The discussion on what it means to be the "best" made me think about this whole experience thing. I think I was at my best on Potholes the first year or two I fished it. It seems like I get worse with each year of added experience there. In fact my best days there are usually with a lure I have never used before, on a section of the lake I have never fished. Hardly the benefit of any experience. That's just one example.
Now I don't discount time on the water as being important or even the most important thing in becoming a better fisherman. But I've watched the very best, with the most experience on any given body of water struggle there - not just for a day or two, but for whole seasons or for the last 5 years.. Did they get worse? If experience is the key, why aren't those who have been fishing the longest dominating? How does somebody who has been fishing only a few years, do well on bodies of water they don't have much experience on? I've seen it here on the Columbia, at Banks Lake, Potholes, Moses Lake, Oregon, Florida and Alabama.
Of course, I expect some of you to say that some people just get stuck in their ways and that is where experience hurts them. But isn't that the whole point of time on the water, to learn those ways? Are we supposed to learn stuff and then at some magical point dissregard it?
I have my theories, but I'll hold off and poke holes in some of yours first.
Tags:
Now there is another category of fisherman who spend countless hours on the water and they just don't have any god given talent. No killer instinct. None at all. Those people are rowing into the wind. I see this in hunting all the time. The guy who walks and walks...but just doesnt figure out when he needs to walk a little bit faster/quieter/slower in order to put the chukar/rooster/duck/deer/elk in the bag.
its only a few variables and details that seperate the bad from the good and the good from the great.
Ok, Don, I'll play...I agree that "experience" does not mean anything by itself other than that someone has spent a lot of time on the water. The difference between an experienced excellent angler, and an experienced average angler is between the ears of the angler.
Some people have the mentality, disposition, and resources to take life's experiences and use them to achieve excellence; others never seem to learn from their experiences, or lack the strength or resources to develop their experiences. Our jails are filled with people who have not learned from their experiences, so they prove your point that experience doesn't in itself equate to excellence.
On the other hand, if a person is adept at understanding how to learn from their experience and leverage that experience, then the experience factor can be huge.
I'm sure you have seen with your students that some have a thirst for knowledge, and those students are often the best. But even that thirst for knowledge doesn't make them the best student if they don't have other qualities and/or resources to leverage that knowledge. You also have students who have no intention of learning; one thing is for sure, those students will NOT be competitive compared to the students with motivation. Sure, one or two will stumble into greatness anyway, but you get the idea.
So, experience and versatility (see how I worked that in!) are both tools that in the hands of the right person will allow them to be the best in their field when compared to those without those same tools and all other things being equal.
To further respond to your point about why anglers with the most experience may not achieve further greatness with further experience, I would say this is one reason I consider competitive bass angling to be a sport. I'll tell you from my own situation that some of my physical skills have degraded with my age. I used to be a stud with eagle eyesight that Ron couldn't match. I used to be able to remember every spot I think I may have had a bite, and pitch far under a dock before the other guy in the boat even got out of his boat seat. Now I'm the old fat guy, but have "more experience".
I could simply give up learning, fall into the trap of using the same old lures and fish the same old spots, and my results would mirror your Potholes scenario. Instead I choose to focus on my strengths and develop strength in other areas to compensate for my lack of physical studliness. I lean on my experience (and my fishing logs) to analyze my past and help remember, so that I can hone my decision-making skills. I'm at that stage in life when I understand the old saying that "Youth is wasted on the Young".
I'm still in it to win. I can't do anything about my age, but I can about my weight and fitness, and I have turned that corner and will improve this during this season. I don't have the time to spend prefishing like many of the others (prefishing doesn't make you the best, it is just another tool that can pay big dividends or hurt you if you don't know how to take advantage of it). Heaven help you all if I decide to retire from my fulltime occupation and get out and prefish, ha ha.
Some with experience are not the best because their goals, and/or competitiveness have changed with age. Most competitive young anglers have something to prove, and that fuels their success. Some experienced anglers have already proven themselves, and probably aren't willing to take risks that youth feed on. They may become more sportsmanlike in their approach and yield to others on fishing spots or fishing information because they are motivated by different things. For example, how many guys over 50 do you see running around in the fastest boat with 300 hp motors, running and gunning? How many do you see pushing the envelope on the rules? Yes, I know that some do, but my point is that I bet as you age you will find that your motivations in life will be different than when you were younger.
Now, all of that rambling having been said, let me assure all of you that my desire to continually learn, and my motivation to be a better angler has not subsided; and I bet I have been fishing long before most of you, and will still be fishing with enthusiasm long after most of you!
That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!
ciao,
Marc
This is something I too have had happen to me I go to lake first time & slay them then struggle every time after. Took me a few years to work it out. What I found was the first time I go to a lake I am analyzing the conditions the depths ECT lot of times I get this feeling I can not explain that makes me take a lure out or I just know there are bass in a spot call it hunter instinct or what ever you want. The next time I would go to the lake I would fish the same spots regardless of any conditions & my senses would be shut off more or less I would go into auto pilot mode. I was hitting spots I caught before & when I did not get a bite first cast I would just move to the next one. Conclusion don't go into autopilot mode like you do at your job Don't let the past dictate your future. Try to clear your mind of distractions I know when I am out there & I have 10 things going on at home my catch rate falls. I fail at tournaments because I have fished so few & there are so many distractions. I could go on but I don't want to be too long winded I hope that helps some. Trust me I am no guru but I do know what jams me up and application is another story.
In my opinion its simple. The more you fish, the more patterns you piece together regardless of body of water.
If you spend a ton of time on the water, therefore piecing together many different patterns over the years....this is great. Unfortunately if you don't have the ability to retain those lessons or the willingness to trust and use them later...it is wasted time on the water and wasted lessons learned.
In order for time on the water to be an advantage.....you have to have a steel trap for a brain. Many people do not have this...therefore they fail to learn from previous success and previous failure and are doomed to make the same mistakes twice.
My memory is terrible...and I don't document my outtings. I know I make a ton of mistakes, and that is why a good fisherman will kick my butt his first time on the River despite the fact that I live on it.
Now there is another category of fisherman who spend countless hours on the water and they just don't have any god given talent. No killer instinct. None at all. Those people are rowing into the wind. I see this in hunting all the time. The guy who walks and walks...but just doesnt figure out when he needs to walk a little bit faster/quieter/slower in order to put the chukar/rooster/duck/deer/elk in the bag.
its only a few variables and details that seperate the bad from the good and the good from the great.
Wow, great post and excellent replies. I agree with John; I have found that often my first trip to a new body of water is my "best" trip. I seem to catch my biggest fish and it feels almost effortless. I began to analyze exactly why this was happening. The consolidated version of the conclusion I came to was the following:
When I fish a new lake for the first time, I go in with very few preconceptions of where I think the fish should be. I study a map if applicable, read the current conditions, take a quick lap to get a visual of what the lake has to offer in terms of water clarity, structure, cover, vegetation etc., prioritize these areas in my mind and get to work. It is 100% instinct fishing.
However, on the following trip, regardless of how hard I tried to fish the moment and trust my instincts, I would often check areas or specific pieces of cover that had kicked out big fish during my initial trip. This isn't all bad, as re-checking these areas can pay dividends, but not at the expense of disregarding the current conditions. With the short windows of time I was often on the water, this certainly wasn't the most efficient use of my time.
In conclusion, I think "fishing history" is often an anglers biggest downfall, short and long term.
So many other of the key points have already been made.
Marc
Good points. You seem to be pointing towards some sort of intangible "X" factor that influences fishing success. That without "it" experience does not matter? I think that's a common theme with many of the responses so far and pretty much my point to begin with.
I wonder what you think that innate ability is - can it be described?
Marc Marcantonio said:Ok, Don, I'll play...I agree that "experience" does not mean anything by itself other than that someone has spent a lot of time on the water. The difference between an experienced excellent angler, and an experienced average angler is between the ears of the angler.
Some people have the mentality, disposition, and resources to take life's experiences and use them to achieve excellence; others never seem to learn from their experiences, or lack the strength or resources to develop their experiences. Our jails are filled with people who have not learned from their experiences, so they prove your point that experience doesn't in itself equate to excellence.
On the other hand, if a person is adept at understanding how to learn from their experience and leverage that experience, then the experience factor can be huge.
I'm sure you have seen with your students that some have a thirst for knowledge, and those students are often the best. But even that thirst for knowledge doesn't make them the best student if they don't have other qualities and/or resources to leverage that knowledge. You also have students who have no intention of learning; one thing is for sure, those students will NOT be competitive compared to the students with motivation. Sure, one or two will stumble into greatness anyway, but you get the idea.
So, experience and versatility (see how I worked that in!) are both tools that in the hands of the right person will allow them to be the best in their field when compared to those without those same tools and all other things being equal.
To further respond to your point about why anglers with the most experience may not achieve further greatness with further experience, I would say this is one reason I consider competitive bass angling to be a sport. I'll tell you from my own situation that some of my physical skills have degraded with my age. I used to be a stud with eagle eyesight that Ron couldn't match. I used to be able to remember every spot I think I may have had a bite, and pitch far under a dock before the other guy in the boat even got out of his boat seat. Now I'm the old fat guy, but have "more experience".
I could simply give up learning, fall into the trap of using the same old lures and fish the same old spots, and my results would mirror your Potholes scenario. Instead I choose to focus on my strengths and develop strength in other areas to compensate for my lack of physical studliness. I lean on my experience (and my fishing logs) to analyze my past and help remember, so that I can hone my decision-making skills. I'm at that stage in life when I understand the old saying that "Youth is wasted on the Young".
I'm still in it to win. I can't do anything about my age, but I can about my weight and fitness, and I have turned that corner and will improve this during this season. I don't have the time to spend prefishing like many of the others (prefishing doesn't make you the best, it is just another tool that can pay big dividends or hurt you if you don't know how to take advantage of it). Heaven help you all if I decide to retire from my fulltime occupation and get out and prefish, ha ha.
Some with experience are not the best because their goals, and/or competitiveness have changed with age. Most competitive young anglers have something to prove, and that fuels their success. Some experienced anglers have already proven themselves, and probably aren't willing to take risks that youth feed on. They may become more sportsmanlike in their approach and yield to others on fishing spots or fishing information because they are motivated by different things. For example, how many guys over 50 do you see running around in the fastest boat with 300 hp motors, running and gunning? How many do you see pushing the envelope on the rules? Yes, I know that some do, but my point is that I bet as you age you will find that your motivations in life will be different than when you were younger.
Now, all of that rambling having been said, let me assure all of you that my desire to continually learn, and my motivation to be a better angler has not subsided; and I bet I have been fishing long before most of you, and will still be fishing with enthusiasm long after most of you!
That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!
ciao,
Marc
Posted by Tom Melowitz on September 7, 2019 at 2:45pm
Posted by Eric Urstad on April 3, 2019 at 7:38pm
© 2024 Created by Jordan Doucet. Powered by