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...
