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Time to Make the Doughnuts

Andy Whitcomb

3/20/2012

I have always thought the less noise emanating from a boat the better. And I’ve strived for stealth, or at least minimal kid squabbling. Recently, I was surprised to hear Bassmaster Elite tournament pro Dustin Wilks share that sometimes boat traffic is “not a bad thing” when you’re fishing.

During a Bass Fishing Techniques class Jeff Kriet, another Bassmaster Elite Pro, echoed the sentiment. Kriet has the most fun looking for bass way “out” (deep water, away from shore). These bass often are in large, loose schools. Rather than grumble when another boat races nearby, Kriet has noticed that sometimes boat activity can “wake up” (sorry) a school of bass.

“It scatters bait fish, gets the bass moving. Soon they return and are more eager to bite.”

He is so convinced of this, that he has even made boat noise himself while targeting sluggish schools.

“I’ve done doughnuts over them.”

As we share our water resources with other boats being used for various recreational activities, you may not hear me yell, “Hey, ski over here!” However, if a fellow boater buzzes by, I am going to be more patient because the bite just might pick up after a doughnut.

Fishing, Bass

Andy Whitcomb

Andy is an outdoor writer (http://www.justkeepreeling.com/) and stressed-out Dad has contributed over 380 blogs to takemefishing.org since 2011. Born in Florida, but raised on banks of Oklahoma farm ponds, he now chases pike, smallmouth bass, and steelhead in Pennsylvania. After earning a B.S. in Zoology from OSU, he worked in fish hatcheries and as a fisheries research technician at OSU, Iowa State, and Michigan State.

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