Every angler wants to have a successful day on the water. Sometimes things don’t go according to plan. Wind and tides can do things you don’t expect, or the bite just might be off. When it’s just not working for you, what you need is a backup plan. A good angler learns from the fish and adapts to the situation.

WaterLine publisher Josh Olive, my friend Barry and I decided to try some wade fishing a few mornings ago. The weather was perfect — too perfect, come to think of it: Sunny with a few clouds and a steady incoming tide. The Harbor was slick as glass and the water was clean and clear. The plan was to fish the last hour of the incoming tide and first hour or two of the outgoing.