Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
Anyone who has fished with me is probably aware that when it comes to fishing, I’m really not into following along with what everyone else is doing. If most of the fleet is fishing for one thing, I’ll likely be fishing for something else. If everyone is fishing in one area, I’ll be somewhere else. Not that I don’t wish everyone else all the luck in the world, I just don’t feel a need to be around them while they’re having it. Give me a stretch of water with a couple fish in it and not another boat in sight and I’m a happy camper. Fishing out on my own, away from the rest of the gang, gives me the personal satisfaction of knowing that the fish brought to the boat that day were by my own doing, not because I simply got in the same checkout line as everyone else.
That crossed my mind the other day as I was perusing the pages of one of the big national fishing magazines and was struck with the realization that when it comes to outdoor writing, I’m right there fishing in the same pond with every other writer. Except maybe for the fact that most of them probably get paid a heck of a lot more then I do and are much better writers, we all share the commonality that we’re always writing about “how to catch fish.” Rig the baits this way or that way, fish deep, fish shallow, look for drop-offs, temperature breaks and structure, pay attention to details, have the latest electronics, the fastest boat, the sharpest hooks, the thinnest line, and the freshest baits. Yea-yea-yea, we’ve got it because we’ve read it over and over again; it’s the same story just fluffed-up this way or that way to accommodate different fish and different locations!
But as every fisherman knows, catching fish doesn’t happen every trip. In fact, I think that for a lot of folks “not” catching fish is a much more common occurrence. So I got to thinking that maybe I’m missing a great opportunity to tap into an overlooked segment of the outdoor market by directing my efforts on those fishermen who are tired of always reading about how to “catch fish”, and instead write about how “not to catch fish” because that’s a topic that all fishermen should be able to relate to!
I’m not referring to the days when anglers do everything right but Mother Nature just doesn’t send any hungry fish their way. Oh no, that’s too easy! On days like that, anglers don’t have to try not to catch fish, it just happens. Or should I say it just “doesn’t happen,” so anglers shouldn’t try to take credit for it. “How to not catch fish” is about when the actions of anglers specifically prevents them from catching fish. It’s not that the fish aren’t biting, it’s that the fishermen can’t connect when they have a chance to.
For example; one of the best ways not to catch fish is to have no bait on the boat, which of course is a no-brainer and a situation no fisherman would allow themselves to be in. But it does happen. In fact I recall it happening to a team fishing in the White Marlin Open a number of years ago. In preparation for the first day of fishing, the gang spent all afternoon at one of the fellow’s home rigging a cooler full of ballyhoo, mullet, squid and mackerel. The problem was, the next morning when they when to put their lines out in the Washington Canyon, they realized their cooler of baits was still sitting on the team member’s back deck! In another tournament a team also rigged all their baits before the first fishing day but forgot to put ice in the bait cooler. The next day the weather was hot and sunny but too rough to fish so the cooler sat in the sun and baked. Evidently the team never opened the cooler lid until they were out on the fishing grounds two days later. I might be wrong but I don’t think billfish care too much for “hot” pink squid or baked ballyhoo!
Another way not to catch fish is to have no bait on your hook, a technique which is actually pretty easy to learn and one that most of us have practiced more than once throughout our fishing careers. I could ramble on about how to put a hook in a bait in such a way that it will easily tear off at the slightest nibble or by water pressure from a strong current or fast retrieve, but the easiest way to fish with no bait is simply to not check the bait regularly. The heck with bringing the bait up just to see that it’s still intact, just let it go, fish every bait for a long, long time. Leave it in the water long enough that crabs, small bluefish, sharks or squid can eat it right off the hook. Heck, leave it in there long enough that the snails and sea-slugs can find it and whittle it down to nothing! The next best thing to fishing with no bait is fishing with bait that’s all clumped up with seaweed. Unfortunately, seaweed is just not predictable enough that anglers can always count on it being there to deter bites.
I know anglers who have avoided catching fish by leaving the dock without their rods, tackle box, flies, net, gaff and just about any other essential piece of fish catching equipment imaginable. On a similar note, I once had a group of six anglers come out fishing with me who left their food and drink cooler on the dock. It was a long hot day for those fellows who were seriously considering having a meal of sushi before it was all over.
A lot of fishermen have become pretty good at not catching fish by fishing where there are no fish. How many times I’ve watched anglers on the shore or in a boat casting right up onto a sandbar where it’s only inches deep. If I didn’t know that they were actually trying not to catch fish I’d be duped into believing that they just didn’t know how shallow it was.
Anyone can get a tangled line but it takes a pro at not catching fish to get a whopper of a tangle just as a school of fish pops up within casting range. If really done right, an angler can make it look to their fishing partners like the tangle resulted from fumbling around with the rod and reel in efforts to fire off a quick cast in order to actually “catch” a fish. A good tangle should take so long to straighten out that there is no chance of getting a line in the water before all evidence of the passing school has vanished.
I could go on and on about ways not to catch fish but I’m thinking that most anglers already have their own list of methods to ensure that they don’t have to clean fish or the fish box at the end of the day. Besides, I’m now thinking that this could be good book material, something like “101 Ways Not To Catch Fish” or “How To Fish and NOT Come Home Smelling Like One.” Anyway, I wish everyone a good week of fishing – and I hope I don’t see any of you out there!
Captain Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and captain of the charter boat “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
