Took me a long time to realize that it isn't particularly what's on the end of my line that matters. Little things like the depth, the speed, the action of the lure, bank structure, and whether I washed my hands were very important.

Lest you think I'm joking about the last one, let me assure you that I'm not. I keep a bottle of dish detergent in the boat to wash my hands before I touch a lure or bait. I had a lesson years back where I was trying to show a guy how to catch walleye, in his boat. It being his boat, all of my stuff wasn't there, including the soap, so I couldn't wash my hands. He caught 5 fish, I couldn't buy a bite. We went in to get some lunch, and I washed my hands at the quick mart. We went back out, and it was three for me to one for him.

So, now you all know for sure what you formerely only expected - I smell bad.