Okay, here's the deal -- I catch fish. Small, medium, and kinda large -- you've probably seen pictures. But I suck at fishing. I tie lures on before I've threaded the line thru the eyes. I get hooked up on the bottom and lose 4 eels an hour. I get backlashes like no other. I hook lobster pot buoys with plugs. I fall. I thumb bluefish in the dark. Each trip I forget either my headlight or pliers or swivels or something crucial. I even eel-slapped myself in the face last nite after hanging up directly in front of where I was standing and yanking really hard. If you were me, you'd pass out with frustration every fishing trip. But somehow I manage to catch fish.

Does this mean that catching fish is easy? That I got shown some great spots? That I'm simply lucky? Rob Rockcrawler taught me how to fish and still helps me out quite a bit (which rocks -- not enough thanks can go out in his direction), so he has a big hand in my success. But I still can't understand how clumsy, forgetful, whiny old me can catch a fish. Do the fish feel bad for me? Is there something to catching that's beyond being slick? What's the explanation for this? :huh:

:kewl: yes fishing is VERY hard

B/B Sounds normal too me :kewl:

The answere to all your problems is ....time on the water. Put in enough time , it all becomes second nature. Sure you have good days and bad and everyone , even old salts F up now and then but the number of incidents goes down with time on the water. Unfortunately , after several decades of fishing , and getting by all the mistakes and building your knowledge of spots and techniques , you suddenly find out that the cost of all that knowledge was years of wear and tear on the old body. then , you know exactly what to do and how to do it but you just can't anymore. Oh well , that's fishing.


to the specific question ; is fishing hard? fishing is as hard as you want it to be! :)

Yea, it's all about practice. I still do a lot of stoopid stuff, but I'm like an ace compared to when I first started. Lordy, to think about those nights learning to cast in the dark :err:

-spence

sara, the things you listed as forgetting to pack. will now be in your surf bag see your already getting better :kewl:

All those things you listed about finding good spots and having some help may have attributed to your sucess, but you are doing one thing the normal googan does not you are fishing at night.

i have done every thing you have said and worse. i have broke so many rods i lost count but i learned from my mistakes.with time on the water you will make less mistakes and realize that those mistakes were for the better. and all ways remember that %$%$%$%$ HAPPENS!!

Babe, after 46 years of doing it I still do the things you mention. Don't make it hard on yourself. Remember there is alot more to fishing than the catching of fish. The people you fish with, the places you fish, the sights and the sounds. It all goes hand in hand. Laugh it off, that's what I do and don't take it so seriously. It's supposed to be fun. Some of the guys theat post here are hardcore, meticulous about each knot, what line, what lure, all that stuff. I was once like that but now that this Friday I turn fifty, I am letting that all go to just fish for the fun and relaxation it brings. You get to that point sooner or later in your fishing career. I used to stay awake nights frustrated that the biggest bass I ever caught was 49.9 pounds. Know what? I don't care anymore! If it happens it happens, if it don't it don't. No big deal. Catching a fifty is not the mark of a real fisherman. I had people who never caught a striper in thier lives catch a fifty right aside of me, one guy I took out on the beach with me one night years ago never caught a bass and first cast on Nauset with my rod, my reel my lure gets a fifty three pounder. Sure there is skill but there is a lot of luck to it too. Don't get yerself in a quandry like I did. Slow down and enjoy it for what it really is supposed to be. Fun. :cheers:

I never had any of those mishaps! :hidin:

BB stuff happens, that's all part of the game. But thumbing a bluefish, ouuuuuch!! Catching isn't hard after you put some time in and figure out the when and wheres' I've been fishing some nights with my head turned away from the water to watch the sunset or moon rise not even caring about fish. Being out there enjoying mother nature is way more important than catching fish.

Happy B-day Flap!!!

You haven't had a reel problem 'til you can't get the hook out.








Of your hand!

Don't feel bad...Just this morning I got up at 3, drove about 90 miles to fish, got all geared up, walked out to where I wanted to fish....and noticed that my rod was busted at the tip. Its 5:00 in the morning and I'm watching guys catching...and I have to wait until a B&T opened up at 8 to get it fixed....DOHHH!!!

By the Time I got it fixed the Bite was dead and all I managed was a couple of schoolies.

Yes, fishing is hard.
It costs $ for bait/lures/tackle (rods reels line). money that I got from working hard. A vehicle will set you back a few bucks (4WD ?) with all appropriate beach licences
It cost time and hard work to figure out the right knots to use, the right leaders, swivels, hooks. How tight to set the drag,
Its hard to figure which lures to use (plugs,rubber,bait,jigs, eels...)
Its hard to figure out which line to use (braid/mono) and how heavy (20 pound mono? 15? 30? or braid 50/65) and then is your rod and reel "braid friendly"
Its hard to take time to go to your spots, all times of day and night to see what and when they will bite.
Surfcasting can be physically tireing. Your whipping a 8-13 foot long rod with a 1-5 ounce lure and trying to cast to far out areas. You hope the fish are there and will take what you offer.
You must learn to read the water. Where are the sloughs.bars,rips,holes and eddies that might hold fish, thats kind of hard, something that can't be learned without repeated observation, trial and error. You leave to go at 10:00 P.M. drive an hour or 2 to get there when the tide is right, Go out into the darkness hoping that something will be there when you should be home sleeping comfortably beside your mate. After doing that, you might drive home to do it all the next day (even if you didn't catch anything the first night you went).
If you do happen to hook a fish, you now have a battle on your hands. If its a decent fish you have to "play" it so the hook doesn't come loose or whatever in the fishes instinct does that causes a fish to come loose and get away. How many of us have "dropped" a good fish or 5 ? I think everyone has (just part of the work involved).
So, now you have $1000 invested in rod,reel,lures/tackle,waders, plug and eel bags, maybe a bicycle.
And your vehicle has rod holders and a cooler (more investment of your hard work)/ Do you need a gaff ? a scale to weigh it ?
How about a lamp or flashlight ? red/green lens ?
So. now that you actually caught a fish, you need a tape measure to see if it's 28" and the decision wether to keep it or release it.
If you keep it, you'll need a good knife and whetstone and will need to learn how to clean/fillet your prize. Learning to fillet fish correctly is always fun and a little work.
Now, what do you do with the rack and carcas ? Do you clean the fish at the beach or drag it home ? Alot of work
Or, do you release it ? Do you know how to remove a hook without causing harm to the fish ? If you hold the fish and remove the slime, the fish will probably die after release. Again, alot of work. Do you have a hook disgorger and a pair of fishing plyers ?

Do you like climbing dangerous rocks (canal/Rockport/Newport ) or walking distances on a soft sand beach in your waders? Got a wader belt ? Is the place you fish rocky ? do you need Korkers (spiked shoes) so you don't slip and kill yourself while walking over "black rock" (algea covered rock) or rockweed. Again, just the physicality of striper fishing is alot of work.

So now you come home, have cleaned your fish (or released it). You want to wash your clothes and wash down your equipment. Did you back off the drag on your reels (don't want to compress the drag washers). How much tackle did you loose ? lures snapped off ? Work. work, work

I haven't said anything about boat fishing..talk about work

i'm a great believer in LUCK,
and find the harder i work
the more i have of it.

Thomas Jefferson
.................................................. ...............................................
"Rock on" ... Bass Babe ....

this_Toast is -> for you :cheers::gu:


P.s. pssst ! take some ginko biloba my dear...
makes your brain sharper than a tack.

Ur learning by doing.There is no better teacher.People can tell u u can read it on the web or in books but untill u go out an make the mistakes for urself u'll never really get it.Alot of people quit or fade away.they don't like the frustration.Its not for them.(There have been many bad nights or long trips i wonder what the hell I'm doin out here i must be a mental patient the whole world is asleep an i'm out chasin a stupid fish till 5 am.)those that stick around are the ones who really enjoy the sport for what it is an reap the most rewards.Rewards don't always come in things u can see or touch.its things like being out on the water on a crisp night all by urself an everything is right.U been thru it before u make 3 cast.on the forth ur in.not big but a decent fish an ur line is tight.an u just enjoy the sH!t out of it.thats whats its all about.
u do the hookey pokey an u spin urself around.
thats what it's all about.

Hey Nib ---- well said :uhuh: :uhuh: :uhuh: :uhuh: :uhuh:

Hey Nib ---- well said :uhuh: :uhuh: :uhuh: :uhuh: :uhuh:


I know U liked the Hokey Pokey part.

B/B Sounds normal too me :kewl:

He's been in my boat a number of times and he's not lying:).

He's been in my boat a number of times and he's not lying:).

Guess Clammer and I are in the same boat, as well...figuratively, that is. I haven't lost my pants before, though. :rotfl:

Babe, after 46 years of doing it I still do the things you mention. Don't make it hard on yourself. Remember there is alot more to fishing than the catching of fish. The people you fish with, the places you fish, the sights and the sounds. It all goes hand in hand. Laugh it off, that's what I do and don't take it so seriously. It's supposed to be fun. Some of the guys theat post here are hardcore, meticulous about each knot, what line, what lure, all that stuff. I was once like that but now that this Friday I turn fifty, I am letting that all go to just fish for the fun and relaxation it brings. You get to that point sooner or later in your fishing career. I used to stay awake nights frustrated that the biggest bass I ever caught was 49.9 pounds. Know what? I don't care anymore! If it happens it happens, if it don't it don't. No big deal. Catching a fifty is not the mark of a real fisherman. I had people who never caught a striper in thier lives catch a fifty right aside of me, one guy I took out on the beach with me one night years ago never caught a bass and first cast on Nauset with my rod, my reel my lure gets a fifty three pounder. Sure there is skill but there is a lot of luck to it too. Don't get yerself in a quandry like I did. Slow down and enjoy it for what it really is supposed to be. Fun. :cheers:


Flaptail= :love:


Dont worry BB, before you know it you'll be tying knots in the dark by FEEL instead of SIGHT, but as far as forgetting things...well I think that will only get worse with age :eek5: sorry....

BB, fishing is not hard nor easy. Fishing is not skill or luck. Fishing is an obsession, it is the ultimate rush, it is the most relaxing day, it is sore arms like you've never had before, it is an adiction that people spend thousands and thousands on. Most of all, fishing is fun. It is fun for men, women, boys, girls....everyone! Shut up and fish, I'm laughing. :D

Flaptail= :love:


Dont worry BB, before you know it you'll be tying knots in the dark by FEEL instead of SIGHT, but as far as forgetting things...well I think that will only get worse with age :eek5: sorry....
how come he gets a friggen kiss, im better looking than that old relic
i have a hot ass in chaps to...........

U what about me I did the hokey pokey.

NIB :love: bassmaster

There, feel better now? Haha, kinda looks like you're kissing each other... :hihi:

See now thats gross.

how come he gets a friggen kiss, im better looking than that old relic
i have a hot ass in chaps to...........


yeah but I never got an invite to the show...... :crying: