B
Big Swordsy :O)
Guest
I am always confident that I will catch, confidence is everything but as you say confidence earned through experience.
R
Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)
Guest
I think something called your six sense also comes into this.
I have forgotten the times in my life when I have been fishing in a certain way, with a certain bait or lure in a certain place on the river or lake and all of a sudden I have realised that I am doing something very wrong.
And I can't even tell you why.
However, all of a sudden my confidence has gone and I know if I carry on doing what I am doing, I will blank.
And it may be that I have done well on previous occasions using the same tactics.
This is the time I bring in my tackle and have a look around.
Has this ever happened to you?
I have forgotten the times in my life when I have been fishing in a certain way, with a certain bait or lure in a certain place on the river or lake and all of a sudden I have realised that I am doing something very wrong.
And I can't even tell you why.
However, all of a sudden my confidence has gone and I know if I carry on doing what I am doing, I will blank.
And it may be that I have done well on previous occasions using the same tactics.
This is the time I bring in my tackle and have a look around.
Has this ever happened to you?
Matt Brown
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Ron, that happens quite a lot. I just get a feeling about something. I've learned to act on those instincts quickly rather than wait too long.
I think the more fishing you have done, the better 'instincts' you will aquire.
I think the more fishing you have done, the better 'instincts' you will aquire.
B
BLAM
Guest
Great picture of the river, Matt. The rods looked like guns at first glance! I very much agree with the premise of the article though.
Ron, I'm not a believer in sixth sense but each to their own and if it works for you keep doing it. Can you give an example?
Ron, I'm not a believer in sixth sense but each to their own and if it works for you keep doing it. Can you give an example?
R
Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)
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Yes I think I can give an example.
Many years ago I went bass fishing for the first time. I bought some top gear, lures etc read a couple of top American books on the subject and sallied forth onto a still water about 80 miles from home.
When I got to that water, something put me off. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I flogged the water all day and caught nothing. And I knew I would catch nothing. Was I annoyed?
A I drove home I wondered why I could not catch. I was using all the right lures and even another guy who seemed pretty clueless had about 12 good fish.
I was back the following weekend. This time instead of going straight out onto the water I relaxed, sat back and just looked.
After about an hour of this plus drinking tea I set off for the lake. I cast in and worked the little jig back. Suddenly I felt that tingle at the back of my neck. Next second there came a tap-tap on the end of the rod. I struck and out of the water jumped a bucket mouth of 3 lbs. What a beauty - I had cracked it.
Never had too much trouble catching bass since.
Many years ago I went bass fishing for the first time. I bought some top gear, lures etc read a couple of top American books on the subject and sallied forth onto a still water about 80 miles from home.
When I got to that water, something put me off. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I flogged the water all day and caught nothing. And I knew I would catch nothing. Was I annoyed?
A I drove home I wondered why I could not catch. I was using all the right lures and even another guy who seemed pretty clueless had about 12 good fish.
I was back the following weekend. This time instead of going straight out onto the water I relaxed, sat back and just looked.
After about an hour of this plus drinking tea I set off for the lake. I cast in and worked the little jig back. Suddenly I felt that tingle at the back of my neck. Next second there came a tap-tap on the end of the rod. I struck and out of the water jumped a bucket mouth of 3 lbs. What a beauty - I had cracked it.
Never had too much trouble catching bass since.
B
BLAM
Guest
Hmm I agree. It's difficult to argue experience caught you that Bass. Over to you Matt! Is this Ron's general level of experience coming to the fore anyway or somthing else?
Matt Brown
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I'm not sure about tingles, but the more experience we have, the easier it becomes to pick up other aspects of angling.
I think many of us know more about fishing than we realise.
I think many of us know more about fishing than we realise.
G
Gary Knowles
Guest
I think the so-called sixth sense is just anglers experience and watercraft telling them everything is right and a bite is imminent.
Good article and great nightime picture of the river by the way Matt - whats your secret ?
Good article and great nightime picture of the river by the way Matt - whats your secret ?
Matt Brown
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Stick the camera on a tripod, set the exposure for 30 seconds, fire the camera using a remote and don't move!
Night time shots of weirs come out well!
Night time shots of weirs come out well!
R
Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)
Guest
I think it's also a case of not knowing what you are supposed to be doing. This often happens when you are fishing for a new species, or you are on a water you have never fished before.
Years ago, myself and a friend took Jim Gibbinson for a day's bass fishing. We fished two still waters. One of them had large mouth bass in in, the other small mouth.
Jim was given a few small deerhair jigs to fish with. After my friend Brian and myself had had a couple of fish and Jim hadn't, Jim came to the conclusion that he didn't know what he was supposed to be doing. I think it was Brian who told him to relax a bit.
Shortly after that Jim caught a nice bass.
"Got it" said Jim. Now I know what I am supposed to be doing.
Catching that first fish in a new water is always something I regard as a breakthrough.
Mind you Jim got back at me a few days later. After nearly emptying a Natal lake of its trout in about 6 casts, I asked him what the secret was?
"It's knowing the water" said Jim!
Who was about 6300 miles away from home at the time....
)
Years ago, myself and a friend took Jim Gibbinson for a day's bass fishing. We fished two still waters. One of them had large mouth bass in in, the other small mouth.
Jim was given a few small deerhair jigs to fish with. After my friend Brian and myself had had a couple of fish and Jim hadn't, Jim came to the conclusion that he didn't know what he was supposed to be doing. I think it was Brian who told him to relax a bit.
Shortly after that Jim caught a nice bass.
"Got it" said Jim. Now I know what I am supposed to be doing.
Catching that first fish in a new water is always something I regard as a breakthrough.
Mind you Jim got back at me a few days later. After nearly emptying a Natal lake of its trout in about 6 casts, I asked him what the secret was?
"It's knowing the water" said Jim!
Who was about 6300 miles away from home at the time....
)
A
Andy "the Dog" Nellist (SAA) (ACA)
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Confidence is critical but you can feel confident using tactics you have never tried before. Truly successful anglers constantly adapt and that requires them to have sufficient confidence to try new tactics.
Experience tends to make anglers better but as with everything in life some anglers will learn a great deal more from their experiences than others. There are a lot of anglers who have a great deal of experience but very little confidence. Generally such anglers are far less successful than anglers with much less experience who have developed confidence in their own ability to make it happen.
If I were betting on an angler for long term success I?d back a confident intuitive natural angler (one in touch with his sixth sense)over a more experienced and skillful angler. Such anglers seem to have the knack of being consistently flukey.
Experience tends to make anglers better but as with everything in life some anglers will learn a great deal more from their experiences than others. There are a lot of anglers who have a great deal of experience but very little confidence. Generally such anglers are far less successful than anglers with much less experience who have developed confidence in their own ability to make it happen.
If I were betting on an angler for long term success I?d back a confident intuitive natural angler (one in touch with his sixth sense)over a more experienced and skillful angler. Such anglers seem to have the knack of being consistently flukey.
Matt Brown
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Andy, what about those anglers you are confident, but wrong?
ie. The ones that think they are doing well, but could be catching more if they weren't blindly arrogant in their confidence.
ie. The ones that think they are doing well, but could be catching more if they weren't blindly arrogant in their confidence.
A
Andy "the Dog" Nellist (SAA) (ACA)
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We all make mistakes that's how we learn. The succesful confident angler doesn't fear failure and learns from their mistakes.
Matt Brown
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I've seen some anglers make the same mistakes over and over, confidentally thinking they are doing the right thing.
R
Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)
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Of course Matt a fair few anglers are not adaptable and are slave to one particular style of angling.
The secret of successful angling, especially if you are after big fish is to make all the methods of angling YOUR slaves. Top match anglers are particularly good at this. This is why they carry so much gear to their peg.
The secret of successful angling, especially if you are after big fish is to make all the methods of angling YOUR slaves. Top match anglers are particularly good at this. This is why they carry so much gear to their peg.
Matt Brown
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I think you're right there Ron. I like to try methods I'm rubbish at, rather than stick to methods I know well (execpt when I really want to catch). I think the more I learn, the more it will stand me in good stead at some point in future.
R
Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)
Guest
You should ask yourself this: "What sort of method or bait must I use to catch the fish I am after under the conditions I am facing?"
Rather than:
"I wonder what I will catch if I use this particular method."
Rather than:
"I wonder what I will catch if I use this particular method."
R
Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)
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A a message for keen specimen hunters.
I am quoting Walker of course.
Attitude is important. In Still Water Angling, Walker quotes Kipling regarding attitude.
Kipling talks about:
"The calculated craftsmanship that camps alone before the angry rifle pit or shell hole and calmly and methodically wipes out every soul in it!"
That must be you attitude or you will fail!
I am quoting Walker of course.
Attitude is important. In Still Water Angling, Walker quotes Kipling regarding attitude.
Kipling talks about:
"The calculated craftsmanship that camps alone before the angry rifle pit or shell hole and calmly and methodically wipes out every soul in it!"
That must be you attitude or you will fail!
B
Big Swordsy :O)
Guest
Happy soul that Kipling chap!
R
Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)
Guest
Kipling was a very happy person Lee.
What he was talking about was the qualities required to win the Victoria Cross.
Walker applied this as an analogy to angling.
What he was talking about was the qualities required to win the Victoria Cross.
Walker applied this as an analogy to angling.