One Strength You Have That Many Others Don't

[jhoffman]

I have the ability to continue to prep for my fall(scouting) which consists of heavy travel to bowhunt whitetails all while fishing tournaments, working full time and raising a son.

[kadas]

I unlike the above, am able to make paper US currency turn into fishing equipment just by walking through glass sliding doors.

X2

[Will Wetline]

Yes, yes - fishing a spot thoroughly is important as is keeping your cool about a big'un on the line.

Beside telling true fish stories, another strength I possess is the ability to call the bass. I have always had this gift but it varies in volume and character with changes in my diet and digestion. Some days when I call 'em I bust the big ones, other days it's not so effective.

My fishing buddies, however, do not agree that my unique calls have any effect other than keeping them at the opposite end of the boat.

[flippin and pitchin]

My strength is admitting I have none. I try to fish every situation to the best of my ability and experiment. As far as emmotions go, I get excited and I get bummed but not discouraged. It's why I enjoy fishing.

[CayMar]

My strength is admitting I have none. I try to fish every situation to the best of my ability and experiment. As far as emmotions go, I get excited and I get bummed but not discouraged. It's why I enjoy fishing.

x2

[flyfisher]

I do not think of having strengths that others do not, it's almost like bragging or your one-upping someone, if you get where I am coming from, however I do have a favorite strength, that would be fishing structure, deep structure to be exact, I like fishing 30 feet or more, you hardly ever find me next to a shoreline, only when the time is right for it, even then it directly relates to structure in some form or another.

I am going to have to join you for a trip because deep water fishing is not something i do well at all.....

My biggest strength is my back since I use it to paddle from spot to spot and have been known to paddle 15-20 miles in a day because that next cove, point, Lilly pad field etc....always looks so good all the way until I have to paddle back to the ramp

[38 Super Fan]

My strength is fishing slow fishing. I enjoy it too, because of the focus it takes and I forget about other things, just watch my line, work my bait, and catch a fish every now and again. It payed off in the hot summer and when these cold fronts have come through, and topwater or faster moving baits were not working.

I see other post their stregths are keeping emotions in check. Me, that is my weakness LOL

I took my son out this morning, we had 3 hook ups and landed one. But I hurried, maybe errors just because I wanted him to catch a fish in the worst way and maximize out time out. I turned good for him he was happy and am still lamenting. If I miss a fish I hurry and loose focus of the presentation, same if I know time to go is coming up, I might as well leave then because I am a mess, I look like Joe Flacco trying to come from behind.

But Joe Flacco is an elite QB! Well, that's how he describes himself anyway.

[McAlpine]

Since starting to fish tournaments in the last two years I think that my partner would tell you that my greatest strength is my ability to call on the truly obnoxious amount of knowledge I have acquired over the years to read the light level, air temperature, time of year, wind conditions, barometric pressure, prevailing weather patterns and water temperature to determine where the fish are and what mood they are in....then proceed to throw a Terminator T-1 white and silver 1/4oz spinner bait all day anyway.

[Hanover_Yakker]

Ignoring the "signs" or "factors" that tell most to not fish - I completely ignore moon cycles or frontal conditions. Some of my largest fish have come mid-day after a full moon in blue bird skies on an August summer day with the wind dead calm and the temps creeping above the century mark.

I fish when I have time to fish - Mother Nature, Galileo, the local weatherman and the Mayans have nothing to do with it

[Nitrofreak]

Ignoring the "signs" or "factors" that tell most to not fish - I completely ignore moon cycles or frontal conditions. Some of my largest fish have come mid-day after a full moon in blue bird skies on an August summer day with the wind dead calm and the temps creeping above the century mark.

I fish when I have time to fish - Mother Nature, Galileo, the local weatherman and the Mayans have nothing to do with it

I have never fished a day such as this, tell me, what is it like not to have to fight controlling the boat and actually fishing lol !!

Every weekend I have had the chance to get out the wind was horrible.

[Gangley]

Patience.

I am extremely patient when fishing and will disect a single small brush pile for over an hour with no bite or indication that fish are there if I truley believe fish are there.

[Bluebasser86]

My strength is the ability to junk fish effectively. Usually when someone resorts to junk fishing they're just covering water and hoping for a bite. I'm junk fishing almost all the time but that's how I put lots of fish into my boat. I think my ability to visualize what my bait is doing under the water is something that others have a difficult time doing.

[CPBassFishing]

I don't give up. I either fish until I catch a bass or my mom says I have to come home.

[grampa1114]

I have to agree with Silas on this one.....started Club fishin' in 1980 and fished some Federation Tournaments too....won a few and lost most but...I learned a lot of bodies of water and fished 'em a lot of years..Stopped that stuff in '99....Doesn't much matter how many or what kind...some 'll get caught and with a little luck, some knowledge'll be passed along. I hear ya' Silas...just hopin' for a few more trips.

Grampa

[papajoe222]

Mine has to be my hard head. I won't quit fishing until I've figured out the what, where and why. Actually, it should read where, what and why as location is always the hardest part of the puzzle the majority of the time, as it isn't just shallow, deep or somewhere inbetween.

I'll admit there are times when I never put the pieces together and end up going home scratching my head, but even then I'm searching for the why only it the why I didn't catch vs. the why one bait or presentation produced better than another.

[Swamp Girl]

I cannot say that many others do not have it, but I maximize whatever ability I have by keeping my emotions on an even keel. I don't get into a frenzy when I hook an exceptionally nice fish, and I don't sulk or mope if it escapes, and otherwise take time to recover from my "loss". If a nice fish spits the hook, I'll continue the retrieve if it happened some distance from the boat. If it happens at the boat, I'll examine the bait, and if all is ok, it's right back in the water.

Having a tantrum or excessive celebration means I'm not putting the bait in the water, which is the only place fish can be caught.

On the final day of the last road trip to Pickwick, I hooked into a very nice bass. Bassin Sargeant was with me. The fish jumped, but I couldn't see it since he was in my line of sight. When he saw it, he grabbed the net, and got back on the corner of the stern. After a bit more of a tussle, the bass jumped and came unbuttoned. Again the Sarge was in the way of my view. I reeled in the line and made another cast.

He was amazed that I wasn't even whining about it getting away, so he did the screaming, cursing and hollering for me. While he was emoting, I was fishing.

You're the fishin' Cool Hand Luke. Good for you. I emote and I wish I were like you.

[Swamp Girl]

I wish I were like Nitrofreak and was competent fishing deep water. My strenght might be my stealthiness. I fish out of a canoe and there's no sneakier boat. I've caught smallmouth in two feet of water when my boat was right beside them. I've even put felt on my gunwales so that when I set my paddle down, it makes little noise.

[Shane Mccormick]

My biggest strength i think tha ti have over the guys i fish against is i dont fish against teh fishermen i fish against the fish. After all thats who we have to fool.

[Nitrofreak]

I am going to have to join you for a trip because deep water fishing is not something i do well at all.....

My biggest strength is my back since I use it to paddle from spot to spot and have been known to paddle 15-20 miles in a day because that next cove, point, Lilly pad field etc....always looks so good all the way until I have to paddle back to the ramp

I wish I were like Nitrofreak and was competent fishing deep water. My strenght might be my stealthiness. I fish out of a canoe and there's no sneakier boat. I've caught smallmouth in two feet of water when my boat was right beside them. I've even put felt on my gunwales so that when I set my paddle down, it makes little noise.

Fishing structure is not that hard, it just takes a little time on your favorite waters, I think back when I was a bank beater like many others here and often wishing for my first boat, I found that once I made the investment, just like many others, I was still a bank beater, I just fished from the opposite direction, then one day I got pushed out of my spot by a local tournament angler, litterally, it did not end well for either of us, then it clicked, I started to fish deeper and more open waters, no one else was so I figured what the crap, at least no one would bother me, after a few years of searching and reading books and putting together my own little pieces, I found this site, and one feller in particular tought me a ton about fishing structure, his handle here was Catt, one of the absolute best at making you do your homework and giving you hidden tips as you go along, it seems as if he knew my favorite lake as well as I did, he was forever making me think and work, light bulbs would burn bright inside my head when a hint he would drop comes to light on the water, him and fish for dollars were two of the best there ever was here at least I think so, there is a time and a place for everything, one thing remains true, fish relate to structure all the time, it's their highways and byways, it's how they find cover, it's how they get to spawning grounds in the spring, you name it, the fish use structure in some way to get to where you find them, look around the next time you pull up a nice fish and you will soon start to put together pieces of the puzzle as to why that fish was there and where it came from to get there, as for deep structure or deeper structure, when the fish are in a group on the bottom is my absolute favorite time to be on the water, drop a marker out and there are days when you can fish for hours in one spot with a mixed variety of baits like the jig, a spoon, a C-rig, just because I like fishing deep structure when this opportunity arises, does not mean that we should forget how deep is deep and how structure relates to the water depth, 10 feet is plenty deep to find continiously productive structure, spend time on the water and start looking for those flat areas now that the fish use to spawn, keep looking and you will soon see the channels and such they use to get to those flats, once spring gets here and the fish start to become active again, go to those flats you found and see if you are catching the smaller males, if you are, then get to those channels and such, the big girls will be coming soon and they are there on those ledges working their way to the flats, it could be 10 feet deep or 30 feet deep, you simply have to get out there and look.

Good luck and be safe !!!

[pbrussell]

There's nothing I can do that others around me don't do better.

But I sure have fun.

[thehooligan]

Ive been known to eat a sandwich and chips while reeling in a fish

[5fishlimit]

I never stop having fun. Even on days I get skunked and don't even get a nibble I still say that "I caught a good time."

[Shewillbemine]

I'm a pretty accurate caster and even surprise myself sometimes. When I get some of the bites I do, I almost feel like the fish is saying "Well d**n, that was such a good cast I'm obliged to hit that lure".

[NILBasser]

My patience. I love to finesse fish and alot of the guys in my club comment after tournaments that they couldn't sit and fish as slow as I do. I love it because as they are running all over the lake I concentrate on one or two areas and usually do pretty well.