Are you having fun and catching fish?

A good friend always told me “…you have to fish to learn in order to learn to fish.” By that he reasoned that experience offers you practice to test out what you think you know and to discover what you don’t.

Makes sense right? Well that is not always obvious to everyone and we often find ourselves fishing the same spots, with the same lures, and with the same lackadaisical schedule that was convenient to us right? At the end of the day you are likely to say better luck next time. Luck? Next time? Is that really the best way to approach your end of the day after spending time and money doing something you enjoy? For some that is fine I’m sure but I think we are all in it for some level of sportsmanship and when you come back dry of fish you are actually wet with information.

At the end of my day good or bad I like to think that I learned something new with each trip. Even fishing the same water there is always something different. If I can pick up on it, then I’m a happy camper. Got skunked you say? Well, when you get home write about that trip. It could be worth something some day.

A famous quote from Thomas Edison is, “I haven’t failed, I’ve found 10,000 ways that don’t work”. Hmm, I think he is on to something. Another good quote is from a mid-century German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, who wrote, “Research is what I’m doing when I don’t know what I’m doing.” So enough with the quotes right? OK, just trying to point out that when we think we have wasted our time or had bad luck we actually learned something. Do not discard these nuggets of information for they are really worth something.

The next time you get out, good trip or bad consider this; record it somehow. The most common way to do this is to keep some templates of a trip log to fill out at the end of the day. I would recommend that you do this soon after your trip as the days will joggle your brain and you may not remember all of the critical details several days later.

Currently I use an Internet web blog. I add my trips within a day after an outing. I don’t document enough of the details the way I should and do need to improve. However, I have been a good boy at documenting them. More of the user experience and in a journal format. Hey, whatever works for you.

Here is a neat method I’m going to experiment with. Using a hand held mini voice recorder I will record the details of the day to play it back later. When I get home, I can play it back and put it into a web blog format and publish it with more details as needed.

It is a fact that you can catch more fish if you become a more educated fisherman. Luck though has some part in fishing is not enough to rely on. Have fun and catch more fish.

Brian

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Danvers – October 21, 2006

Was able to get out twice on this day. By myself before a birthday party for a few casts then later after the party with Nelson for a few casts.

Wind was strong WNW wind at about 20MPH. Earlier in the day there were 50MPH winds in the same direction. 2 fish came eary 2 hours before low tide and then I got 5 more 2 hours after high tide. All small except for the last one it was about 20 inches which for me was a fun fish (in the dark and cold). All on sluggos. Fish were busting everywhere on my second trip. You could see them busting from the overshining of a bilboard light nearby. Casting right to the splash immediately after would trigger a strike.

Might of been the last  salt fish for me this year. I really need to get some outdoor work done before silver buddy season.
Brian

North Shore October 15th, 2006

Met up with Nelson on this cold October morning. It was cold and the action was slow. A west wind was still in our hopes that there was some good fishing to still be had?

Kicked off the day in the shady side of Salem at willows around 7. Only 1 fish (1st cast – isn’t that confusing when the do that?) However, after a few more punts of the sluggo into the constant westward wind I made an executive decision to leave my 10-minute term as “King of the uni-schoolie rock”. Oh ya plus I could not help myself to the massive feast that was at the foot of the Rt 1A bridge on the Salem side.

After arriving there the birds were gone  :confused:  and so were the fish. I felt like I just witnessed a mirage. You know the one where you are dreaming about catching keepers with every cast on your favorite fly pattern and then the phone rings and it is your wife telling you to stay out later?

From there we quickly hit the jetty at Independence Park. Nada on the fish.

Went to West Beach from there and tried it out. Again, (broken record) no fish. Wow, the amount of weed on that beach is crazy. Imagine all the junk mixed in there? Saw a dead dogfish in the mix.

Went to a backwater section in Bass River up near Elliot st. No fish but the birds were there waiting or digesting something. (you know they have been there a while when they have decorated the landscape the only way they know of). Oh ya – no fish.

Tried a spot on the Porter River. Actually my nephew did and swears by the spot but I was all set. No fish.

Last spot was near the Rt 35 Bridge in Danvers. 2 fish. Was about 10:30 or so and my wife called, however it was not the “why don’t you stay out late” call. Called it a day and headed for the hills of NH.

Nephew just called me about a 1/2 hour ago and said he was into a heavy feeding school in Danvers. So the moral of the story is, if you don’t find em during the day, they will be there at night. If you don’t find them on either side of the day then there is always next spring.

Brian