How hard are you willing to work, to learn....

[jigfreak]

One of the things we do Dark is when we do start to catch we try other offerings, plugs, rubber, etc. to see what works/doesn't. Thinking while this more than likely decreases the fish we catch we hope to learn something from it to help us in the future.

.

I do that too. When I start catching and its on, I switch plugs or rubber sizes to see if they will hit it. A lot of times they dont. They only want 1 or 2 things. If you don't have what they want that night your screwed. Thats why a lot of us have extra plugs in the truck.

[DarkSkies]

So I have that need to not leave Also hate when the sun starts to rise, fishing in the dark is awesome.

One of the things we do Dark is when we do start to catch we try other offerings, plugs, rubber, etc. to see what works/doesn't. Thinking while this more than likely decreases the fish we catch we hope to learn something from it to help us in the future.

.

I do that too. When I start catching and its on, I switch plugs or rubber sizes to see if they will hit it. A lot of times they dont. They only want 1 or 2 things. If you don't have what they want that night your screwed. Thats why a lot of us have extra plugs in the truck.

Great points, guys.

[DarkSkies]

I looked at those pics again, Monty, just wanted to thank you for sharing them with us, those sunrises are awesome...

I wanted to touch on that a bit....
Even though I'm not a "sunrise" type of guy (Monty has the monopoly when it comes to sunrise pics...) .....

There is a world of beauty out there at night...
Last night the sky was so clear I could see all the constellations...

A week or so ago, there was an awesome meteor shower...
With less people fishing, I have seen some incredible showings of wildlife......

The saddest was watching a mother deer hang out by the side of the road, about 2 months ago...her fawn had been hit by a car...it must have just happened....and she was kind of hanging out, like a vigil or something...I think she knew it was dead but didn't want to leave it.....

I spooked her,,,she ran into the bushes while I got out and brought her dead offspring to the side of the road so more cars wouldn't hit it....and she watched me from a distance as I did this....

I know this is part of life, things happen, we all move on....
But my point here, is that there is a whole world of things you see as night fisherman, that many folks never get to see,,,,

I may get bored by catching schoolies, but am never bored marveling at the beauty of God and his creations, all around us....and this is a theater I get to see each night.
At times I feel I am in the audience, other times on the very stage of all that is happening.....

I know many guys just focus on the fish caught...
I do as well...usually not happy unless I can at least scare up some action or cause some kind of fish to take a swipe at what I'm throwing....

But the point here....
Is that the world out there,,,,,at night.....is more intense, for me, than much of the world in the daytime.,...and I enjoy every second of it....

I'm also amazed at fishermen who are not willing to fight for that...for me, I would fight for eternity to preserve those kinds of experiences I have out there....and the places I am able to fish....and the fish that I love to fish for......


Food for thought......

[DarkSkies]

Lack of Participation in Fishing......


A Veteran Fisherman friend sent me this, as we were both commenting on the current lack of participation in fishing many surf and bay areas at night...... I think it shows a lot of wisdom and insight....








"".....about the lack of fisherman at night during the summer. To me, I've always noticed that, but it's worse now. I really think some of the so called surfsters have been spoiled by the spring/fall run. Anyone can catch Bass in blitz conditions, and that's all they look for. I have always plugged the whole year. Some just don't want to work and not be rewarded. To pull any Bass at night during the summer, to me, out front, is my reward, any size, doesn't matter.



I have spent many a summer night, walking the beaches, wondering why no one else is around. Was I a fool, no, I was doing what I enjoy and learning more and more on those walks. The experimenting, the thought process, and the sometimes hook up was too pleasurable to pass up.

I see the newer faces want instant reward, don't want to work for it or learn. It's just not about throwing some junk out into the water and hoping to catch, it's about putting your head into the head of a Bass. Learning the type water, the bait, the temps of the water, currents and so on. I find this not to be work, but a satisfaction to an end result."

[hookset]

^^^^ Spot on. Work hard or stay home, is what I say.

[plugginpete]

Lack of Participation in Fishing......


A Veteran Fisherman friend sent me this, as we were both commenting on the current lack of participation in fishing many surf and bay areas at night...... I think it shows a lot of wisdom and insight....

I see the newer faces want instant reward, don't want to work for it or learn. It's just not about throwing some junk out into the water and hoping to catch, it's about putting your head into the head of a Bass. Learning the type water, the bait, the temps of the water, currents and so on. I find this not to be work, but a satisfaction to an end result."

There is still hope yet for the younger generation, DS. This was posted on another site. By Capt Barb of the One More Drift....I thought it was a fantastic post. Hope its ok to post it here -






"For the last month or two I have not been able to take my family, friends and clients fishing due to a new job I got. Of course I feel bad about it, but I know in time when things settle down I will be able to fish once again.

With this, my son Tom has been for the first time in his life this past month been fishing on his own. Obviously not on my boat, but from the surf on the north shore. Tom has been spoiled for the past ten years fishing because he never really had to hunt for the fish, I always had him fishing in areas that were my locations that I learned on my own that produced fish. Not only did I always get him on the fish, but I also set up his rigs, bait, told him what tide to fish what spot, ect ect.....

So Tom's last two fishing trips (surf) were without me in a territory he has never fished before. I guided him only with what tide he should fish it, what lures to use and the structure he should look for to be successful.

Two trips in and he has not caught a blessed thing. But what has happened here is, Tom is not upset about not catching fish, he for the first time in his life is actually understanding fishing. I am getting all choked up as I type this. This is what I have been wanting him to learn for years, but I guess he never could because I was always with him putting him on the fish because of my knowledge of fishing for so long.

So it is all starting to come together, he finally gets it. When he got home from his trip today he was not upset about not catching anything, he was excited to learn so many new things on his own. He learned what to look for, see the bait, match the hatch, watch the birds working, learn how to cast upstream in the current, watch the other guys fish and work there plugs effortlessly, ect ect.....

Ahhhh, I feel so happy right now, to know my son finally understands what fishing is all about. It's not about bringing home a fish (not that he ever did that, he is a catch and release only), but he understands that fishing is learning the pattern and getting all the elements to come together at that one time to catch a fish. And if you don't catch any fish, you are still a winner because you tried. You experimented on your own. You learned what you will do your next trip out that will be different to make you get that much closer to landing a fish on your own. "

OMD.

[DarkSkies]

Pete, it's good to read something like what you saw posted.
Fishermen are slowly declining in numbers as young kids today are more interested in video games and texting. Many in the younger generation don't want to take the time to learn something like fishing. It can be hard doing something when there is no guarantee of succeess.

I still feel that persistence, and learning patterns, is something that can benefit us in all areas of life.
Something I posted the other day:

Back when I knew a lot less...it was relatively easy to catch a handful of bass every night....in every month except for Jan and Feb...

We're all entitled to fish for and target whatever we want....however in the last 10 years, as bass stocks have declined... I have noticed an elitist movement among certain surfcasters that have turned their nose up at catching any fish that wasn't a bass....I had to ask myself "why?".......

If there are less fish, and opportunities are scattered....why would some lose sight of how fun it is to have a bend in the rod?

I remember a few years ago...when I was more generous in giving out info and helping others....I was fishing an area where the fishing was extremely spotty....
Ran into another surfcaster....a clear beginner....still learning how to cast....yet he was outfitted with all the latest gear touted on the internet....about $3 k worth of gear.....you name it...this guy was carrying it......He expressed his frustration that with all the money he spent, he still hadn't caught a bass in over 2 weeks.....

I felt sorry for him...I was leaving to go to another area where there were blues at dusk and into the night hitting regularly...pure bluefish bite......but the fish were in the 10-15# class.....

When I offered to let him follow me in his SUV...he said...
"OH- You're JUST catching bluefish over there????
OK - no thanks I would rather not go."









That was a crystallizing moment for me....
Here we had a time in the season when the bass fishing was pretty sporadic....the bigger bass and action wouldn't be happening for weeks to come....
I was offering this newbie a chance to come and catch some really nice, angry, drag screaming blues......and it wasn't good enough for him....


I'm not trying to single out anyone here...but realized at that moment that the internet...and internet posturing....had taken some of the fun out of fishing....

I became very selective about who I offered to help in the future.......
It's taken a lot of work for me to learn the prime time in each tide, for each location, that the fish might be feeding...it was a lot of sweat and failing, to get to that point......

If I see someone who seems tuned in, and willing to work, that instantly gives me hope for the new generation of fishermen coming up.....but without that work ethic.....I'm just not willing to help people......like I used to......

I think the sweetest rewards come from that hard work...at least that's been my experience...
Would love to hear about the experiences of others.....

[finchaser]

You answered a 3 year old post