ya....like you and me out there yelling back and forth...."what do ya got on????"
"Blue and white needle"
"Huh?"
"Blue and white needle"
"I can't hear you"
"#%&$@ BLUE & WHITE NEEDLE!!!!"
most of the guys I fish with are not competitive with each other...that I know of anyway..and we all share info and network where the fish are
Sometimes it is your nite and other nites it is a classroom......I watch everything and soak it all in......Ive learned ALOT this past week alone

Canalman and I have schooled each other many nights, I have never gotten p!ssed or frustrated if he schooled me and he doesn't when I school him. We're glad for each other, I think thats what a good partner is all about. There's no competition between us when were fishing, it's just us against cow bass.:bshake: :laugha: I remember one night he got his biggest bass ever and I topped it on the next cast,,OOPs, I felt kinda bad but we were both happy with our catches. He's since done the same to me.:realmad: :tooth: It's all about having a good time, and we always do. The only frustration we have is when neither of us are catchin'.

RM...for what its worth I am still laughing about the itchy butt story...but dont be offended if I dont shake your hand:err:



ANYWAY......Last year while LMB fishing we couldnt catch to save our lives no matter what we did.....and we tried it all. So here is our frinds kid with a bobber and shiner set up....doesnt even cast it.....just drops it over the side of the boat (literally only 2-3 feet of line in the water) and is nailing Smallmouth bass left and right..from the same spot...and in the middle of summer...needless to say we adults were schooled that day!

here we were trying every technique in the book when all we needed to do was to throw the book aside....

I'm very happy to be schooled - so long as they did not get the fish of a lifetime that I frigged up - then I'm not too happy.
But overall, my best article ideas and product selections come from being schooled - being beaten is one of the best opportunities you'll come across.
With some people I intentionally try not to compete - usually when I know they are better. I just kind of lay back and watch everything they do.

Hey backbeach I heard you schooled someone at their favorite spot the other night. Nice fish. I have been schooled many a time. The canal this spring was a perfect example, standing next to tony and backbeach watching them pull decent fish, while I was sitting there looking like an idiot

I was fishing side by side with a good friend of mine once...we knew the fish were in this certain hole, we start fishing BANG!, he's ON, it's big - over 40#s...I drop the same exact offering in the same EXACT hole....bang? I'm on..........32" fish,,, His next cast,,, BANG!...he's ON, it's big..another fish over 40#s, again I cast in the exact same hole...bang? I'm on .......another 30 + INCH fish,,,, His next cast,,, BANG!...he's ON,, it's BIG...another fish pushin' 40 POUNDS!......yeah, I don't have to tell you the size of my next fish.
Did I feel schooled? NO,,, but I felt something...was I happy for him? ECSTATIC...did a small voice inside me ask....WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING DIFFRENT?WRONG???........of course,:spin:
I didn't feel schooled as we were fishing the same method and we did catch fish consistently....the bigger fish just liked him better that night.:lossinit:
But I hear ya, there's a small competitive monster in all of us, some admit it...some don't. ...and like you said Tlapinski, not in a bad way at all......just in a competitve way.:claps: Good Thread.

I agree with alot of what has been said here and alot of it describes what goes through my head all of the time.

The competition "feeling" is always in me, I can't help it. I think it comes from an athletic background. It's not the type of competition that I get upset, especially when a friend is catching - its always just an anxious feeling of "why am I not catching also", which leads to a healthy competitive drive to do better. The same goes for when I'm driving or walking to a spot - I get a very anxious feeling of "I hope noone is where I want to fish" - and it doesn't go away until my feet are planted where I want to be. It's all part of the strong drive to fish...

I also agree with RIRockhound/Bryan that learning as much as possible & as often as possible is very important. I've learned from fishing with him & Piemma, from fishing with a couple other guys not on the Board, and from talking to others. Learn on the water and off the water. More of the competitive drive to do better.

I also agree with #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& that many times I am guilty of overthinking a situation and changing what I've done in the past & had success at - whether it be where to fish or how to fish. That too gives me a feeling in the pit of my stomach afterward that "I should have known better" - and again fuels the competitive drive. This is especially true now that my fishing time is more limited - when I blow a trip for some reason it really aggravates me.

The best part of all of this competitive philosophical stuff about fishing is that there is always the next trip out to erase what happened the last time.

Funny, many (non-fishermen) people I know think I just go out there & throw something into the water & fish - as simple as that. They have NO IDEA what goes through our minds... :D :kewl:

One observation I've made, fishing with the same guy every night for I'm not even sure how many years - some nights I catch more, other nights he does, but at the end of the year, the totals are very close. There's not much competition between us, more like a team effort to find the fish. He starts with one plug, I'll start with something completely different and start covering the water with different techniques. If there's anything around, one of us will hook up. If one of us finds the correct "pattern", the other knows very quickly, switches techniques and starts drilling fish.

I fish alone most of the time - sometimes I "school" the bass - sometimes they "school" me. Either way - I learn and win. That's what I like about this game.

DZ

Same way here Adam

sounds like you guys have a great team

An intense course of "one on one"study is a prerequisite to a higher degree of "Bassmanship" and DZ has attained that level. (BTW Dennis Al Gag says Hi and we talked today of the snowstorm blitz. Man, if there was ever one event that I wish I could have been part of it was that!) Sorry I missed you the week before but there is something coming your way and one for Zeke too ( Who btw is a great guy).:uhuh:

I think JoeP summed up my feelings.
I enjoy how we fish and even more so, enjoy the guys I fish with. :skulz:

Hey Flap,
Say hi to Gag. Just saw some of his Pocket rockets the other day - someone finally got the "Stubby" right, at least the design, haven't used one yet.
Thanks for your kindness.

DZ

Those instances,and there're many,of being "schooled" have resulted in some of the greatest fishing experiences I've had.While my partner was catching more and bigger fish than me I was also catching the most and largest fish of my life.

Its all outlook:the glass is half empty or its half full.

Tobias ,,,,I bet ...

I agree. I fish alone alot, which has its place sometimes - but its more enjoyable to fish with a couple of guys who you get along with well & who share your approach to fishing. That leads to the "team approach" discussed above by Adam & Jim... Great way to enjoy fishing & have more success.

I dont know about u guys, but i really like NIB's posts..very matter-of-fact and always full of good applicable info....:uhuh:

Another schooling last night. Well, not completely. I learned from the weekend trip and managed fish to just shy of 30#'s. You know it's a good night when all 3 guys don't mind leaving because, "we've all caught our share of bass..." 3 hours of fishing, non stop action, nothing under 20#'s, GOOD NIGHT.

Oh yeah. Learned another important item too. Make sure your fillet knife is not sitting back home and the only thing you have is a 3" blade. :poke:

Some nights you catch
Some nights you don't catch
Some nights everyone catches,
Some nights nobody catches
Some nights you gaff your partner fish and he takes over your place in the club standings.. then said fish comes untied from said anglers leash and you have to atomic drop into a hole to pin the fish to the rocks before it can swim away....


Man, do I remember that night. I wouldn't have that fish if it wasn't for Bryan's amazing tackle of a 25+ pound fish loose from the leash.
Thanks partner!!

Toby,
Nights like that get you through the winter and make all those "dry" nights bearable.

If you don't keep any you won't need to remember that fillet knife.. ;)

DZ

Lets hope they stick w/ this wind shift, I think theres some big girls in there looking for a lip piercing :skulz:

Lets hope they stick w/ the wind shift, there are some big girls in there looking for a lip piercing :skulz: