It is well documented that I am addicted to top-water inshore fishing. There is something about watching a fish crash a top-water lure that gets my adrenaline going. After many years of this type of fishing, my reaction is like a big kid. With so much excitement there was one thing I had to tone down over the years and that was how I reacted with the reel when a fish hit and I missed it. In all of the excitement I would begin reeling really fast, often times missing another chance at the fish. Tempering my excitement and keeping my reeling at a steady pace or even taking a moment to let the lure rest has produced many more fish and a much better strike to hook up ratio. If you top-water fish enough you will have one of those moments where you quit reeling to do something only to have a fish crash the bait and catch you by surprise. Keeping this in mind and measuring your retrieve speed when you have a strike and miss will give you more opportunities to catch that fish and do not be afraid to let the lure rest every so often as well it just may surprise you.
Andy Pickett
CharlestonFishing.Com</font id=“blue”>