Mark Davis says Lake Dardanelle is his nemesis, dating back to a botched AOY title earlier in his career. He might change his mind after what is panning out on the upper end of the lake.
Davis is fishing a textbook backwater area containing everything needed for a consistent day of fishing. Plentiful baitfish. Lots of current. Stained water, not too clear or muddy. He also is alone.
Consistency is the key word. We’ve already seen how difficult keeping a consistent streak is this week.
Davis is fishing two different areas and one of those is with a lure that has made him famous over the years. Yesterday he made a key discovery after catching 19 pounds from the area. Above all else, the reason for the fortunate find is confidence that a consistent population of fish inhabit the area.
“Sometimes we try to make it happen and you just can’t,” he told me. “Sometimes you have to slow down, let the fish come to you.”
Davis, by his easy going personality, never gets in a hurry no matter the task. Keeping a slow tempo has paid off for him before. It’s doing that here, too. Lure presentation is another key when he switches to his other spot.
“When the fish aren’t in a feeding mode there is a certain angle, a one-cast angle, that I must make with the crankbait,” he said. “It’s a one-cast deal where the bait must track directly over the piece of cover that iIm fishing at the time.”
Davis knows a thing or two abut how to make that happen. Boat position, a precise cast and the right retrieve are key.
“It takes time to figure out those mechanics when the presentation must be so precise,” he added.