Having 3 sets of clothes in the truck so you can take lots of different pictures of the same fish and put them on the internet.
Seriously though, -
Due to the fact that we cannot predict the size of the fish.. nor the size of the school that are holding up at one of our favorite spots on a given day (except for time of year)...a lot of what makes a great fisherman...........is LUCK
, yeah...I'll say it first.
How do you increase your odds/luck/greatness?, you fish more than the average Joe, like a great fishermen does. The more time you put in, the more you learn, adapt, and CATCH. A great fisherman has more fishless days than you do, but at the same time...has 4X as many fish-filled days than you do, WHY ?... time spent on the water. As stated above, 2 avid fishermen can share the same hole with the same plug using very similar retrieves, what decides who catches the biggest fish??
To me, it's consistency, not size that determines a great fisherman. Someone who can adapt to what's available EVEN when large are not present. Someone who can make a popper
swim because the opportunity is at hand and there's no time to switch plugs. Someone who knows where to place the lure when a fish surfaces on a crisp early morning...again, time on the water along with some luck will take you a long way. I could bore you with more details but I'm sure many don't agree....just wanted to share my .02, ...It's been awhile -