I am always learning how to fish. Always. It never fails: anytime I think I am starting to figure out how to bass fish, the bass tell me different. I’m sure we all go through it in one way or another. Is it that we are off our game? Or are the bass learning the rules of the game?
Learning
Learning is something that anglers should be doing all the time. We should be learning about new techniques and lures to help in our pursuit of bass or bigger bass.
The swimbait craze that has spread from the west coast to the east coast is one example of anglers learning. Now it seems that the fish are just starting to learn that technique too. Some of the big bait gurus are catching their monsters on new jigs and other new types of big lures, baits, and tackle, that the rest of us have yet to see.
Adapting is what nature does. Whether it’s us or them we need to always be adapting or learning.
@ksbigbass
Learning is something that anglers should be doing all the time. We should be learning about new techniques and lures to help in our pursuit of bass or bigger bass. The swimbait craze that has spread from the west coast to the east coast is one example of anglers learning. Now it seems that the fish are just starting to learn that technique too. Some of the big bait gurus are catching their monsters on new jigs and other new types of big lures, baits, and tackle, that the rest of us have yet to see.
A friend of mine told me a story about his years hunting a certain area here in Kansas that always held big bucks. It took him 7years to bag his first wall mount, and each year he would learn a little more about what he had done wrong the last time. The story continued about the prey and the way that they learned how he was stalking them and changed their behaviors. He had to adjust to the conditions and he had to adapt and learn more about his environment and his prey. The right conditions and prep lead to his best buck ever but it was all about the years of learning that brought him to that point.
Change
The need for change can be staring us in the face and we ignore it. No one likes change, including me. A recent example for me was watching big fish being hauled in over the side of the boat on a lure I didn’t wanna use. Our co-anglers can teach us a lot if we are willing to listen. By co-angler I mean whomever is in the back of the boat at the time, be it your 5 year old son or daughter or your 90 something father, they all have something to teach us. Even if it’s just a bit of humility and patience.
Wrap up
All of us, myself included, should keep an open mind. Personally, I have a habit of becoming so focused in on one thought process or idea, I become fixated. This causes me to miss learning opportunities. I forget to keep my eyes and ears open to what nature is trying to tell me. Just because I want the bass to eat a 10″ worm or lizard because it’s hot and it’s summer doesn’t mean they will eat it. If your partner is bagging keepers in the back of the boat on something that IS working, pay attention! LOL