Staying One Step Ahead of the Conditioning Factor

Taking pride in his finesse skills with rigs and jigs, the young angler, now well into his 30s, was at first a bit skeptical about the new wave of crankbait trolling for ‘eyes. Perhaps he’d inherited some of “Grandad’s” preference for casting. But as hardbaits exploded on the walleye scene in the late ‘80s, their effectiveness became too dynamic to ignore.

Long, slender lures, with more of a shivering wiggle than a wide wobble, were taking walleyes throughout the open-water season. Weighted leadcore lines and eventually snap weights that popped on and off for easy weight adjustment probed the depths with cranks or spinners. On-line planer boards spread lines to the sides of the boat, covered wider trolling swaths, and reached out to fish pushed aside by the boat’s passage. GPS navigation to distant offshore spots. Plotting trolling passes electronically. Where would it all end?

Walleye fishing had indeed become a complex science in the ‘90s. Taken to extremes, you could become an electronic trollin’ fish-catchin’ machine. Thinking back to the early basement days, he’d witnessed walleye fishing rise from humble beginnings into the computer age. And the pace was continuing to accelerate. Each new decade brought discoveries and changes . . . and a new wave of secret lures.

In the early days, fish conditioned to certain presentations became more vulnerable to newly introduced lure styles for the first five or so years until they too became also rans. In recent years, however, the emphasis was not so much on new secret lures as on probing previously unexplored lake areas for suspended or basin fish, maximizing efficiency and coverage with faster-moving trolling tactics.

We’ve tackled drop-offs, cast the shallows, and now plumbed the mysterious depths. What new vistas are left to explore? Have we run out of options, of new secret lures? Will the fish ever become fully conditioned to our best efforts? Probably not. History has taught us that unexpected refinements surface, fueled by man’s creativity and quest to catch more and bigger fish. Even if we can’t visualize where the next advancement will come from, it certainly will arrive. We’ll ride the first few years of the new secret lure syndrome, then likely consider what was formerly new and exciting as status quo, even old hat, and look ahead to what the future holds.

In fishing, it’s possible to reach any level you wish, from the most casual outing to the most-sophisticated state-of-the-art approach. Pounds and ounces may vary, but the quest remains the same, to enjoy the outdoor experience however it suits you best. High tech or humble, a fish tugging on the end of your line is what it’s all about.

And now, as he sits at the end of his own dock, watching the joy and excitement on his granddaughter’s face as she catches her first panfish on a bobber rig, he realizes that the magic of the fishing experience never leaves, though the productivity of certain lures or fishing styles may wane with time. It’s important to stay on the leading edge of technology and refinement. Yet it’s just as important never to forget the joy of fishing.