One of the most important lessons I learned from years of tournament fishing is how to “run and gun.”
The run-and-gun approach means fishing as many different spots as possible in as little time as is necessary. The theory behind run and gun is simple enough: Every minute wasted on an unproductive spot is a minute not spent on a good one. Rather than frittering away an hour on a spot that’s not kicking out fish, you run and gun until you find a hot school.
Running and gunning is particularly effective during the fall period, when fish of all species can be just about anywhere. They may be holding in two feet of water one day only to move into 30 feet the next; prowling a mud flat this weekend and working a steep rock edge next weekend.
The most common mistake weekend anglers make is to fish the same old spots hour after hour and day after day, even if they aren’t enjoying much success. These are “confidence spots” that were productive last year, last weekend or even the day before. But previous success is no guarantee there will be fish on a spot today, and every tournament fisherman knows it.
The pros try to establish several different patterns rather than just one. During their days of practice fishing they’ll attempt isolate a number of good “spots.” If one of those spots doesn’t produce during the tournament, they’ll try something else
Not long ago I was entertaining a guest on one of my favorite walleye waters; a lake I know like my living room and is teaming with good fish. I visited half a dozen of my favorite walleye haunts, working each thoroughly, and had just a couple small fish to show for the effort.
“Time to run and gun,” I told my guest.
I motored across the lake at half throttle, zigging and zagging and watching the depth finder for anything interesting. When I spotted something, I’d slow down and circle. I looked for shallow water, the availability of deep water, bottom content, forage fish and signs of game fish.
If I didn’t find what I was looking for, I’d move on. If the spot showed some potential, we’d bait up and give it a quick try. And when I say “quick,” that’s exactly what I mean. A couple times my guest barely had his line in the water before I was ready to move.
Then I located a tiny submerged island that doesn’t appear on most maps. It topped out at 10 feet and dropped quickly on one side into 40 feet, some of the deepest water on the lake. There were scattered weeds on the top and rocks along the deep edge.
In circling over the deeper water I noticed a cloud of baitfish on the locator, and when I snuggled up to the drop-off I saw some telltale hooks indicating walleyes just off the bottom.
In less than half an hour we caught and released our limits, including a couple of the biggest fish I caught from that lake all summer.
Running and gunning improves the angler’s odds of finding active fish by tripling or quadrupling the number of spots he tries. And if there are any active fish on a spot, chances are it won’t take long to catch one.
The run-and-gun technique is also a great way to zero in on the bigger fish it takes to win a tournament. If you’re working a spot that’s producing lots of average-sized fish, you may as well pick up and head for another area, because fish often school by size.
Another thing I’ve learned about big fish is that they often spook from an area after a pass or two. If you catch a nice fish on the first pass but nothing but little ones on subsequent passes, you may as well run and gun, looking for similar structures that may kick out another big fish on the first or second pass.
When incorporating that run-and-gun approach, it’s a good idea to look for a variety of different structure types. Try weed edges, sunken islands, rock piles, creek channels and even mud flats until you figure out what kind of bottom content and configuration the fish are using.
Running and gunning improves the angler’s odds of running across a school of active fish. And in the process of hitting multiple locations and using varying techniques, you become a much better fisherman.
Good Fishing!
Babe Winkelman is a nationally-known outdoorsman who has taught people to fish and hunt for nearly 30 years. Watch his award-winning ‘Good Fishing’ ‘Outdoor Secrets’ television shows on Versus (VS.), Fox Sports Net, Wild and many local networks.By: Babe Winkelman / Babe Winkelman Productions
