading for an obstruction that will cut you off, what should you do?
A. Tighten the drag because you’ll lose it anyway if you don’t stop it
B. Twang the line like a guitar string, because the vibration is disturbing to them
C. Flip the bail open on spinning rods, or put casting reels into free spool
D. Always use tackle heavy enough so you don’t lose one this way.

5. Naturally, the wind has been calm until the day of your fishing trip; now it’s blowing hard. Where should you look for fish?
A. Stay in the lee, because fish don’t like the wind any more than you do.
B. Fish the windward side of the shore because that’s where the predators will be.
C. It doesn’t matter, because there’s no wind underwater.
D. You might as well stay at home

6. When surf fishing for species like striped bass, where should you cast your bait?
A. Wade out as far as you can and make a long cast because the fish are in the deepest water.
B. Cast where the waves begin to form.
C. It doesn’t matter because you’re just on the beach as an excuse to check out the two-legged action anyway.
D. The turbulent area where the waves crashing on the beach and the receding water meet.

7. Generally speaking, in salt water, which of the following statements will help you catch the most fish?
A. The direction sea grass is bending will show you where the fish are.
B. Follow the movement of the sun to find the fish.
C. When fishing a reef, the biggest fish will be down deep.
D. Because fish only bite when you’re busy getting a drink or applying sunscreen, never pay attention; a watched pot never boils.

8. If you miss a strike with a plastic worm, what should you do?
A. Reel quickly to simulate that the bait is trying to escape.
B. Drop it back down; it might bite again.
C. Reel in and cast somewhere else, because you can only fool a bass once.
D. Tell your buddy it was a submerged branch out of embarrassment.

ANSWERS

1. C. When trout get excited — like during a feeding frenzy — they often regurgitate their food, which forms an oily slick that calms the water and gives off an odor resembling watermelon or mown grass.
2. A. Surprisingly, black and dark purple are the most visible in muddy water. If you don’t believe it, next time you’re in murky water, drop various colors down and you’ll discover that black wins easily.
3. C. Since the current is giving the bait action, you don’t need to reel. Most predators face into the current and look for easy prey to come sweeping past. Lively bait that’s standing still is a predator’s dream.
4. C. As crazy as it sounds, you should flip the bail open or put it into free spool, because when you release the tension off the line, the fish is likely to think the hook has come free, and they tend to stop dead in their tracks and go back to what they were doing.
5. B. Unless the wind has been blowing hard in the same direction for days, the best place is the windward side, where baitfish are likely to be pinned against the bank. If you answered D, you probably weren’t going to get to go fishing anyway.
6. D. Ever notice that when people fish from boats, they cast toward shore, and people on shore always cast as far from it as they can? Most rookie surf fishermen cast their baits right over the fish. Look for washes near shore where baitfish are likely to be confused.
7. A. Seagrass is a great indicator to show you which way the tide is going, which is also the direction the fish go. Baitfish get swept along with the tides and are at their most vulnerable when they get funneled into narrow channels. Predators face into the current and wait for bait to come to them as they exit.
8. B. Drop it back in and wait before gently moving it. You know it’s near a bass that’s willing to strike and lots of times they’ll make an exploratory pass at it before eating it. In the wild, worms seldom make a run for it. If you’re using a minnow-type lure, reel faster because a baitfish will try to escape.