Is it just a superstition?

[Guest avid]

Alot of professional athletes have rituals, or charms etc. that they rely on for confidence and success.

Remember "Jobu" from the baseball movie "Major League"?

Fisherman, being of the same ilk. a la "pass the mojo" may have the same belief in talismans and superstition.

I am here to offer unequivical proof that this is NOT false superstition but is absolute scientific fact.

I offer as evidence my Camo Mesh Cap.

Those of you who have followed my posts over the past will notice that in every photo I post with me holding a big bass, I am wearing my camo mesh cap.

On my first outing at the stickmarsh with Keithscatch, not realizing that his boat would reach warp speed, I lost my cap.

Notice that I haven't caught a bass since.

Coincidence???? I DON'T THINK SO

So there you have it.

Undeniable proof that superstitions are real.

Now, if I can just find another cap................

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

my list is too long but I'm right there with ya buddy.

[roadwarrior]

I am not superstitious and don't believe in luck or coincidence. I have ZERO interest in MOJO or any other pagan voodoo. I have nothing that is "lucky" or unlucky. Superstition and bad luck go hand-in-hand: Try to control your future, make life decisions that have a higher probability of success.

BTW,

I don't buy lottery tickets either.

[Josh VanderMeer]

its all in your head... its just a mental crapp thingy... u think you are not going to do n e good with out your lucky things so thats wat happens... im with road warrior.

[fishbear]

UMMMMMMMMMM  that kinda throws the confidence bait theory out the window doesnt  it?????????   I mean, if you think you are gonna do great, then if your non confidence bait is say jigs.  Then you should be able to throw jigs and catch fish.  Am I right????

[Murray]

i have some boxers that my mom got me for christmas theyt have peppers on them. i caught my three largest hawgs in them. but there is a catch it only works once every other week

[roadwarrior]

"Confidence" baits might work because they are the right bait, but generally they work because you fish them like they were designed to be fished, Concentration and the right presentation are important, but location is everything. If you fish the "wrong" bait in the "right" place, you will usually catch some fish.

[BucketmouthAngler13]

That happend to me two. The hat i was wearing when i cought my 3 PBS, was lost not too long ago.... :'(

However, i have gotten a 3lber and a 4.5lber with my current cap, so i'm hoping this hat will catch up.

Now, if I can just find another cap................

I'll sell you mine. One size fits most!

i have some boxers that my mom got me for christmas theyt have peppers on them. i caught my three largest hawgs in them. but there is a catch it only works once every other week

;D

That was the funniest thing i've read all week.

[Gatorbassman]

I'm kinda with RW on this one. Confidence baits are lures that you know how to fish and by having confidence in them they cause you to focus more intently. More focus equals more fish.

A superstition is just one other thing that can go wrong that will wipe out all confidence in any lure or spot. It can cause any chance of you catching a fish to be tossed off the boat.

My goal for the last few years has been not to let the little things bother me and focus on every cast. When I do that I am, without a doubt, more consistent.

[Gotta Love It]

Karma!  I hate to be EARL, but I have recently started to believe in Karma!  What comes around goes around!  I was bank fishing the other day (didn't have a bite)... found 2 terminator spinnerbaits on a turned over tree trunk (the spinnerbaits were in good shape and it looked like someone placed them there)...  I went to pick them up and thought that someone that may have placed them there by accident...  I left them there hoping that the owner would find them the next time they fished the lake... anyway, I nailed a 4.2 pounder 10 casts later!  

[RoLo]

I was hesitant to respond to this post, because the line between Sincerity and Jest seems fuzzy in places.

In any case, I can state with complete sincerity that I place "ZERO" faith in superstition.

I've never owned a single good-luck charm in my life, my mind doesn't run in those channels (wasted energy).

Like Roadwarrior, I too have never bought one lottery ticket in my life, and I kid you not, I wouldn't even know how.

I'd be the last person to downplay the importance of "confidence", but never forget that confidence follows, it does not lead.

That is to say, it's hard to have confidence in a lure than never caught a bass, but it gets real easy after 100 bass.

I've always felt that it's my job as fisherman to factor as much "luck" out of my fishing as possible,

We can't rely on "luck" for a repeat performance, that requires skill. We have control over one, but no control over the other.

Roger

[Cephkiller]

BTW,

I don't buy lottery tickets either.

I refer to lottery tickets as a tax on stupidity.  It is a progressive tax.  The stupider one is, the more money the government collects.   ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

I confess, however, that I occasionally succumb to the temptation, but vary rarely.

[Gotta Love It]

Actually, the lottery is a tax on the mathematically challenged! ;D

Think about the odds!!! Statistics 101

[bassholebuster14]

stinks bout yer hat avid. but im with RW on this one

[roadwarrior]

Well Rolo,

Not to belabor the topic...but...

I think "luck" comes into play sometimes regarding size. Although I think I am always fishing for bigger fish, there isn't a thing you can do to keep those 6 and 7 lb bass off your lure.

It just sucks when that happens!

[BASS fisherman]

I think "luck" comes into play sometimes regarding size. Although I think I am always fishing for bigger fish, there isn't a thing you can do to keep those 6 and 7 lb bass off your lure.

It just sucks when that happens!

I hope your joking, speak for yourself buddy!   >

[Guest avid]

i have some boxers that my mom got me for christmas theyt have peppers on them. i caught my three largest hawgs in them. but there is a catch it only works once every other week

that's because your letting her wash them each week.  Hide them after each trip and wear them unwashed.  You will get back all the ju-ju but don't try to pick up any girls  

[RoLo]

Well Rolo,

Not to belabor the topic...but...

I think "luck" comes into play sometimes regarding size. Although I think I am always fishing for bigger fish, there isn't a thing you can do to keep those 6 and 7 lb bass off your lure. It just sucks when that happens!

That is Sooooooo funny

Luck definitely does come into play, but it's usually the bass who get lucky, not me :-/ ;D :-/

Roger

[KU_Bassmaster.]

As an ex-baseball player I am pretty supersitious person and that has seemed to carry over to fishing.  Avid, I feel your pain.

[Chris]

I rub my lures on my trophy mounted bass before I go fishing and burn some incense. I even do a special dance to the fish gods and wear my underwear on my head chanting words to the great bubba in the lake.

What is it just me? :-/

I don't like to catch a fish on the first cast

I make sure to wear my gold necklace with a bass charm

that's about it

[Grey Wolf]

I believe in fishing skills  only.

[jomatty]

i just wrote an article for an online poker site where i talked about superstitions.  in it i talked about how superstitions are both real and not real, and how some are big negatives and some are big positives.  i talked about my lucky shirt.  it really is lucky.  its lucky because i look good in it (others may strongly disagree) and i am comforatable in it.  this is what i call a good or at least harmless superstition.  other superstitions that affect the decision making process are much more dangerous.  the almost exact same examples work for poker or fishing.

lucky camo mesh hats can help to put you in a positive confident mood, but believing that you always lose with Aces or that crankbaits are unlucky just impaires decision making imho.

matt

ps

there are a ton of similarities between poker and fishing.  the short term luck factor vs long term skill factor is very similar in both

[flechero]

I believe "luck" is the residue of hard work and/or where chance and preparedness cross paths.  Ever notice how most of the "lucky" people are also the hardest working and most prepared?  I do not think it's a coincidence.  Sure there are a few exceptions... just like there is always a lottery winner but for the most part this is true.

I'm superstitious on one thing... the fish on the first cast.  I used to think it was great but noticed that I never had a good day following that one... so all these years later, I make 2 short casts and work them quickly back to start each day.  ...lol  

[Raul]

I don 't believe in any of that "LUCK", "MOJO", "SUPERSTITION"  or whatever crap you want to call it; I 'm an advocate of:There 's no such thing as luck, you are the master of your own destiny.

However.......I don 't have the slightest idea why whenever I take my camera I don 't catch anything worth taking a picture.  :-?, something is just not right.

[Guest the_muddy_man]

Im with you there lo Avid buddy. If my first cast is to the right side of the boat I catch fish that day if its to the left I dont SO I ALWAYS CAST FIRST TO THE RIGHT  I need the MOJO