What Makes One...

[In The Surf]

Great question Kadir, no doubt one that has been debated many times. Yes luck plays a small role in this equation because I believe that I have had my share of it and I agree with many of the answers posted but I still feel it is more. I chuckle at the thought that I go out to relax and enjoy myself. I enjoy fishing but there is a lot of thought and preparation involved. We would be fooling ourselves not to believe that this is a thinking mans sport, knowing how to read the water and what makes it productive, find structure and understand how to use (fish) it. What bait, plugs, tackle or gear to use under various conditions. Understanding the tides, wind, phases of the moon, weather conditions and time of year. The speed of our retreive, the depth we fish our bait or plugs. Knowing and understanding these things is what gives us that confidence. But sometimes it takes more, we have to let the fish tell us what they want. If we know the water is productive and the fish are there, yet we can't generate a strike know when to change it up. Vary the presentation, then change plugs or jig etc. and go through the formalities again. The fish will tell you what they want and how they want it,thus the learning continues. We need to understand how to make each cast productive and fish with a purpose with a limited number of casts and not just continue casting thinking maybe on the next cast I'll hook up. We also need to spend a couple of moments each time out and observe the environment and condtions around us, ask ourselves what worked and what didn't, then ask why. Make a mental note or better yet keep a log. Guarenteed over time this will make you a better fisherman. Yes we can learn some of this through our fishing forums and having a fishing buddy that's a sharpy certainly helps but for most of us it's putting in the time and paying our dues. Just remember to take away something you learned every time you go.