Life lessons that guiding has taught me...or the other way around
1)
The overall most important lesson is to give it your all – treat every fishing trip with importance. Put the time in to have the right baits, rods/reels, and gear. Success and great memories are made from that extra effort...not luck or chance. It will always pay off in the long run.
2)
Rule #1: I joke around about this with my friends...but it’s is the truth.Having confidence in an overthought game-plan, based on conditionsand your opinions, will fail most every time.Good strategies only come from recent experiences on the water and the ability to adapt.Start every day with an open mind and be ready to change it up.
3)
Don’t Give Up: If you have an area with fish and you’re not catching them, leave it and come back later that day with a different approach. I will fish a spot several times in a trip and I owe much of my daily success to this. Fish are animals and behave differently every day...but similarities will overlap. Fish return to their “home areas” and will eventually feed. Timing is everything.
4)
The Grass Is Not Greener: Three temptations all anglers have to constantly battle: Thinking the farther you go the better the fish, you need big expensive boats, and leaving fish to find better fish. Most of my best areas are right next to boat ramps or public fishing piers. Learning your home areas and becoming an expert of a few small spots close to home will pay off big. Invest time in it – snorkel/dive the spot, spend an entire day there...know what those fish are doing at all times. Make the best of what you have in hand and become an expert at it.
5)
Things Are Not What They Seem: Stuck on a boat and working one-on-one with 1,000’s of different people every year has really taught me to not “don’t judge a book by its cover” or “first impressions are important”. I can’t tell you how many new customers I was ready to end the trip on early or throw them off of the boat in the first 15 minutes due to my initial opinion of them...but only to have them become my best customers and good friends over time. The same goes with fish...as soon as I think I have them totally figured out - bam! wrong! I try to always remind myself of this and it has been surprisingly life changing.
"Things are not what they seem; the first appearance deceives many;
the intelligence of a few perceives what has been carefully hidden"
- Phaedrus