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BBB HONOR ROLL |
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Beware of 'Hopes and Dreams' Fishing Trips
Jeff Snyder - 12/2/2000 9:26:04 PM
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It had been a long drive to this steelhead stream, but it felt great to be looking at familiar water again. As we crossed over a bridge, I told the group that was with me the story about the quantity of steelies we had caught in that particular stretch of the river.
We set up camp quickly and took off for a productive stretch of the river. As we parked our vehicle and began our short trek to the first productive pool, little shocks of alarm started to go through my head. Something was not quite right, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was.
It wasn't until we sloshed through a shallow rapids to reach the other bank that I realized what was wrong. It was the absence of the brush and trees that usually littered the banks. It was the addition of the debris hanging head high that showed signs of a horrendous flood.
I was disheartened, but not all that surprised to come up over the bank and find the deep pool was all but gone. It too had fallen victim to the change in river structure caused by some very high water.
I didn't quite know what to tell my fishing companions that had come along expecting the trout fishing of a lifetime. It was obvious that they had fallen victim to a fishing trip based on hopes and dreams.
I can't begin to count the number of times I have had trips like this. Some of these trips were the product of my own memory while many were based on past adventures experienced by others. Either way, fishing for hopes and dreams is a common event in the fishing scene that will always be with us.
In the world of fishing, there are few guarantees. However, one of those guarantees is the fact that fishing can change on a day to day basis. What happened yesterday sometimes has little effect on what happens today.
As much as we would like to think so, fishing is not an exact science. There are many variables that can change the location of fish or even the quantity of fish available for catching. These variables may be items like weather, stocking patterns, spawning success, the introduction of exotic weeds into a lake, the use of herbicides to reduce shoreline vegetation, or maybe something simple like the fish were or were not actively feeding at the time you were at the lake.
Regardless of the reasons for your hopes and dreams adventure, there are some things that can be done to reduce the disappointment experienced on trips like this. These are variables that you can control. These are items that will help you create your own success in the face of failure.
One important thing you can do is to identify a hope and dreams trip for what it is and have a back up plan. Is there another lake or river nearby that you can go to? I am always amazed at the number of anglers that suffer through a tough day on a body of water when the fish are biting like crazy on a lake a mile away.
Another alternative is to switch species of fish you are after. If walleyes were on your menu but they aren't hitting, what about northerns or crappies? By switching species you may be able to turn a gloomy day into a golden one.
Once you are on the water, be a thinker. Don't leave your brains on the dock. Be willing to change and adapt to different conditions. Switch baits or presentations or depths. If you know what is not working you must be willing to change to try to find something that will work.
It is also important to remember that not all fish are doing the same thing at the same time. Just because your honey hole that you caught a big walleye out of six years ago is not producing doesn't mean that fish all over the lake are not biting.
Stick to the basics. Don't get caught experimenting with wild lures or rigs when the fishing is tough. Live bait presented on a Bait Rigs Tackle Company “Serious Walleye Rigs” or slip float is often hard to beat. You know fish will hit live bait.
And don't be afraid to use the telephone or internet to check on local conditions. A simple phone call can certainly save a lot of needless hours in a car.
There are no guarantees when you go fishing, yet some anglers seem to always do better than others. By eliminating the hopes and dreams fishing trips and by replacing them with planning and strategy, you will find that you are 'creating' memories and not just 'living' in them.
The final lesson learned....Learn to fish the fish, not the history of the spot!
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