Setting Them Up For Success

In this month’s article we are going to discuss the importance of providing your spouse with the best tackle and fishing attire you can afford when introducing them to fishing. All the content in this article can also be applied when introducing your children, and others under your care, to fishing. Providing the right tools for the right game are a must if you want them to enjoy the sport.  I also want to express to you the importance of stepping out of the husband/dad role and stepping into the coaching role. The greatest coaches all have one thing in common; they unselfishly want the player to succeed and become the best they can be.

Most know by now that I am a minimalist. I like to wade and travel light in every aspect of the game. I don’t wear bulky clothing or heavy wading boots. I use lightweight rods and reels and carry no landing net. I wear a minimal style of wading belt that holds my pliers and Boga Grip, and I don’t always carry a Boga. I carry very few lures, keeping them in a small box that is stuffed between the wading belt and wading pants or waders. Granted, I have a good idea of what I will be needing for the wade, due to the amount of time I spend on the water each week.

Featured here will be four ladies that I have the good fortune to fish with on a regular basis. What they have in common are spouses that have a great passion for fishing and enjoy sharing days on the water with them. They also provide the best equipment for the ladies to use. My wife, Renee, uses the exact same of everything that I use. Yes, I had to teach her how to use it and become comfortable in the water with me. It is natural that ladies suffer from fear of things that go bump on the bottom, and I get it. There are several products on the market that help prevent bad stingray encounters. If you or they are worried, then take precautions and get them protection. For the record, and if you are wondering, I do not wear stingray protection.  And yes, I have been hit. Stupid is as stupid does, I guess. So, with all this said, I want to showcase some of my clients that have taken my advice, and the advice of others, and provided their wives with the best of the best.

I will begin with my wife, Renee. First, she is very athletic and has great eye-hand coordination. She is extremely competitive and wants to do well at whatever it is she is doing.  She competed in co-ed softball until she was 45. Played shortstop and fielded plenty of heat from the guys in the league, and could promptly throw them out at first. She’s a badass, no doubt. This same drive has made her the success that she is today in the business world.

Coordination helps immensely in casting, lure presentation, and also fighting fish. Lucky for Renee, I have the best of the best in saltwater sponsorships, so providing her with the best tackle was a given. I have told a bunch of people that Renee was quick to pick up on casting a baitcasting reel and just as quick in learning lure presentation. Funny thing was, I would say twitch the lure three or four times and then pause. Her comment was always, “well is it three or four?” I would secretly laugh inside knowing that her response was just her wanting to know exactly how many times to twitch the rod tip. In her world, the medical field, everything is black and white. Fishing is “greyer” I told her.

She took coaching well and success came quickly to her. My proudest moments were on tournament days when we got to stand in the winner’s circle together. Little did she know just how proud I was of her, and that her wanting to fish with me meant the whole world to me.  It is simpler today when we fish, which is honestly not often due to life just getting in the way, she wants to throw exactly what I throw in every situation. When I ask her what lure she wants to use she simply says, “the same one you’re going to throw.”

Next is Beth Bunk. Total joy to fish with and a perfect example of a wife that has a family of all guys that fish and hunt to an extreme. Beth is comfortable wading in the thigh-deep stuff, drifting in a bay boat, chasing black marlin on the Great Barrier Reef, chasing white marlin off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland, or following the families quail dogs in South Texas. Craig, her husband, has provided the entire family with the best of everything. I think they might secretly own stock in the Waterloo Pro Shop. On a recent trip Beth told me that Craig had her out on the back deck of their home the night before, casting and making final adjustments to the new reel he had purchased for her. Practicing is such a huge part of the day and just a few good casts the night before will ensure that all is in good working order.

On this particular day Beth crushed it, catching limits of trout and reds while standing in between Craig and I. She possesses good casting skills which allow her plenty of water time with her lure on each cast. She pays attention to how she works the lure and knows the difference between a bite and bottom grass. In our clear water the ability to make long casts is an absolute must, in my opinion. Beth, like all the ladies in this article, can cast extremely well, and that alone aids in her success. This cannot be achieved without the proper rod, reel and line setup, and some good old-fashioned practice. I often ask people that are having trouble casting if they have practiced and most of the time the answer is no. How could we possibly become better without practice?  So, the moral to this story is simple, practice and you will see improvement.

Alyson Donaldson, what a lady and fisherman. Tough is what she is. I have never heard a negative word or an excuse from her on the many fishing trips we have been on together. Life deals us all some crappy cards at times, she’s had some of the worst, but she dusts herself off and pushes on. If I had to guess, I would say that her strength comes from her faith. This is what I respect the most about her. The way we deal with a bad hand is what defines us, it makes us what we are. Alyson, like all the other girls is an avid outdoorsman. She hunts deer, dove, quail, and turkey on her family ranch. She is a student of the game. She too has been provided with the best equipment and she practices from the dock of her second home in Key Allegro. Alyson fishes a lot with her husband, Drew, so she gets plenty of practice. In the beginning of our fishing together she would watch me cast and work my lure, trying to mimic the motion and action. This is an excellent way to learn but one must be smart enough to know this and not be intimidated by admitting that they need instruction. Alyson has excellent casting skill and a lure presentation technique all her own, a skillset I have often caught myself watching. Just today, she caught her personal best trout with me; a fish just over 6 ¾ pounds. Do you know how huge it is for a guide to become part of an unforgettable moment? As I waded toward her with a few suggestions on handling such a fish, Drew watched silently. He was beaming as she pulled the fish to hand and snapped her Boga in its lip. A few quick photos, a video of the release, and then a quiet moment to take it all in.

Last, but for sure not least; Lisa Laskowski. Total badass with a rod and reel and she too has the support of her husband, Big Mike. Mike’s big, real big, hence the name. I love this couple and their children, Michael and Lindsey. Lisa’s had some tough hands dealt her as well, but she just goes on. True Grit is what this girl has.  All of the family are excellent anglers and spend a ton of time on the water. They are also avid hunters, spending lots of time afield on the family farm for whatever is in season, and whatever you can make into sausage or throw on the BBQ pit.

Lisa and I bonded on the very first fishing trip we went on some twenty years ago. I extended my hand to her as she slipped while fighting some heavy mud that her guide had waded her into. She was teary eyed from embarrassment, sunscreen in her eyes she said, but we laughed and trudged on. That moment broke the ice. I ceased being her guide; I was now just a guy and she was just a girl, stuck in the mud. Later, during that same wade, Lisa became my very first cover photo for this magazine, posing with a super nice flounder she caught out of a drain mouth on a hard-falling afternoon tide. Lisa has tremendous angling skills and uncommon intuition of where the fish will be. Seldom does she stay with the pack but she never pushes forward from the group. Always off to the side and usually up shallow. She is never intimidated by anything or anyone. Lisa is a big trout enthusiast and has a personal best of eight pounds. No, she did not catch that fish with me. She has caught some very nice trout with me and she photographed a 10-plus trout that I caught with she and Mike several years back. We have made many wonderful memories together and plan on making more.

I cannot stress enough the importance of providing your special someone with the best you can afford. How can we expect anyone to gain a love for something that we don’t teach them to do well? Quality of everything is a must, from what they wear, to what they use. Buy quality and buy once has always been my mindset. For instance, all the ladies mentioned throw baitcasting reels (13 Fishing, Shimano. Lew’s), quality custom-built rods (Henri, Waterloo, Sarge, Laguna), Simms waders and wading boots, Reel sportswear, Patagonia, Orvis, Smith, Costa, to name a few. Oh, and Texas Customs Jay Watkins Series fishing hats!