Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
Boats, tackle, equipment and bait, there’s so much to prep and attend to before our lines can (or should) be dropped into the water if we hope to be effective at catching whatever we plan to pursue. But as much time and effort as anglers put into getting their “stuff” ready for their fishing crusades, I’m often surprised how little time that some will spend preparing their “minds” to be able to make the most out of their time on the water.
I seldom notice a lack of enthusiasm by anglers, so when I say that they need to “prepare their minds” I’m not suggesting that they need to work on getting “psyched-up,” what I’m talking about is “education,” actually doing their homework by putting in some study time so that when they are out there on the water they’ll be better armed with the kind of knowledge that will make them better fishermen.
Hop aboard most any fishing boat and it’s likely the skipper will be very well versed on the operation of not only the vessel but also all of the onboard systems, tackle, equipment, as well as the many features of whatever electronics are installed. That kind of knowledge usually starts when someone takes the time to read and learn from the instruction manuals. Then, as the boater is able to go out on the water and put to practical use what they learned in print, they eventually become more confident in their abilities and better boaters.
When it comes to fishing, anglers seldom falter on acquiring the right bait and tackle, maybe that’s because it’s usually a simple as walking into a tackle shop and asking the person behind the counter “what do I need?” But having all the right stuff will only take an angler up the ladder of success so far. For someone to really make the transition from being just a “lucky” angler to a “skilled” fisherman they must have some level of knowledge of all that has to happen in nature before a particular fish will find its way onto a hook. As with most things in life - knowledge is power, and those who have it will always have an edge over their counterparts who rely mostly on dumb-luck. The three topics anglers should at least have a general understanding of is “biology, food, and habitat.”
Learning about the biology of the fish they pursue is often a real eye-opening experience for a lot of angers. Some folks are just dumbfounded when they discover that the particular fish they’ve been catching in their home waters each summer migrate many thousands of miles each year (tuna), start life as one sex and then turn to another as they age (sea bass), are some of the fastest growing fish in the sea (dolphin), or have a dramatic transformation of body shape during their early stages of life (flounder).
Learning about the physical biology, migrations, feeding habits, and anything else one can about a particular species provides fishermen with a great understanding of “why, when, and where” fish might be found. This kind of information is readily available in books and online resources. But keep in mind that the most accurate information about the biology of fish tends to come from actual biologists who study the fish rather than from fishermen who often misinterpret what they observe from the decks of their boats.
One of the greatest assets a fisherman can have is the knowledge of what the fish they’re trying to catch are naturally feeding on. Biology books will usually tell what a particular species usually preys upon, but nothing beats the firsthand-up-to-the-minute report one gets by cutting open the stomach of a freshly caught fish. From seahorses to sand dollars - it’s amazing sometimes to see what the fish we thought we knew so much about have been eating. Knowing what our quarry has been munching on gives insight to locations and depths where the fish can be found. Of course it might also prompt the need for additional study to learn where certain species of natural bait might be coming from.
Though some might contend that the way to find fish is to go out and look for other fishermen, the fact is, only by knowing the locations of shoals, bumps, channels, ledges, slews, cuts, inlets and everything else that appears on a chart will a fisherman be able to make reasonable predictions of where to locate fish. I’ve fished Delmarva’s waters since I was a child but still spend lots of time staring at local charts just to keep that information fresh in my mind. Both offshore and inshore fishermen must have a very good understanding of the environment and certainly the topography of the bottom in the area they fish. Which way do the prevailing currents flow? Is the bottom sand, mud, clay, grassy, shells, rocky? There’s so much beneath the waves that we’ll never know about – it really helps fishermen to at least be up on the information that is available. By the way, nothing is more telling than slowly cruising around the inshore waters in the spring when the tide is low and the water clear. Being able to look down and see the bottom, the fish, the crabs, the rocks, the mussel banks, and so forth is a great educational experience that will pay off later in the year when trying to fish the same water when conditions aren’t so clear.
Finally, just like taking notes in school, anglers who keep a fishing log which includes such details as time and location of catch, weather and tide conditions, water temperatures, baits or lures used, and any other details they think might have contributed to their success or failure that day will have a wonderful asset to refer back to days, weeks or even years later. Logs not only serve to remind fishermen of where and how they caught fish on a particular day, over time they can also show trends in a fishery and help anglers predict what to expect as a season unfolds.
So if you want this to be a grade "A", first class fishing season – don’t forget to do your homework! §
