We are heading towards the end of summer. For several weeks now, summer fishing conditions have prevailed. Pretty much every angler will tell you that fishing gets tougher during the summer. That is a fact, although there are a few tips that can still put some fish on the end of your line, Summer Fishing Tips.
Hearing recent comments about tough fishing and lack of success got me to thinking. Should I presume to catch fish every time I am on the water?
Obviously, I go fishing to catch fish! I expect to catch fish; every now and then I hope some of those are big fish. But, should I expect to catch something every trip? Follow my thinking. . . .
I have kept notes of every fishing trip for a long time now. I believe that is a good way to improve angling skills. Looking back over a lot of years of notes, I can tell you when fishing open water I am successful about 70% of the time. Let me define that: That is MY fishing log, and I have recorded things I believed were important. A “successful fishing trip” likewise is MY definition of success. That would be a trip in which I caught at least one respectable size fish. No, I have not considered a trip a success just by catching a little panfish or one little bass. If I had defined success in that way, I am sure my success rate could be over 90%. Success rates in any given year have ranged from as low as 40% to as high as 90%.
Was the year my success rate was clear down near 40% a terrible year? Was it a reflection of some really poor fishing? Or, some of you snickering as you read this, thinking was it a reflection of a really poor angler?
Not at all!
As a matter of fact, looking back over those years of fishing notes, one way I have learned I can become a better angler is by not being too successful.
What?
“You are crazy!”
No! I could go out and scratch at least one small fish and declare a trip successful by doing nothing but fishing familiar waters with favorite baits. However, that would not necessarily make me a better angler. I would not necessarily learn anything new by doing that.
Versatility is a key to fishing success. Nothing works all the time. There are no magic baits that always catch fish. Every day on the water is different, and the only way to be consistently successful is by learning to adapt and adjust. In doing that, there will be days when the skunk lives. Not only is that OK, it should be expected, dare I say even embraced? And you know what? Those are the days when you likely will learn the most. If they are not, they should be.
Fishing keeps us humble, which makes us better people. Infrequent success reminds us that we have much to learn from those less “intelligent” than ourselves.–Why We Fish: Reel Wisdom from Real Fishermen
Every minute on the water should be a learning experience, whether fish are caught or not. If I may, let me share another quote from an unnamed angler on the interwebs:
Always ask yourself the “why”. The answers you get are the answers that will improve your success.
That is true whether you are catching fish. . .
or not!
By the way, my year of lowest success was a recent one. It was a year when I spent almost all of my time on the water “swinging for the fences”, going big for large, apex, predator fish. It also was a year when the average size of all fish caught was among my best ever. Moreover, it was followed just a couple of years later by the average size fish for the year being THE largest ever.
Just because you do not catch fish, does not mean a trip was unsuccessful!
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