What is instinct? How does a salmon know what stream it was born in? Most of us have heard stories of Elephants heading for high ground before the tsunami, or dogs barking and carrying on before an earthquake. The examples of instincts in nature are almost limitless. In most cases these instincts are related to procreation or self preservation, but just how does one acquire such useful knowledge? When we check the dictionary we instinct is defined as: 1. an inborn pattern of activity or tendency to action common to a given biological species.
2. a natural or innate impulse, inclination, or tendency.
3. a natural aptitude or gift: an instinct for making money.
4. natural intuitive power.
Inborn? Natural? I thought we were the most intelligent species on the planet, but I would need a GPS to find my way back to where I was born, it would have nothing to do with instinct. The best science cannot predict a tsunami or an earthquake, only that there will be another one....sometime. What happened to our instinct? Well I have a theory. It kind of goes along with definition #3, a gift. You see, I believe all we have is a gift, all we own, all we feel, all we do and all we love. But, there is one gift, the gift of superior intellect, that interferes with our natural gift of instinct. We as Humans, often put more faith in our gift of intelligence than our gift of instinct. As bass fishermen we do the same thing. We study our magazines, our lake maps, fishfinders, temp gauge, seasonal patterns, water color, generation schedules, every little thing like it's a concrete science. Its not, its fishing.
I first started wondering about fishing instinct years ago. I recall a day on lake Hartwell in Northeast Georgia. The club I was fishing had an odd number that day, I was fishing by myself. I had two places in mind to fish, one very close to the launch ramp, and the other nearly twenty miles up the lake. My first spot produced three keepers in the first two hours, a good start. That is important, because, I've found that when Im in touch with my fishing instinct, Im almost always relaxed, feeling little pressure, and Im usually unaware that Im even in the instinct zone. So there I was totally relaxed, no distractions, nothing else on my mind, with a twenty mile run up the lake on a beautiful spring day, my only worry. About half way into my run, I look to my left and see a laydown log. Now, in a twenty mile run up lake Hartwell, you probably pass ten thousand laydown logs, but I saw only one. I was nearly two hundred yards past it when I stopped the boat, my instinct shouting at me, he's on that log. Well you can probably guess what happened next, what kind of story would this be if fishing instinct did not work. That's right a four pounder on the very first cast. How did I do that? Instinct or just lucky? I started thinking more and more about how my instincts work from that day on. I realized more often that not I was alone? Rarely do you fish a tournament alone, unless it's a small club, like it was that day. I often practiced alone though, and most surely my practices are better outings than my tournaments, but why. I started putting it all together like you would any fishing pattern, and the answer is distractions. Tournament partners are a necessary part of any legitimate tournament, and a fact of life. They have no intention of being a distraction or of having any negative impact, but they do. When fishing with a partner, you have added responsibilities as the boat captain. Its you job to position the boat in a manner that does not hinder his fishing. Its your job to get the net when its called for. There is certainly some casual conversation going on, occasional going back because he'd hung up, and of course there's self doubt when he catches one that you apparently fished right by. Individually each of these is minor, add them up, and its distraction city.
If a partner could be an instinct killer, what else could hamper your efforts to tap into you super power bass catching instinct? I started thinking of everything that happens in a day, not just on the water, but off. The list is as long as that lunker we're trying to catch. Equipment failure, the more prepared you are, the less distractions you have. Im talking about the ABC's of bass fishing
new line, sharp hooks and well oiled reels mean less distractions, like break offs, backlashes and thrown hooks. Boat Problems are also a distraction, are you worried about your trolling motor batteries lasting all days in a twenty five mile an hour wind, then your minds in the wrong place. I recall 2001, when I bought my new Ranger , that new boat feeling translated itself into tournament paychecks in four of the next five events, including three big bass awards. The only tournament I didn't cash in was the BFL regional at Lake Wateree, where I finished 13th out of 120, but they only paid 8 places. Still a very respectable finish. When I examined this phenomena, I realized for a period of months I was in touch with my instincts. The distraction of an aging less reliable boat was hampering my instincts. Additionally, dock talk, big instinct killer. Fishermen have a known problem with the bearing false witness thing, nothing intentional you see, just a little exaggeration here and there. Even the truth can hamper your instincts, leading you to believe your pattern isn't as strong as it is. Lastly, Instinct can be a double edged sword. How many of us have experienced an incredible practice period, only to flop on tournament day. Often times its so much easier to relax in practice that we hit our zone and don't even know it. Fishing comes easy, the tournament is days away, and everything is going great, what could go wrong between now and then? When this is the case the slightest change could ruin you. Once again, our humanness take over, we think too much, we believe we know what's going on, we let our brain take over, and throw the instinct out with the bilge water. I recall reading about the Jacob's cup, FLW tour championship tournament a few years back. David Dudley won an incredible $500,000 on the James River in Virginia. In the article, Dudley was quoted as saying I didn't want to practice as much as normal because I figured things would be changing. What? Practice less? This was the biggest event of the year! Yet, Dudley chose not to learn more in practice, but to trust his instinct.
So I guess that brings up the question, how do you hone your fishing instincts? That answer is not simple, and I cannot even pretend I have all the answers. But, here are some things to start with. Have faith, in yourself, in your equipment and in your abilities. Have faith in yourself, I remember the feeling I had when I qualified for my second All American. After qualifying at Clark Hill in October 2005 for the first time, I made a plan. There would be another October regional there in 2007, I made it my business to be there. I made it my plan to trust my instinct, as documented in my Clark Hill Regional Journal. I called my dad on the way home after finishing fifth, and making my second All American. I cant believe it. I told him. Why not he said, You made a plan and you executed it, right?. If he had that much faith in me why should I doubt? Faith in your equipment comes from preparation. I prepare weeks in advance, every lure in its place, every hook sharp, every reel clean. How often have you heard confidence is the best fish catcher? Well friends, with preparedness and faith comes confidence. Finally, avoid distractions and other instinct killers. I've found it helpful to avoid the hotels, waffle house, and busy boat ramps, they are full of dock talk. I stay by myself in a tent preferably right by the lake. When the wind blows, I hear it. When its cold, I feel it. I make it my job to see the sunrise and the sunset at the lake each day. Being closer to nature means being closer to your instincts. There's no worrying about thieves in the hotel parking lot. There's no Football game on TV. There is just you, the lake, and your tackle to prepare for the next day.
I'm by no means saying fly by the seat of your pants, or don't bother practicing. I'm simply saying, all of Gods creatures have instincts, use them. Continue reading your magazines, study your maps, be the first to arrive and the last to leave. Work hard, but trust you instincts and good things will happen.
Buterke
