NAIFC

Nice Results

Just like pros of the MLB, the pros of the NAIFC have their “tricks-of-the-trade” as well. One of those tricks is common to both sports. It is the CHANGE UP and both have the similarity of presentation. In baseball, the wrong presentation means a home run and that’s a bad thing. In the NAIFC, the right presentation means a home run and that’s a good thing.

After the last two legs of the circuit, Lake Delevan and Channel Lake, I couldn’t help but wonder what the “phenom phishing” team of Bauer and Erath did so differently that the other teams didn’t do to take back to back wins in the NAIFC… which by the way doesn’t happen that often. So after catching up with them at Channel Lake weigh-ins this is what I was so politely reminded about… change it up!

The change up is nothing new to me. It is something that I have heard for many years in the ice fishing community. I know what it means and I know when to throw it so to speak. For those of you that do not, let me explain it a little bit. The change up simply means to change your bait or your presentation. The B & E connection did this extremely well on both lakes and it paid off for them. They would simply fish a series of holes, as most do, hole hopping, and then retie a new jig/bait and the hit those holes again.

The change up can also mean to change your presentation of the same jig by fishing it differently. If you fish your bait on the bottom of the water column, then fish the top as well. If you swim your bait from the bottom up, then try swimming it from the top down.

It was a humbling, yet a good reminder, to have this conversation. I have learned many things from this deadly duo of ice fishers over the years and am proud to call them friends, even when they knock my boots off with a nine pound plus bucket-o-slabs. One other thing that was mentioned by this tandem of tricksters, was confidence. You must have confidence in what you are using and what you are doing. That was evident of them at Channel seeing how they were plowing snow on Saturday instead of pre-fishing.

Howard the Duck