The Complete Skill Sets Spectrum

The analysis appearing here specifically relates to anglers who own their own boats and who fish exclusively with artificial lures.

To achieve consistent productivity, top lure chunkers don't simply display skill; they utilize a complex group of skill sets. At a basic level, these skill sets reside in two separate realms, some related to fish location and others related to the physical execution of strategies used to catch fish. Placing these sets on a linear continuum helps one generate the most complete picture representing all these individual, related skills. Significantly, some of these skill sets stem from similar, prerequisite sets and others exist as superfluous extras, possessed only by a few exquisitely versatile, elite anglers.

The identity of an elite coastal angler of the kind considered here begins to form long before adulthood. The prerequisite skill sets required to facilitate the emergence of a top-notch lure chunker emerge during childhood and adolescence. Almost invariably, people who prove themselves capable of ascending to the top of the angling world show an innate interest in the cycles of nature and in at least relatively crude forms of hunting and fishing.

Mostly, they love the great outdoors and spend time contemplating the natural phenomena and patterns they observe in the natural world. They're the kinds of kids who build cave man traps for coons, coax crawdads from the ditch with bacon on a string, move toward a rattlesnake when they see one instead of turning and fleeing in fear. By the time they walk through the front door of adulthood, they already possess many of the seemingly instinctual hunter skills passed down through the eons to modern man by a brotherhood of like-minded spirits.

They also possess plenty of handyman skills, channeling the famous television figure MacGyver, at least a little. They can fix old things when they break without showing stubborn resistance to change; they embrace new systems and gadgets readily. In a world ever more influenced by technologies supported by sophisticated software and devices, they're the best blend of an archetypal Bubba and the ingenious Bill Gates.

Once they decide to venture into the coastal fishing world by buying a boat, this combination of useful skills and competence with technologies readies them to start the process of becoming seasoned captains. While earning their stripes, they learn how to handle the truck, trailer and boat on the roads and ramps and how best to wrangle the winds and currents while moving around on the waterways. Over time, they learn what the boat can do, how best to take it into various places. And the stress lesser souls feel when forced into positions of leadership motivates them; they easily carry the weight of responsibility for others and relish the feel of the wheel in their hands.

Most of the skills related to captaining involve tactile experiences gained through time on the water, but some evolve from practiced knowledge earned through use of a GPS. In decades past, captains used compasses, triangulation and memory to find their way to remote places; these days, the GPS has dulled the need for those skills, while demanding proficient captains to acquire new ones, related to the gadgets on the helm. Using GPS technology to access productive areas and to consistently return to specific locations makes the fishing easier, but nothing replaces an intimate familiarity with the many aspects of our bays and other coastal waterways.

Every angler who possesses all the skill sets on the complete spectrum has extensive knowledge of the layouts and bottom topographies of the waters in which they ply their trade. Using paper maps, Google Earth and GPS devices, they cross-reference what they see on paper and on the screens with what they see on the water to develop a familiarity not only with the physical features of the waterways, but also with how various types of tidal and weather conditions alter the features. Any great coastal inshore angler appreciates how the vagaries of the ever-changing conditions can either elevate or diminish the potential for productivity in a given location. These same conditions can also make navigating in a place ill advised, even downright treacherous.

The end goal of all the studying and analysis of the features of the waterways culminates in the accumulation of a full catalog of productive spots. The most accomplished anglers never stop learning new places to fish, always with the goal of expanding their catalog and their awareness of when the potential runs high in these places and when visiting them makes little or no sense. The best also realize the value of learning to read the signs indicating the presence of fish in a place, and when to place a priority on looking for signs over running through a milk run of favorite spots.

No great angler relies on spots at all times, nor exclusively on the reading of signs as the only way to locate fish. Relying on signs can become impossible or nearly so when low light conditions, dense fog and/or misting rain reduce visibility. An extensive, proven catalog of spots has tremendous value, for this reason. But all supremely accomplished anglers respond to obvious signs of something outstanding by adjusting their plans and fishing around them on a regular basis.

This ability to recognize the meaning of signs like herons and egrets dancing along a shoreline, squawks emitted by bickering gulls, the sudden redirection of a tern in open water, a melon scent wafting out of a cove, a frantic mullet making a long leap low over the water's surface and many other pregnant signals is a vital part of any coastal angler's quiver of skills. Because they possess strong prerequisite skills related to natural cycles and animal behavior, expert anglers develop their abilities to read the signs on the water faster than the average person. They use these skills to choose general locations to fish and where exactly to cast after they've chosen a location and started an effort in a place.

These folks also generate and execute intelligent strategies, choosing to wade some of the time, staying in the boat and drifting, with or without the aid of a trolling motor, on other occasions. They develop an acute ability to properly analyze how long to try spots and/or strategies before abandoning them, factoring in many variables as they decide when persistence is likely to pay and when flexibility is required. More a Jack of All Trades than a One Trick Pony, these versatile anglers use the ease or difficulty of earning bites as part of this process, always factoring in reasonable expectations for the situation.

In order to properly utilize the bite-rate in this important way, anglers must display proficiency in two of the most important skill sets on the spectrum. They must consistently make intelligent choices when selecting lures, and they must work them in productive ways, given the variables in play. While doing so, they catch fish, and while catching fish, they adroitly fight and handle them. These basic skills prove fairly easy to master, compared with some of the more complex ones.

Some elite anglers show a higher acumen for using many different kinds of lures than others, but all know plenty about using floating plugs, sinking twitchbaits, soft plastics and spoons, the four main groups of lures used by modern coastal anglers. They also recognize the value inherent to manipulating presentations to match the needs of the situation. Over time, experiences verify the critical importance the movement pattern of a lure plays in the generation of an appropriate bite-rate. Because the best anglers make such good predictions when choosing lures and back them up with the ability to execute intelligent presentations, they can use bite-rate effectively to decide how long to stick with a strategy or stay in a place.

Once they rightly perceive a reason to abandon a strategy or place, they excel in selecting the best ways to adjust their efforts to generate better outcomes. This skill set reflects back on the prerequisite ones related to nature and wildlife acumen, since it partly relies on accurately reading the signs indicating the presence of fish while on a search for a new place. Making smart adjustments to plans also requires reliance on an ample catalog of spots and an awareness of how the timing of the outing, combined with the weather and celestial influences exert influence on both the people making the effort and the fish they chase. Anglers who've mastered all these skill sets seem to pull rabbits out of hats at times, but consistent productivity results from intelligent analysis and decision-making, not from wizardry and sleight of hand.

A small group of elite anglers who master all the aforementioned skill sets also prove themselves capable of cleaning and cooking fish after the game on the water comes to an end. Some of them wield knives as deftly as a Sushi chef and infuse food with flavor like Bobby Flay. A few also show an ability and an interest to pass their knowledge on to others, sometimes while on the water, in the game, other times in discussions at the dinner table or local bar, occasionally by writing books, making videos, or starring in Podcasts. I've labeled these last skill sets as "Beyond Violet" because mastering the "complete spectrum" does not require mastering them. The celebrated icons who achieve such things rise above the rest, illuminating pathways for others to follow.