While I won’t claim to be the person who “discovered” this method, I have spent a lot of time perfecting it recently.

It all started when I was fishing my most recent bass tournament. I was in a river spot and found myself in a pinch. The water was very shallow, but the fish were quite active. My initial plan was to hop fathead minnows off the bottom using a sinker or a jighead. The trouble was, my weights kept getting stuck on the rocky bottom.

There’s nothing quite like the excitement of trying out a new fishing spot. And there’s nothing quite like the disappointment that comes when it doesn’t pan out.

While patience will forever be a virtue of fishing, there’s something to be said for cutting to chase.

There’s a special section in my tackle box for “scouting baits,” a small collection of go-tos that help me quickly assess what is (or isn’t) going on in a new location.