Getting "schooled".

[Nebe]

T, you know who i used to fish with alot and you know how good he is-
when I was really gettig whooped, he would take the time to watch exacctly what I was doing differently than him and give advice. He would also happily let me stand behind him and study what he was doing so i could learn his techniques.

I never got mad, but i did get a little frustrated. The important thing is to turn that frustration into cureosity and learn from it.

I also learned alot from the #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& last year- agian, i never got mad, and asked alot of questions..

Always be open to learn new things, even if you think your way is right.

[Striperhound]

Toby,

You mentioned that your partner fished virgin water to him with you. Since this was new water to him, did you point out and put him in the better spot? I found that I was becoming a better guide putting my brother in the best spots, the rocks I would normally stand on. Little did I know, he got a few extra feet on the cast, had easier access to deep water and caught the better fish. As Bill said, luck is part of the equation but as we all know fishing can be a game of inches.

[piemma]

Clammer is right. This is a great thread. Good idea Toby

[maddog2020]

Great to have a fishing buddy for sure, Piemma! RIRH and you two must have a blast.

My best fishing buddy is gone. Died when I was 19 yrs old - both of us sophmores in college (1983). Had a dream of having a charter business down in FL (both of us were anti-social so I doubt we would have done that.....LOL). He fishes with me when I go out. He kind of makes me get up when I don't want to and drag my butt out there.

Being out on the water - listening to the water and feeling the air blow .... smell of the ocean. Not a worry in the world - life is grand where I catch something or not.

I stopped fishing for a decaded after I lost my best friend.... gave up a lot of things. Started back up .... as if I never stopped. Two idiots standing in the water cracking the ice off our guides when we couldn't feel our hands.... LOL.

Sorry - getting a little sentimental.

Luck does help over skill sometimes. I had some newbies out before & they caught way more and larger fish than myself ! Made me feel good that I was able to get another "HOOKED" on to fishing.

Ran into a young boy - may be 10'ish fishing up near Gloucester/Rockport area last Wednesday just before sunset. He was using some white Storms on an outfit that was his grandfathers = he said his GF loved to fish and had the gear in the garage so he decided to use it. 6.5' Conventional boat rod w/ Baitrunner 4500A on it w/ some 20 lb mono - he didn't care ... he caught a couple of schoolies. I was having good luck w/ a Yozuri Hydro Popper and fish were exploding under it sending in couple of feet in the air.... lol. After catching a lot of schoolies I decided to call it quits and have dinner w/ my elderly friend who was staying at the Inn next to the beach. I unhook my lure and walked over to the boy and said "here, take this - it's working pretty well for me". Kids now a days could be learning to do a lot worse things than to fish. More the merrier IMHO - can't have enough kids fishing! My elderly friend saw me give the lure away and asked me what I was using and I told him it was the lure I had given to him earlier that afternoon to use.

I enjoy people discovering a new hobby. Nothing brings more cheer to me than a kid catching a fish and running back to their folks screaming ..... look .... look .... I caught a big one!

[RickBomba]

I can't believe nobody said anything about the itchy butt story.
Mikey was so proud of himself that he called me at work at three pm on a rainy Sunday with a 4pm Pats game on.
Words can't describe how busy it was.
He was so giddy that he really couldn't talk.
Maybe we should all pm him and tell him how great his story was.
I don't know what it had to do with getting schooled.
Is he trying to tell us all that only the "itchy butts" will catch the "worm?"
I usually only get schooled by Mikey...I've schooled him before, many times, though.
I have a real problem with competitive fishing, I really only care about how much fun I'm having when I'm out, large, schoolies, or nada.
Had a ball with one of my best friends the other day, and between the both of us, I caught one six pound fish.
If you're catching and I'm not, I'll watch and learn...I wont try to mucle in on your spot, just stand very non-chalantly and look at what you're doing.
Still amazes me that one of my best friends will fish right next to me with 30 year old line and a 10 dollar rod, with a bright green bucktail at RP and still be the only guy on the beach that managed a fish in the middle of the day, and never has seals in front of him.
He'll tell you he's the worst fisherman in the world, but he catches.
Y'all know the Beatitudes with the meek thing...he's straight up meek!
OK gotta be back to work in 8 hours.
Later,
Rick

[tattoobob]

The itchy butt story was great, all you need is a hemoroid and your all set it will never stop itching

[RickBomba]

In the eight minutes it took me to post, Mikey has been monitoring the site too see if I replied, then just called me to ask how funny I thought it was.
He really is proud of his itchy butt.
Itchy butt brother, clothing optional father (hope he doesn't read this, he hates that stuff."
Good thing my girl's normal.
Later,
Rickman