I had a bit of a revelation about myself, specifically my approach to fishing. I used to be pretty decent/lucky. I would generally always catch something, if not usually more catches than the people I fished with.
I've been wondering why, despite having far better gear and more of it, I feel like I've caught way less fish this year than i did last year when i was running only 2 rigs both of which sucked. And I think back to how we make fun of folks who think they can make up for lack of fishing ability by buying fancier tackle. And I worried thats what happened to me.
But i came to realize that in a way the new tackle is the problem, but not in the way i thought it was. I've long known but apparently forgotten that the secret of successful fishing is to target what's active at that spot at that time. I've spent the past year apparently on a mission to play with my new toys, trying to use my tackle to catch the types of fish that tackle is meant for. And along the way I apparently forgot to consider the odds of those species (not to mention large specimens thereof) being in the area at the time, AND hungry.
So I've come to realize I've wasted a bunch of fishing trips and a bunch of live bait. But hey, some lessons are more expensive than others, and some just take longer. Here's to a far more successful 2021.
Well said..... If you don't learn at least one thing every outing your not trying hard enough..... And it gets hard to remember that fishing is about the ENTIRE experience not just the catching!
Pj
Well said Jason. This is a lesson I learned living on the Sacramento River, fish the seasons and the run...then pick the gear that matches your target....Bill
Yes, I do strive to repeat successful days, but to me it's more important to NOT repeat my worst fishing days
it's definitely more productive to target what's there, rather than what you want to be there
so you took a season to reaffirm that principle & tweak your tackle
you'll be better prepped, when the big girls arrive
Or you could just have fun,,,,,, :D don't target anything and use whatever gear you want doing it,,,,, ;) then you will have a blast,,,,,,,, ;D
But the thing is when hook a fish of a lifetime your ready,,,, ;) no excuses,,,,,,,,,,, ;D
I like this guy Benni, he's never undergunned ;D ;D
@ Jason, in my beginnings (around 15 years ago) I used to catch more fish when used cheap lures on a cheap rod and reel because I didnt care if I lose the lures on the rocks or snagged at the bottom, then started to buy and use better rods and reel AND nicer and more expensive lures but I was scared to lose a $20- $30 DUO or luckycraft lure, so, suddenly I couldnt caught anything, then asked why I didnt caught as many fish as before even with better lures and rigs, until found out that my fear to lose my lures was bigger than my wishes to catch a fish, so on my next fishing trip I just switched that up, started to use my "expensive" lures without worries of getting snag or lose them and they started to work better and find the fish, then joy for fishing returned.
Quote from: steelfish on December 15, 2020, 12:42:29 AM
I like this guy Benni, he's never undergunned ;D ;D
@ Jason, in my beginnings (around 15 years ago) I used to catch more fish when used cheap lures on a cheap rod and reel because I didnt care if I lose the lures on the rocks or snagged at the bottom, then started to buy and use better rods and reel AND nicer and more expensive lures but I was scared to lose a $20- $30 DUO or luckycraft lure, so, suddenly I couldnt caught anything, then asked why I didnt caught as many fish as before even with better lures and rigs, until found out that my fear to lose my lures was bigger than my wishes to catch a fish, so on my next fishing trip I just switched it, started to use my "expensive" lures without worries of getting snag or lose them and they started to work better and find the fish, then joy for fishing returned.
Yes last trip to the lake i lost 10 gamakatsu hooks and I don't how much litter,,,,, :( but if you want to play you got to pay,,,,,, ;) and a friend said go big or go home,,,,,hehe the most important thing is you litter,,,,,,,,,,, ;D
Fishing is somewhat repeatable, what worked on your last successful outing will work on the next one. Then there's the old saying "the sun shines on a different dogs butt everyday", your time will come again if you put in the time.
Quote from: Benni3 on December 15, 2020, 01:07:16 AM
....but if you want to play you got to pay,,,,,, ;)
I said that now to myself and to my friends when they lose an expensive knife jig or trolling lure, well, if you want to play you gotta pay, its funny the 1st 3 lures, but after you lose 5-7 $30 dlls lures on the same day its not funny anymore LOL
hmmm, maybe get a scuba suit + clear riot shield
& go lure huntin'/gatherin' :o could be profitable ;D ;D ;D
Yes $7 dollar lures with a 80.cent hook on the back lost
7in one mouth is difficult,,,,,, ;) but you get the big one's you got to pay to play,,,,,,,,, ;D
I have a friend who will sit on a pier all day from dawn to dusk, just sit there on a bucket with a diminishing supply of beer amd a rod in his hands with a line in the water. Never uses a hook. Has a blast.
Sometimes it's the race car but usually it's the driver.
A friend of mine used to say only fish where there is fish.
The Man
Quote from: philaroman on December 15, 2020, 01:35:20 AM
hmmm, maybe get a scuba suit + clear riot shield
& go lure huntin'/gatherin' :o could be profitable ;D ;D ;D
I've done that before. Heavily fished spots from shorelines often have snags that seem to get everybody. Once I got a Zebco 33 and ok rod combo---looked like the person was trolling(lots a line out) and not paying attention.
Quote from: Ron Jones on December 15, 2020, 03:30:55 PM
A friend of mine used to say only fish where there is fish.
The Man
That's so true..!! It doesn't matter how hard you try if the fish aren't there it doesn't matter what tackle and bait you are using.
What type of fishing do you do?
Keith
I have never forgotten this lesson from my youth.
When I was a kid learning to fish in the 1970's, one of my mentors - a very successful commercial and recreational fisherman - would often be asked "what is the one piece of advice you would give someone to make them a better fisherman". His response was simple....He said to stop thinking of it as fishing, and start thinking of it as hunting. A hunter typically understands his/her quarry.....how it eats, when it is in rut, where it beds down, etc.
How many fisherman - especially those casual weekend fisherman - know these things about the fish they target? Is it an ambush predator? Does it feed by sight or scent? etc.
Ya know Henry David Thoreau said it this way, "Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after."
Quote from: MarkT on December 15, 2020, 06:47:40 PM
Ya know Henry David Thoreau said it this way, "Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after."
That partly explains why I see so many corks and lures hanging from the trees along the river banks. :)
Quote from: wailua boy on December 15, 2020, 04:07:55 AM
Sometimes it's the race car but usually it's the driver.
Ding...ding...ding. I think we have a winner.
IMO, a lot of time catching fish for me depends on my attitude. Let me share a short story.
Many years ago like 20 or so I taught myself a very important lesson. One day fishing for bluefin I could not buy a bite. It was not wide open by any means and anyone that fishes for BFT knows those fish can be very shy about biting. Anyway after many fish were landed, none by me, and several by very novice fishermen with not the greatest gear I was almost fed up. I walk into the galley and get a cold drink from the cook. The bite was still going on and the cook says, "Got your limit?", I say no and I can't buy a bite let alone hook a fish. He then says, "Their still biting you should get back out there". I said I will but first I have to change my attitude being as I was frustrated, anxious and a bit pissed off. I drank my beer, relaxed and was ready to give it another shot. I step on deck cast out a fresh bait and think to myself it would be nice to catch a fish but even if I don't this sure beats working. Long story short I get my first fish and then a few more. I even catch one on the yoyo iron which no one was trying and that fish wins the jackpot.
Ever since that time I just relax and hope for the best and don't worry to much about catching. I think this alone has made me a better fisherman.
Quote from: SoCalAngler on December 15, 2020, 06:58:47 PM
Ding...ding...ding. I think we have a winner.
Ever since that time I just relax and hope for the best and don't worry to much about catching. I think this alone has made me a better fisherman.
bingo !! thats my motto.
I always try to enjoy more the whole fishing trip, the sea, talking with my fishing friends and "being fishing that day instead of working", all that instead of actually passing the fishing day focused 100% on catching, "fishing is the whole cake, catching is just the cherry on the cake".
(sounds better in spanish but you get the idea)
This has blossomed into a great thread.
I'm a land based fisherman by default. Which is to say that if i had a boat or a kayak, I'd be using them. But i don't, so I fish from beaches, docks, piers, sea walls, and rock jetties. I tend to throw my lines around or under structure, because in my limited experience that's where the fish are.
And striperstan has hit on what i think is a very important detail. When i start talking about snook behavior, life cycle, and the way they are affected by water temp, people tend to give me funny looks. "You spend a lot of time thinking about this huh?" And yes, I do! I study them because I like eating them, and you can't go buy one.
My answer, the many times I've had to explain myself, is that if you talk to a highly skilled deer hunter about hunting deer, 5% of the conversation will be about guns and ammo, 75% will be about deer behavior and psychology, and 20% will be about timing. Now i just pulled those numbers out of my #### but I suspect they're in the ballpark.
Talking to a friend about this, he pointed out the # of snook ive caught this year. And he's right. I think I've landed more snook in 2020 than my entire life before it combined. So maybe I'm over analyzing.
And I also realized that while I've been on more small fishing trips this year than last, thanks to covid and needing to get my toddler out of the house while my wife teaches remotely, also thanks to covid, most those trips were not to my normal fishing spots because they were all closed. So i was just looking on google earth for spots with water access near somewhere to park, and going and trying my luck.
And the reason why my main spots are my main spots, is because there's fish there!
Also last year I didn't usually bring my kid bc he was too young. This year he comes along on most trips (and does great). That writes off some of the more adventurous spots, and its impossible to manage 4 rods and a toddler. But he's getting better at walking on rocks, and its a worthwhile trade anyway. I love that he's getting hooked on something other than TV.
Quote from: JasonGotaPenn on December 15, 2020, 07:33:45 PM
........... This year he comes along on most trips (and does great). That writes off some of the more adventurous spots, and its impossible to manage 4 rods and a toddler. But he's getting better at walking on rocks, and its a worthwhile trade anyway. I love that he's getting hooked on something other than TV.
thats what I said, just enjoy the fishing day, I remember when I took my little princess to fish on a local pier, I was more happy than her when she caught her first fish on a new rod I built for her, that was almost 4 years ago and she still remember all the small details on the fishing day, she was anxious to use her fishing rod and the cherry on the cake was that from all the fishermen that were fishing that day on the pier she was the only one that caught a fish that day, so, she came back home as a champ anxious to tell that to mom.
(https://alantani.com/gallery/29/3592_18_09_19_3_43_12_29372528.jpeg)
this is the thread I made
https://alantani.com/index.php?topic=20665.0
Great story. My kids "first fish" was when he was 2, but I was holding the rod and helping him reel it in. This was his first non-catfish, but I was still sorta helping.
Now we have an agreement, there's no "his rod" and "my rods." What we do is work together instead. he reels in the small ones, I reel in the big ones. It was his idea. But i still "help" him by keeping one hand on my fancier rigs.
I love going out with him. The questions that kid asks, and the ideas and explanations for observations that he comes up continually surprise and impress me.
Too cute Alex and Jason! Maybe there should be a sub-section for kid/fish pictures. I like how you got some good background in both pictures to see the diffrent environments.
Quote from: Gfish on December 15, 2020, 09:31:50 PM
Too cute Alex and Jason! Maybe there should be a sub-section for kid/fish pictures. I like how you got some good background in both pictures to see the diffrent environments.
hey compa G,
Glad you mention it, I made a thread few years ago (2005) with that idea, post pictures of your kids fishing, only kiddos, it has some sucess but got lost on the daily post, maybe if a moderator want to put it as Sticky thread so more members will see it and continue.
https://alantani.com/index.php?topic=14493.0
so, Jason, please post that picture of you boy on that thread to keep it alive
Love it jason, green chair for Dad to sit on a bucket for the little man to see over the wall, good thinking man, cheers Don, love children's pictures.
I had an interesting epiphany a while back: the amount of use my setups got seemed to be inversely proportional to their cost. While several lovely high-end setups were purchased with big dreams of catching enormous fish, the reality is that I would only actively target those species maybe one in 10 trips; the other 9 trips it was a couple of trusty combos that were considerably less expensive that did the lion's share of the work. I suppose I could have gone one step further and tried to use the fancy big-fish setups at times and locations that didn't warrant it, but I suspect the reality is that I would have experienced a similar thing to you, in a reduced catch rate. First the fish have got to be there, second you've got to fish for those fish... no point putting down a beautifully presented live bait when the fish in the area have a mouth the size of a grape.... or deploying a tiny little bait on a 150lb leader so it looks unnatural as all get out and nothing touches it.
Naturally, I used this as a justification to buy more shiny toys... now I have two very very nice combos that come out with me every trip, and cover a broad range of types of fishing.
Still hasn't meant I catch more fish :D :D
Just for you Alex...STICKIED... dOMINICK
Quote from: Dominick on December 16, 2020, 02:13:53 AM
Just for you Alex...STICKIED... dOMINICK
super, thanks a lot Dominick, that thread have many great pictures from kids of our at.com ohana members
I been asked when is the best time to catch fish? I replied when you are fishing you don't catch fish sitting at home on the couch.
Kim
when I was a kid, I just wanted to catch A FISH
when I was young man, I wanted to catch MORE/BIGGER fish
now, I want to catch fish, THE WAY I want to catch fish
numbers go down a bit, as you transition into the final stage
Quote from: philaroman on December 16, 2020, 09:16:01 AM
when I was a kid, I just wanted to catch A FISH
when I was young man, I wanted to catch MORE/BIGGER fish
now, I want to catch fish, THE WAY I want to catch fish
numbers go down a bit, as you transition into the final stage
Final stage?
Lol, you'll want to catch them on rigs you make, reels you build, on your own boat, I don't think there is a final stage, there's always one more.
My thing is never get discouraged,,,, >:( never give up,,,, ;) a bad day fishing in the last 15mins everything can change ,,,,, :o but if not there's always next time and it wasn't a wasted trip being out on the sea or seeing nature,,,,,,,,,,, ;D