CAN’T GET OUTTA OUR OWN WAY
Originally Published the Week of June 1, 2021 in Western Outdoor Publications
If any of this applies to you, I am NOT throwing shade your way. I am as guilty as the anyone of this.
It was dawn and we were loading up the clients in our van to get them from the hotel to the beach to board our boats to go fishing that day.
Everyone was loaded and anxious to get going. Waiting for the last 2 guys.
And then down the lobby steps come Rob and Gerry. This is their 4th trip with us and really really good guys.
But, they are struggling. They are carrying more gear than the other 6 guys combined that are waiting in the van. Everyone stares wide-eyed.
Rob and Gerry need a crew of Himilayan Sherpas. It took 3 of us to heft stuff onto the roof rack of the van.
When they first started coming down, they were rookies. Didn’t have much gear.
However, with each consecutive year, the equipment gets more and more extensive. They have the latest rods, reels, clothes, lures, gadgets and thing-a-ma-jiggers.
And, it’s not like I can say anything. I mean, I don’t wanna be a buzz-kill or dampen their enthusiasm. Like I said, there are really nice guys.
But, sometimes I think they stay up at night on the couch with the remote in their hands. Or instead of football on weekends, they watch the fishing shows…marathon style!
Every gadget that comes out “made by fishermen for fishermen” or “guaranteed to catch fish faster and easier” or “as seen on TV” gets them twitching to grab their cellphone and credit cards.
They MUST have the “Ferris Wheel Lure” and the “See Underwater Seaview Glasses” and the battery-operated “Sonic Fish Caller.”
They can’t help themselves. It’s like some gals I know at a Nordstrom Shoe Sale.
They’re having fun and get so excited they can’t wait to show everyone what they bought and how it’s gonna work. This will be the year that the fish will literally attack their lines!
Whether it’s the latest type of triple-speeded fishing reel or the hot-color 100 SPF camouflage fishing clothes, they have it!
…and the always catch fish. But EVERYONE catches fish.
I’m not sure that all of that gear really made a difference. The folks using our basic rental rods do just as well. The guys who bring a minimum of gear do just as well.
But, here’s the issue I see with these guys getting caught up in the technology.
They still don’t know the basics.
I’m guilty of that myself. I get into a new hobby or interest and then I need all the accessories. Then I realize…whoa…slow down!
Put down the catalogs. Stop web-surfing Amazon.
I need to back up and get some foundation so I know how to use all this great stuff.
I know for a fact, these guys still don’t know how to tie basic fishing knots…because I’ve sat with them and showed them some knot tying.
But, I know they don’t trust their own knots. So they always let my captain tie up their rigs. And bait their hooks for them.
I know as well that they don’t know how to cast or how to work a jig.
They really don’t understand why some people use braided lines. They don’t know why they need to tie fluorocarbon to regular mono. Aren’t both kinds of lines invisible?
Why do we use certain hooks?
They don’t understand how to set the drags or why you can’t just “button down” the drag when a fish is running. Why can’t you just “winch” the fish to the boat?
Well most of us know…it just doesn’t work like that!
The thing is sometimes we can get so wrapped up in all the cool fun stuff that we forget the basics. We trip all over ourselves because of the technology and the “latest and greatest” claims.
Why take the time to learn when technology will help us fast-forward to our goal?
Don’t learn to tie knots. Buy a gadget instead.
Don’t learn to read the water. Buy the battery-operated underwater drone camera.
Don’t learn how to make a jig swim. Buy a rechargeable lure that swims all on it’s own!
Sheesh! Stop me!
We make it more complicated than it really is. We can’t see the forest for the trees or the water through all the gear in front of our eyes.
If fish could laugh, I’m sure they would.
That’s my story!
Jonathan
That's My Story 
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