The Well-Rounded Angler

Just recently I was thumbing through an article and read an amazing quote by D.H. Lawrence that said, “Never set a child afloat on the flat sea of life with only one sail to catch the wind.”  Talk about a deep thought. Pinning your hopes on only one solution sets the stage for the ultimate boom or bust situation, and that is exactly what many anglers do every time they go fishing.

More often than not anglers fall into a routine or rut where they repeat the same pattern, go to the same spots, and use the same techniques because they had success doing it a couple of times, so now it’s all they feel comfortable doing. If you fish enough and do the exact same thing day in and day out, the odds as well as conditions will eventually repeat themselves allowing you to catch fish once again. But what happens when those conditions don’t repeat?

Well, the angler who has no alternate plan often suffers through a less than stellar day while the angler who can adapt to the current situation experiences success. The ability to change with the variables presented each day is what separates consistently successful anglers from all the others.

As a guide, I cannot stress the importance of being well-rounded. It’s critical to your success because of the ever-changing clientele you encounter. Each morning brings a potentially different style of fisherman to my boat and it’s my job to do whatever I can, within reason, to make their day on the water as enjoyable as possible.

Sometimes that might mean I have to adapt or alter a technique in order to accomplish the desired goal due to the anglers skill level. Not everyone who gets on my boat is a seasoned angler who is ready to jump over the side and wade while throwing topwater plugs all day. Although I do get my fair share of hardcore fishermen, I also get those who are new to the sport and just want to learn in order to get better. These folks are some of the most enjoyable to fish with because they are open to new techniques and different options.

So, for me, it’s very possible to go from one end of the spectrum to the other on a day to day basis, which means I have to be well- rounded enough to handle a variety of situations. It’s this process that allows me to enjoy so many different styles of fishing and also in some ways keeps things from getting stale or boring on the boat.

About a year or so ago I was having a conversation with my good friend Johnny Cormier,  who is one of the best fishermen I have ever been around, about how we have evolved or changed the way fish here on Sabine. We both couldn’t think of a good answer as to why we got away from doing some of the things we did for years that were tried and true fish producing patterns and techniques.

Sure, some of it was weather or storm related as we were forced to deal with some never-before-seen flooding and freezes, but for some unknown reason we just got away from things that worked for us for years. It was at that time I decided I was going to go back to doing some of those things and see if they still worked, see if they still helped me catch fish, and much to my surprise they did just exactly that.

Part of my desire in going back and adding these older techniques to my everyday playbook was the fact that each time I step foot in my boat I cannot help but think about my mentor Dickie Colburn and all the things he taught me. I get a very special feeling when I go back and catch fish in a place that we once fished together and that makes my trips even more enjoyable. Going back to these areas and fishing the way we once did has been like a shot in the arm for me, a sense of rediscovery, so to speak, that opens up so many great options.

So far we’ve talked a lot about being well-rounded and different styles of fishing, but I haven’t been very specific. Despite what some may think, there are way more folks who just want to get a bite than there are who go out in search of trophy fish. If you are one of those folks who do nothing but chase trophy fish and that’s all you are interested in, that’s great, more power to you and I wish you all the success in the world. If you are just an average weekend angler who likes to have their string stretched regardless of species, then this is for you.

In order to maximize your success on the water it’s necessary to become flexible and proficient in several areas or techniques. Reading the conditions of the water, knowing how tides affect your area, being willing to use a variety of baits including both live and artificial, are tops on the list.

Reading the conditions and knowing the tides goes without saying, they are a given in the fishing equation. Lure or bait choices on the other hand take a little more time to figure out. If you have a particular style of fishing that you are not good at, take the initiative to learn how to do it better, don’t just keep fishing with a lure or technique that you are comfortable with when there are better options out there.

Learn to throw a cast net, and learn how to properly rig live bait. Learn how to keep your bait alive and, most importantly, learn where and when to use it. Become willing to change your approach when things are slow and don’t be afraid to try new things. The worst thing in the world is a stubborn angler.

One more thing on the subject of being a well-rounded angler, and that’s not being afraid to experiment with a new technique. I thoroughly enjoy talking to anglers from other places and hearing how they fish in certain situations. I have picked up many great tips like this that have helped me out many times over the years. It’s also very cool to bring a technique and share it with others when I travel as well.

I’ve spent a great deal of time in Mexico on the Baja peninsula and I’m always trying out lures or techniques that I use here at home. On a recent trip I hit it big with one of our favorite ways to fish and that’s using a rattling cork with a soft plastic. My buddies who live down there were amazed at how well it worked and couldn’t wait to try it out on some other species.

I got tired of catching fish from the beach as all sorts of species would readily eat the soft plastics as they hovered just above the big rocks along the reefs. It was a tug of war to get some of those better fish out of the rocks, but more often than not I was able to land them all the while grinning from ear to ear, knowing I was catching fish in a place using a technique that probably nobody ever had tried or even heard of before and that was very satisfying.

I guess the point to all of this is to stress the fact that being well-rounded as an angler will do nothing but help you catch more fish and become a better angler. By learning different methods and being willing to try those methods you increase your odds exponentially for success on the water. Keep an open mind and learn as much as you can because it can and will pay dividends in the future. As always, enjoy your time on the water and don’t forget to take a kid fishing whenever you can.