FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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Tip of the Day

Whether fresh or salt, use a drop of super glue to attach your plastics to the jig head or hook.  They don’t pull down on the hook as easy and obviously last longer.  Not only is it nice to have them glued in advance for my wading box it’s a money saver.

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The Need for Speed!

The Texas Mile was at the Victoria airport this weekend and the Boss and I spent the afternoon watching some fast cars, and in both our opinions some completely crazy 200 mph motorcycle guys.  There were hot rods, foreign exotics, luxury cars, and plenty of Mustangs and Corvettes, with even a station wagon or two, all tuned up to run like a scalded cat.  Cars and bikes hitting speeds of 160 -180 as the rule, with many over 200 and we even saw a 240+ mph.  That is freakin’ fast.  We both love cars and speeds so here is a little taste.  My only questions is why if we could do 18o by simply adding a turbo to her ride she won’t let me do it?  What is she thinking?  There are just some some questions that will never be answered, except by NO!.

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So many of us have a quest.  Maybe a 30″ trout, a marlin, or maybe fishing for Golden Dorado in South America.  Those quests, big and small, all seem to come with fishing.  Reflecting on the story Dan is doing on his quest to catch a Share a Lunker I realized that is me and my life in so many ways.  Whether it was a marlin, a big muskie, or some other “cool” fish, they were all a quest in some sense.  Trips to the Everglades, Lake of the Woods, Falcon, and host of others, have all been a important part of that quest.  The love of thinking about, and visiting, far away places with fish is what makes fishing dreams.

While Dan’s quest is short term in some respects, I realized mine is ongoing without end.  It morphs regularly, I never stop dreaming, planning, and scheming.  Each and every fish and destination is a part of the larger and never ending quest.  So while mine has no particular end that defines it, it is a life time quest to do something spectacular.  So keep your fishing dreams alive and make them happen.  We only get one run at this and occasionally those quests actually come to fruition.

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I just read a post from a guide who is lamenting the traffic on the bay, apparently on his arrival at the spot he fished the day before folks were on it.  We all hate it when that happens but……..  First, it is quite a presumption to think that the only reason they are fishing there is they saw you.  Back to the old “pot licker” narrative.  It is a “I found this spot, and no one else  knows”, which is an entitled way to look at “your” spot, because obviously no one ever fished it in the decades before you got your first boat.  And of course the other folks could not have possibly found it “all by themselves”.  (But for a another guide to do that is a completely different issue.)

Next, he admits to using the internet to build his business, and now he is lamenting the results.  As a blogger who tries to spread the news I know how it  feels to find folks there first, but it comes with it and if you do not want the attention then do not bring it upon yourself.  (Again I fully understand how building a guiding business is dependent on the web.) To give you an example of what some might call potlicking, my partner and I were waiting to weigh in when one of my readers, who had a nice mess, said thanks I fished your spot.  Remember I put it out there.  So you know what my response was?  Congratulations and nice job.  (It beats your blood pressure peaking sky high.)

And as far as being spotted on the bay, then do not wrap your boat.  If you think the mere sight of you fishing draws folks like a magnate, then quit being a floating bill board.  But I understand that when you have sponsors it is imperative that you share the results of the products that support you.  Yes the bays are more crowded, yes people fish where others fished, and yes there are some sorry mofos who will steal your spot before you get there.   But it is hard to have it both ways.  It really is a Catch 22.  An example of dealing with that problem I saw a Louisiana fishing guide on TV with no boat wrap who cleans fish at his own cleaning station.  Sad it has come to that, but it is what it has become.

Change is tough, when I started guiding it was cigar boats with stick steering, a 70hp was a monster engine, and a GPS was a tightly controlled military item.  I could fish all day in the back of a creek and not see another soul.  But change has come to the fishing world.  Folks  have more money, more time, more technology, there is no stopping it.  The cat is out of the bag, and all of us who use the internet and public media to tout our stuff are responsible.  We all have had a part in changing the fishing world no matter how small that part was.  Ultimately the only response is to change with the inevitable, it is not going to get any easier.  But as I have found out the last 7 years I have been doing the blog, you use the web to market yourself, or write as I do, and shit will happen.  When it comes down to it you have two choices, either draw less attention to yourself or deal with it.  We are a long way from cane poles and row boats, the days of the “Secret Spot” are long gone.  But guess what?  I am not ragging on him, I feel his pain.

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And as long as a I am mulling over the fishing world it is apparent I am a generalist in that world.  I like fishing for multiple species.  Ok at most, except catfishing according to the wife, but master of none.  When it comes down to it as long as there is a rod in my hand I am good.  And with that, fishing for different species is part of the fisherman that I have become.  Bullheads, bluegill, carp, they all played a role.  Of course we might fish for some more than others, in my case I try to organize my quest by what is biting.  Want a big bass?  Fish now on Falcon or a few other lakes in this state.  Want a big pre-spawn speckled trout? Fish now on the Upper Laguna and Baffin.  Want a tarpon, fish summetime here or Florida in the spring.  They all have their time, and putting yourself in the best position to catch that fish of your dreams means research, reading, and planning.

It is an interesting question for many fisherman.  Be great at one thing or good at it all?  In my case, as a kid I would have been diagnosed ADD today, my attention span can be short, and my boredom level seems to increase the better I get at a thing.  So “one fish” fishing is not enough to keep me entertained.  Larry Dahlberg, who I consider to be the greatest mulit-species fisherman who ever lived said it best – “First we want to catch a fish, then we want to catch lots of fish, then we want to catch a big fish, and finally, we want to catch fish the way we want to.”   So true.  Maybe a buzzbait will not boat the most fish, but an 8lber exploding on it is a thing of beauty.  And the topwater bite may not be the best, but what is not to like about a 5lb trout rolling all over it and then coming up with the classic mouth open head shaking wallow.  And putting kids on tons of white bass is as fulfilling as any big fish.  So it is ok to be the best at one fish or technique, but looking down on others who jerk perch, carp fish, fish from the bank, or have a boat that looks like my skiff, does not make you a bigger fisherman, it makes you less.  There is no “wrong’ way to fish, nor is there a “lessor’ fish.  Fishing is done by more people than just about any other sport on the face of the earth and we are all connected by the love of our sport.

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My buddy Todd sent me this link to a company that manufactures wood lures, fast becoming a lost art.  It reminds me of the traditional lures that were used in the north country when I was a kid.  And on the web site it says they are super low on the inventory, so folks must like them.  So take a look back to days gone by, cool looking stuff.

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It is Sunday morning and after a quick trip to the store to pick up a few things, and I will admit maybe a beer or two, it will be an afternoon of basketball.  (Then the beer.)  This NCAA tourney has been exciting and looks like there is more to come.  (And a word to you A&M fans, you guys played well as much as it pains me to say that after my Hogs  fell flat.)  And while I am watching in the tackle room it will be all the stuff it takes to keep fishing.  Line to be replaced, lures to be checked, stuff to be organized.  So while I am not fishing I am thinking about fishing and doing fishing stuff.  Tomorrow it will be back on the lake, the choice due to the 25 mph winds in the forecast, then back to the bay later in the week.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines