There are a few fundamental guidelines you must adhere to if you want to become a truly proficient and successful angler. Here are six fishing facts.Planning is essential to fishing. Every time you go fishing, you make hundreds of decisions, and the outcomes are ultimately determined by the vast array of tactical choices you make throughout the trip.
Regardless of the species you’re after, the goal is to provide yourself as many opportunities as you can and to make the most of them when they do.
Rule 1: The Right Information Is Everything
You must be aware of the tides, moon phase, wind, and sea conditions when organising a fishing excursion. Additionally, it’s critical to have access to as much trustworthy information as you can on the local fishing scene.
On your smartphone, you can easily get the fundamental information through a number of apps. While social media is increasingly being used to disseminate fishing facts, it is frequently unreliable.
Once on the water, you can add the current, weather, and local circumstances. Try to determine the time of day, the techniques utilised, and the locations they fished if you see stories of fishermen who did catch fish.
You can then fine-tune your game plan after you’ve analysed your statistics and looked at the local conditions. This choice is always made in light of prior knowledge, local expertise, and current information.
It’s crucial to learn as much as you can about the geography before fishing in new or unfamiliar waters. A must-have fishing accessory is Google Earth. Every fishing strategy has a chance of failing, and all the information you have is the foundation for reducing that risk.
Consider your options carefully and methodically, and keep in mind that every “Plan A” has a timetable that includes a backup “Plan B”.
Rule 2: Get Ready Ahead of Time
You should often bring a range of outfits to cover the many various types of fishing you’ll do if you’re fishing in any kind of competition. Before the event, carefully examine all your gear. Prior to entering the water, arrange all of the leaders into groups, set out all of the gear in front of you, and go through a scenario-based check list.
As an illustration, when pursuing flathead, employ six or more different outfits, and occasionally little threadlines shift from one rod to another as I experiment with various rods, reels, lines, and leaders.
All the testing is done when it comes to the major event. Each outfit is optimised a few weeks before a major tournament, and I’m satisfied with it for the designated purpose. It’s important to “get finicky, be fussy, and stay fussy” when it comes to fishing equipment.
Even though gear failure may never be completely ruled out, cautious planning is crucial. I prefer to test any new rod or reel before using it in a competition to ensure that I am satisfied with it.
Rule 3: Become flexible and adaptable
The greatest fishing facts are based on chance and your best assumptions about how and where fish will feed because fishing is a pretty imprecise science. There will always come a time when the bites stop, the fishing is slow, and the pressure to succeed forces you to make the decision of whether to stay or leave.
There are many factors to take into account in this situation, but the following three options require significant consideration.
#1 The fish are there and feeding, but the approach is incorrect.
#2 Despite being present, the fish are not feeding at that time.
#3 There are no fish here.
Only the third situation suggests moving on and trying somewhere else. Without bait and the absence of other indicators like pelicans and water fowl, it is safe to assume that the fish have also moved on. It’s also time to go if one crucial factor, such as the water’s purity, is obviously very poor.
Don’t, however, abandon fish to locate fish. I really believe in having a few “drop in” locations close to my primary fishing areas so I can fish there for ten or fifteen minutes while “resting” the primary area so it can actively attract more feeding fish.
Before going back to the main honey hole, “drop in” spots are typically little sections, solitary snags, or weed beds where you might capture one or two active fish. In a large tournament, it’s unusual to see a place remain for more than two days unless it has a consistent flow of fish moving on to it. Some sites will “wear out” from fishing pressure since a lot of the active fish will be captured.
Finesse fishing is frequently necessary when fish become timid. Slower retrieves, smaller lures, and a lighter leader will frequently restart a stalled bite. If you are aware that the fish are there but not biting, change lures and lure kinds frequently.
I’ve seen a single lure change trigger a bite numerous times, but in tournament settings, always utilise lures you are comfortable using and have previously caught fish on. When you feel yourself adding some strange space trash to your line at a difficult time, slap yourself in the face, cut the strange lure off, and maintain your senses.
Rule 4: Reduce downtime.
Fishing time is decreased by re-rigging lines, eating, idly gazing at lure trays, clearing snags, getting distracted, and frequently switching out lures. The amount of time you have to present lures to fish increases with good teamwork, quick fish processing, and skill with snag removal.
Good preparation before an event lowers down time. I’ve observed some teams in significant tournaments experience “fishing malfunctions,” in which a single hiccup forces all three anglers to re-rig. The team must cooperate, and each team member must have a set of assigned tasks for which they are accountable.
Rule 5. Don’t worry about other people
Every fishing excursion is a contest between the angler and the fish, and the only thing you can expect to accomplish is win against the fish. Set your objectives, make a strategy in writing, determine how many fish you anticipate from each location as a “par” performance, take into account your peak times, such as the best tides and feeding times, and go fishing.
You’ll lose focus on the fish if you start worrying about what the other fisherman are doing. If you take the initiative rather than following, you will almost always come out on top.There will always be better fishermen than you, and competition fishing will quickly knock you down a few spots if you show even a hint of arrogance.
The key is to incorporate these new techniques into your usual fishing. Stick to your own plans if you’re participating in a fishing competition. In some competitions, it’s a prevalent approach, and in my opinion, this is extremely bad behaviour. Stop becoming a blow fly!
Rule 6: Be Happy and Concentrate
There is a form of pressure, especially if you’re doing well, where you will start to feel your shirt collar tighten during a fishless spell and you will start to acquire a dread of choking! Everybody has experienced some really bad chokes over the years, but you can get immune to choking.
Don’t worry if the bite is slow. For all of it will be slow. Keep to logical strategies. The worst failures always include leaving a region that is producing in order to make long excursions to unproductive “greener pastures.”
Fish will come to you if you stay focused and trust your instincts. Stay calm, relaxed, and take advantage of any possibilities that come your way. When you stop to think about it, we fish to relieve stress rather than to increase it. You’ll fish better the more at ease you are.
While the aforementioned material is relevant to all forms of fishing, I believe that tournament fishing is a very effective approach to embrace the aforementioned set of principles and enhance your overall fishing discipline and catches.
