The key to ultimate fishing success, Brian Snowden was saying Friday during a break in the action at the Bass Pro Shops Spring Fishing Classic, is preparation.
Snowden should know. As the third-place finisher in the recent Bassmasters Classic and a four- time qualifier, the Missouri resident has used this hallmark to become a model of tournament- fishing consistency. For competitors casting for big bucks in a format where time equals money, the concept is easy to understand. Snowden aims his pitch even further.
“If the weekend angler wants to become better, there are so many techniques he can master without being on the water,” Snowden said. “There’s more information out there, and an angler can learn faster than ever before.”
Snowden perhaps had chosen the perfect platform to deliver this message. With Alton Jones, 2008 Bassmasters Classic champ, he was serving as the opening act for a Bass Pro Shops shindig that ranks among the best learning opportunities ever in the Denver market — a far-flung event that will be spread over three weekends ending March 15.
It’s an educational opportunity that features a little something for everyone: bass, walleye, crappie, fly-fishing on both streams and lakes, fly-tying, fly-casting and everything in between.
Just how seriously the big store in the Northfield shopping complex takes an event conceived as a nationwide production is illustrated by Friday’s kickoff with these top bass pros. The presentations attracted several dozen enthusiasts who hung on every morsel of advice, then swarmed the podium clamoring for more.
“Particularly when gas prices are high, time on the water is too precious not to be prepared to take full advantage of it,” said Snowden, whose entire career has been a model of groundwork. He moved as a young man from his home in Southern California to Springfield, Mo., Bass Pro Shops headquarters, with the specific goal of becoming a bass pro and representing that company. Talk about planning ahead.
Among his tips for an unconventional bass environment such as Colorado:
• Where you have a lot of steep shorelines without trees or other obvious structure, keep things simple. Cast parallel to shore down vertical walls. The slightest irregularity in contour or vegetation takes on special importance in these conditions.
• On draw-down reservoirs, take photographs when the water is low. This will reveal the places you want to cast when the lake fills.
Jones, a tall Texan, offered tips specific to early spring, a time when fish go on the move despite water temperature that may seem too cold.
• Shallow water is the first to warm. Try shallow shorelines with lots of sun exposure out of the wind.
• Begin the season fishing slowly, then use more aggressive tactics as the water warms.
• Cold is a relative thing. Bass are much more cold-tolerant in Colorado. Expect fish to become active based on rising temperature rather than thermometer absolutes.
• Just like people, fish like spring sun on their backs. Fish will suspend in the top 8 feet of water, close enough to the surface to feel the sun.
• These bass often are lethargic, as are baitfish. To match up with this, try a suspending jerk bait, such as the Excalibur Twitch Bait. Let it rest for long periods. “You’ll be surprised at the bites you’ll get.”
Just how important these learning, or preparation, sessions can be was illustrated by this aside between a father and son, perhaps not quite 10.
“I love to fish,” the boy said.
“This man is going to teach us how,” the father replied.
Charlie Meyers: 303-954-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com
Classic lineup
TODAY
Ice-fishing: Dave Bryant, 10 a.m.
Fly-fishing: Mike Oatley, 11 a.m.; Char Bloom, noon; Pat Dorsey, 1 p.m.; Kent Higgins, 4 p.m.
Walleye: Jim Cranmer, 3 p.m.
Bass: Tracker boats pro staff, 5 p.m.
SATURDAY
Trout: Barry Reynolds, 9 a.m.- 1 p.m., also 2 p.m.
Bass: Jon Allendorf, 10 a.m.; Quentin Lewis, 11 a.m.; Troy Coburn, 1 p.m., also 4 p.m.
Crappie: Goldie Sellers, 5 p.m.
MARCH 8
Fly-fishing: Marty Bartholomew, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.; Sarah Barclay, 11 a.m.; Tyler Befus, 1-5 p.m.
Walleye: Cranmer, 2 p.m., also 5 p.m.
Crappie: Sellers, noon; also 3 p.m.
Bass: Coburn, 1 p.m.; Lewis, 4 p.m.
MARCH 14
Walleye: Rich Stebbins Jr., 10 a.m.; Doc Johnson, 11 a.m., also 2 p.m.; Cranmer, 5 p.m.
Bass: Coburn, 1 p.m.; Mike Hubbard, 4 p.m.
Bowfishing: Rodney Rexwinkle, noon.
MARCH 15
Walleye: Johnson, 11 a.m., also 3 p.m.; Stebbins, noon, also 4 p.m.; Don Skinner, 2 p.m.
Bass: Allendorf, 1 p.m.; Hubbard, 5 p.m.
