Confessions of a Fidgety Fisherman.

This weekend I was on the river fishing for channel cats, which is something that I don’t do very often.  I am rather fidgety, I like to be doing something at all times.  Had I been a kid in school these days I most certainly would have been on some sort of meds to calm my mind and body down.  This is why I am not a very good bait fisherman.  It just isn’t in my nature to sit and wait. 

Bass fishing really fits me well because bass fisherman are very busy.  Cast and reel, cast and reel.  Change the lure then cast and reel.  Change the lure again and cast and reel.  There are times when the bass fisherman is looking for an immediate reaction from the fish and if it doesn’t happen the goal is to get that lure back to the boat as fast as possible. 

I don’t catch a lot of bass, but I am an excellent bass fisherman.  I love to fly fish as well, but that level of craziness is a story for another time. 

So you can imagine what I am like when I am fishing with bait.  One pole would certainly not be enough, and if I could legally have more than two I would.  This gives me the chance to fiddle with something and always have one line in the water. 

Here’s the problem: the hits ALWAYS come on the rod that is not in my hands.  To make it worse they always happen when my hands are covered in slippery, slimy stink bait.  If I am not re-tying, searching for the last worm, then it happens while I am taking a sip of my favorite beverage. 

Every once in a while I get a big one on and I have almost lost a few rods to fish.  One particular occasion I literally dove from the front of my boat to the back just in time to save one.  It’s a good thing I have a tiny boat, or I would have had one less rod in my collection. 

Back to my current story… Of the two fish I caught, one was a small but feisty carp that picked up the worm and stayed motionless.  I didn’t even know I had one on until I picked up that rod to fidget with it.  I routinely do this to make sure the bait is still there or that the current hasn’t washed off all of the stink bait. 

I could have brought home a feast of fish if I had hooked up with only half of the fish that tugged my line in the hours I was on the water.  That is assuming they were good sized fish, which they probably were but I am going to justify my losses to the fact that they were little fish just “pecking” at the bait. 

There is a lesson to be learned here…

That lesson is that if you are focused on too many things you might be missing out on something.  What is true in fishing is also true in life: spread yourself too thin and you might miss a wonderful opportunity.  I think we all could benefit from thinning things down a bit.  So next time I go out, I will only take two rods instead of six. J