To boost your catch rate, try fishing strategically with a partner. Here’s how

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OFFER UP OPTIONS

Whenever I’m fishing with my grandson Liam, we always start the day by using contrasting tactics. Typically, one of us casts a topwater or sub-surface jerkbait-style lure while the other scours the bottom. As well, one of us fishes quickly, while the other fishes slowly, matching our personalities.

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Being young and aggressive, Liam is always eager to fish fast presentations, such as tail spinners, jerkbaits, bucktails and cranks. I love the finesse game, on the other hand, until I once again prove to myself that it’s possible to go too slow, too low and too small. Eventually, we meet somewhere in the middle. In the case of bass on the bottom, for example, we might end up both pitching Ned Rigs, drop-shotting the same coloured soft-plastics or swimming silicone-skirted jigs dressed with pulsating grubs.

BONUS TIP: ALONE TIME

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Whenever you’re fishing solo, don’t let that stop you from tag-teaming—you just have to be your own partner, so to speak. In my case, I typically keep up to eight rods on deck, each rigged with different presentations for myself and my alter egos. Then I’ll sort through the depth, speed and other considerations as though my partner were right beside me.