Is it YOU...........or is IT the Spot?

[Nebe]

25% SPOT

75% ANGLER

[PaulS]

A combo of the 2. I was on MV last week and my partner and I had about 25 keeper size fish on darters. Some guy next to us didn't have a fish all night on bucktails. We gave him a darter and first cast he had a huge windknot. The fish were there and we were competent enough to catch them. Next night same spot but no clouds, wind, rain and a bright full moon, I had 2 only 2 fish.

[Clogston29]

where has ALOT to do with it, but its up to the fisherman to decide where to go on a particular tide and set of conditions. so to me its the angler, but more in terms of deciding/learning when and where to go. how is important too, and the angler has to learn how and what to use after deciding where. but if you decide to go to the wrong place in the wrong conditions, you can probably throw whatever you want out there and present it in the best possible way, and still end up skunked.

yes people get lucky (if you stand in one spot long enough, you'll eventually catch something good there), but the guys who do it consistantly, year after year, do it because they are able to decide the where part as conditions change. That's what we should all be striving for and what I hope to be able to do someday.

[nklinesider]

Originally Posted by Clogston29

where has ALOT to do with it, but its up to the fisherman to decide where to go on a particular tide and set of conditions. so to me its the angler, but more in terms of deciding/learning when and where to go.

i definetley agree with this 100%. being relatively new to fishin for stripers and not having a list of honey holes to go to on a given night, im going through learning where to go on certain tide/weather/moon conditions and ive been able to do fairly well so far this year. hopefully i beat the luck streak and turn into a master

[Rockport24]

Clogston has it right IMO, being a good surfcaster is knowing the when and the where. How do the "sharpies" know this? In my opinion, it's tons of time on the water and having that knack for being able to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Of course, you need to know HOW to entice fish to bite and that's a lot of skill in itself as well, but that is a much faster learning curve if you ask me, especially if we're talking eels (plugs maybe not). Also, I think the sharpies are so damn good at learning how to entice and land big fish because they have had a lot of experience in dealing with big fish because of their skills of finding them.

Botton line, knowing when and where is more imporantant in the long run.

think of it this way, if you caught a 50 with a charter captain, who took you to the spot at the right time, but you presented the plug/eel/bait and enticed the fish and fought and landed the fish, would you still feel like YOU earned that 50? I sure as hell wouldn't....

[macojoe]

Its nice to know were the fish are, and luck that you get your line in the right place at the right time!!

But thats were the luck stops, and the angler that knows what they are doing will win the fight!
I have a friend that can just read the water and say yes or no if the fish are there!! And no matter if he fishes one day a year or one day a week, in the end he always catches and always has the big fish!!

I wish I was him!!

[Squibby17]

As a few sharpies on this site often say. Consistancy is the true indication of angling ability. (Something I sure can't claim at this point btw.)

Sure every dog has his day. A perfect novice can catch a cow on his first cast however I think over time those who put their time in and learn which spots will produce when will most often catch more and bigger fish. Like anything the more you do it the better you get.

[fishbones]

Originally Posted by Nebe

25% SPOT

75% ANGLER

I think this is just about right. If there's a blitz, sometimes all you have to do is throw anything out there and you can catch a fish. Other times, you'll see some people catching while others are getting skunked a few yards away. Do you think that every time you get skunked there are no fish there? Maybe you're just not using the right bait (or lure), or you're not fishing the right depth.

I've gone to spots where guys are leaving saying "don't waste your time" and had great nights. Other times, I've thrown everything in my plug bag to breaking fish well withing casting distance and got only a couple of hits and no hook ups.

A great example is the canal. Some people know how to fish it and will catch big fish consistently. Others spend hours and hours trying without so much as a bump. If you've ever seen underwater footage of the fish swimming in the canal, you'd think fishing there was easy. Truth is, there are a lot of variables and the angler has to know what they're doing.

Anyone can catch a stupid fish, but the better anglers can catch the smart ones. And the big ones don't get big by being stupid.