Growing up in central Nebraska, I was an avid deer hunter. My first few years of experience were hard. Some days we'd go out and walk for miles without seeing a thing all day; other days, we might stumble across a few small does that would have made for an embarrassing display at the check-in station. These experiences added up to tell me that deer hunting was mostly luck, and a bit of skill once you had a shot at something decent. But every year, there would be the same guys coming into the station with their big, beautiful 5x5 trophy bucks. If I was having consistent bad "luck" and they were having consistent good "luck", maybe there was something I was missing. So, bit by bit, I began to pay attention to what they were saying.
"Yeah, I was tracking this guy for months!" one silver-haired veteran would say to his friends with a proud grin, "I waited for 5 days in my stand near his path; I knew he'd get there eventually. Then one mornin' I see a couple doe walking out, and sure enough there he was!"All of a sudden, the pieces started to come together for me: it was mostly skill! To get a trophy deer, you have to be where they are, and you need to know their patterns of behavior.
So, what does this have to do with salmon fishing? You might ask. Well I'll tell you. Fishing is nothing more than hunting under water. The same principles apply: you need to know where the fish are, and you need to know their patterns of behavior. If you're in a place where there are no fish, or you don't know how to catch them when you find them, chances are you're going to end up like I did those several years coming back to the station with either an embarrassingly small deer, or nothing at all.
How do you find out where the fish are? Like deer, fish can be elusive. They may populate one location for several years in a row, only to change locations the next. So, you have to go where they are headed. A fishing lodge with a fixed location may have great fishing for several years in a row; but when the fish move to a different area, customers who visit may be out of luck. Fishing resorts will use old pics to advertise fishing, when the fishing was good only 20 years ago.
By the same token, you need experience to know the fish's patterns of behavior. The fish could be right under your nose and they just need the right bait. Or, they may be in a separate location in the area you're fishing due to a number of factors. In either case an experienced guide comes in handy. If he knows where they are and how to catch them, you'll most likely have a pretty successful run.
So is fishing luck or skill? If you know where they are and the techniques on how to catch them, luck has very little to do with it and skill is the clear winner. When booking your next fishing expedition, keep this in mind. Look for lodges or charters that know where the fish are and have experienced guides who can help you fill the cooler with plenty of them!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=JD_Roos"Yeah, I was tracking this guy for months!" one silver-haired veteran would say to his friends with a proud grin, "I waited for 5 days in my stand near his path; I knew he'd get there eventually. Then one mornin' I see a couple doe walking out, and sure enough there he was!"All of a sudden, the pieces started to come together for me: it was mostly skill! To get a trophy deer, you have to be where they are, and you need to know their patterns of behavior.
So, what does this have to do with salmon fishing? You might ask. Well I'll tell you. Fishing is nothing more than hunting under water. The same principles apply: you need to know where the fish are, and you need to know their patterns of behavior. If you're in a place where there are no fish, or you don't know how to catch them when you find them, chances are you're going to end up like I did those several years coming back to the station with either an embarrassingly small deer, or nothing at all.
How do you find out where the fish are? Like deer, fish can be elusive. They may populate one location for several years in a row, only to change locations the next. So, you have to go where they are headed. A fishing lodge with a fixed location may have great fishing for several years in a row; but when the fish move to a different area, customers who visit may be out of luck. Fishing resorts will use old pics to advertise fishing, when the fishing was good only 20 years ago.
By the same token, you need experience to know the fish's patterns of behavior. The fish could be right under your nose and they just need the right bait. Or, they may be in a separate location in the area you're fishing due to a number of factors. In either case an experienced guide comes in handy. If he knows where they are and how to catch them, you'll most likely have a pretty successful run.
So is fishing luck or skill? If you know where they are and the techniques on how to catch them, luck has very little to do with it and skill is the clear winner. When booking your next fishing expedition, keep this in mind. Look for lodges or charters that know where the fish are and have experienced guides who can help you fill the cooler with plenty of them!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6798224
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