RIP specialist: part one
In years past competitive anglers were able to
focus the majority of their attention on one technique or style that suited
them. Those who excelled at this became legends of the sport; they were the
heroes that future pros aspired to be and modeled their own careers after. This
monomania became a widely accepted formula for success and the thought process trickled
down to local competition as well. In the club scene you would often hear AOY’s
and perennial high finishers say something along the lines of “I just locked a
jig in my hand all day” or “I caught them all on a Carolina Rig.” With success
to back this theory up, it is easy to think that when we are trying to be
diverse or experimental all we are doing is overcomplicating the process. “Overthinking
it” is a cliché I often here tossed around. In a way this is true and in a way
it isn’t. It all depends on what your objectives are. In tournament fishing
there isn’t an exact formula for success. As nice as it would be to just plug
in the variables to achieve the result you’re looking for, it isn’t going to
happen on a consistent basis. The successful modern angler is diverse, open,
and well versed in many techniques but at the same time focuses on and excels
in a particular wheelhouse. This is the first part in a three part series
outlining how these traits can be practiced and developed and some strategies /
practices that can get you moving in that direction if you so choose.
This
may seem counter intuitive, but hang with me. The first step in becoming more
diverse is to focus on just one technique. Pick your strength, the one thing
you’re most comfortable with. If you could only fish one lure in one situation
for the rest of your tournament and fun fishing days what would it be? Got it?
Good. Now the next two days you spend on the water, throw nothing else. Don’t
even bring other tackle. It doesn’t matter if it does or doesn’t make sense for
the current conditions, just fish only that lure and fish it with the utmost
confidence that you’ll absolutely wreck them. You’ll start to get in tune with
the different ways the lure can be fished and you’ll push the limits of what it
can do. You’ll also see the shortcomings of it. The main point is to sell yourself
on why you can’t just use one thing. There may be an hour or two window during
the day that it works out and you catch a few, or you may get ten bites and
boat a solid limit. But there will also be down time. You’ll start to get a
really clear idea of when you should use it and when you shouldn’t and that is
the entire point of this exercise – you want to master a technique but you also
want to master putting it down. Be as good as you can be with it in your hands,
then not even think about it when it isn’t.
After
you have run this drill, or exercise, or whatever you want to call it, switch
to a technique you have very little confidence in, and repeat the process. As
you work your way down the list of techniques you’ll learn more about each. You
can’t expect to ever be comfortable with a drop shot if you fish it 10 minutes
at a time once every three months. This process won’t be easy, but practices
that yield results seldom are. Mix in regular practice and fishing days with
this process but also pick days where you will adhere to it. You’ll be out of
your comfort zone for sure, and you may think that your time on the water is
too valuable to do this and risk not catching any fish. I’ll argue that your
time on the water is too valuable not to do this. It’s an investment that will
pay dividends down the road. Stick with it and trust the process.
*A quick note. This
type of practice isn’t what you want to be doing pre-tournament. Reserve this
for days close to home when you’re not actively pre-fishing for an event.
In the
next instalment I’ll go over why the specialist ideology doesn’t work as well
as It did in years past. If you have any questions about this article please
shoot me an email: yakhead@yahoo.com
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