Heading Out to Catch Some Fish? Don’t Forget to Keep Away From These Mistakes
Ah, fishing. There is nothing quite like the thrill of catching your own fish, especially if it is your first time. If you think about it, fishing actually seems easy enough if you’re just watching. After all, how hard could it be to throw a fishing line into the water and reel the fish in?
Oh, but there is a lot more to fishing than meets the eye. There’s a very fine line that you walk between fishing success and fishing failure. There are simply too many variables that can lead to you losing a fish, missing a nibble, or otherwise going home empty-handed. You might not get a bite on your fishing line if you cast one foot to the right of a stump, or if you turn your head a second too early, you just might miss the boil of a bass chasing bait.
If you don’t have a proper fish bag with you, your catch of the day is not even going to last until you make it home (if home is quite a drive away). Told you that fishing is not as easy as it looks. There’s a lot that goes into catching your fish and what happens after. Since many of these variables are outside our power to control as avid fishermen, it becomes increasingly crucial to reduce mistakes in the areas where we do have influence. Yes, even experienced fishermen are not excluded from making the occasional mistake or two. These things happen when you’re out there on the water.
To ensure optimum fishing success, you need to go out there with a game plan. 90% of the fish in a body of water inhabit only 10% of the water, or so the saying goes. Therefore, having a game plan is essential for angler success. Don’t simply walk out there and start casting, because you need to think about what you’re hoping to catch, where you could find success on the lake, and what skills you’ll need to succeed. Consider this pre-game planning as a “roadmap” for how you’ll approach the day. Remember to remain adaptable, as conditions on the water are continuously changing.
So, what can you do to keep some of these mistakes at bay? By avoiding some of the most common fishing blunders below:
• You Didn’t Invest In A Fish Bag – What is a fish bag, you ask? Well a fish bag is a fisherman’s best friend. If you’re heading out on the water with a purpose and that purpose is fishing, you’ll need to have one of these bags on board with you. A fish bag is a bag that is constructed of a unique sort of foam designed to keep fish fresh for extended periods of time. Compared to other fish storage alternatives, it is extremely portable. A fish bag is usually waterproof, incredibly sturdy, simple to carry and clean, and well insulated in the best case scenario. The bag should also be the appropriate size and capacity. Without a fish bag on board, it is going to be very tricky trying to keep your fish fresh until you can make it back to the kitchen and cook it.
• All Your Stuff Is Not Organized Properly – You can’t head out on a fishing expedition in complete disarray. That’s not going to work at all. Fishing requires a high level of efficiency, and disarray is the enemy of efficiency. For example, if your pliers are buried at the bottom of your tackle bag, you’ll never get that fish unhooked. Knowing what you have and putting everything in easy-to-reach places will enhance the number of casts you make in a day, and the number of fish you capture. Don’t forget that fishing is not as easy as it looks. If you’re distracted trying to find all the stuff that you need, you could miss out on some great catches that will end up swimming away.
• You’re Rushing Through the Process – If you know an avid fisherman or two, you’ll notice that there is something that they do when they’re out there on the water. They frequently throw cast after cast to the same plausible looking patch of cover, particularly when using response baits. Did you know that there is a very good reason for this? The reason is that a bass must first view the bait before striking. Fishing is not an experience that can be rushed. There’s a reason that many fishermen sometimes spend hours out there on the water, just sitting in their boats, waiting patiently. Slow down and saturate any areas of cover you come across, making sure that any bass in the vicinity has heard you.
• Don’t Avoid the Cover – When out on the lake, a lot of fishermen make the mistake of avoiding cover such as laydowns, grass beds, and docks. They’re worried about venturing too close to these areas because they don’t want to snag or lose their baits. This is a mistake, though, because you will quickly discover that most fish species hide in cover. You’re probably not fishing around fish if you’re not fishing around cover, which would explain why nothing seems to be biting on your line. If you’re worried about snagging your line, fear not, because there are strategies available to assist you in fishing near cover without snagging.
• Don’t Forget to Think About the Season Too – Are you fishing seasonally? If not, you could be unwittingly making a mistake without knowing it. Too many fishermen rely only on their recollections and past successes to catch fish. You need to be more adventurous! It’s also simple to do since you’re compelled to return to the locations where you’ve had the greatest success in the past. You’ll have better success fishing the present circumstances and customising your technique around what the bass are doing now, rather than last week or last month, because the best site in the spring may be barren by the fall.
If you’re looking for a reliable fish bag to take with you on your next trip, take a look at Reliable Fishing’s fish bag guide.
