Spectator Fishing

Well, as of yesterday I have a whole new experience of catfishing. My 10 year old son Ridge and I tagged along yesterday for some winter catfish with the Venerable Terry Madewell at an undisclosed location. It was a cool brisk day and one that will be forever burned into the memory bank for many years to come.

My son is a fairly shy boy, but a good boy in general. Yesterday, however while fishing for cats, I saw a transformation. As the rods were sitting in their holders waiting for the bite. My shy, ten year old son transformed into an obsessed fisherman watching the rods, almost glaring at the rods for the slightest of movements. When a bite was suspected, he would lunge towards the rod, seeming to foam at the mouth with obsession - on several occasions he literally pushed me out of the way go get to the rods when a suspected fish was hooked up. One particular instance found me gasping as a small elbow was thrust into my stomach taking my breath as he sped past to get to a fishing rod with a fish attached.

Mr. Madewell was no help in this matter, in fact he was encouraging the behavior thus leading my son down a narrow path of ill mannered selfish, I would dare say, possessed fishermen!

But as a Dad, riding on the boat, taking picture after picture of my Son, grinning from ear to ear as he landed fish after fish. Including the best catfish ever for the family, far surpassing my previous record. I learned that fishing is better enjoyed, as a spectator of others who have yet to feel the enticing pull of a mighty fish. It was an honor to be a part of this day, a day that I know I will never forget and I hope Ridge will never forget. When I floated along with a dear friend and watched as my son became a fisherman. Indeed, spectator fishing is not bad at all.

The Sound of it All

For most Sportsmen there are sounds that resonate with them. Sounds that send chills down their spine, or renders memories of a special day afield. For me, there are three sounds that I find myself longing for. Sounds that will cause me to pause each time I hear them. Sounds that will bring a flood of emotion to my memory.

The first is the sound of a gaggle of geese soaring overhead, circling a still pond and looking for a landing spot. each time I hear them coming, I feel a smile come across my face, as if they are saying to my soul - "ready or not here I come". Many a hunt has been thwarted because I am so enamored by their calling that I forget to shoot - that is until someone else lets loose then I snap out of my stupor and send steel flying in hopes geese will fall.

The second sound that I long for is the early morning gobble of an excited tom turkey. His thundering gobble echoing through the timber is a sound like no other. Unmistakably his gobble is for all to hear - for all to know that he intends business. Watching as he walks - head turning this way and that looking for the seductive hen flirting with his emotions. Gobbling again and again - the hair on my neck stands each time I hear it - and more often than not - the reason I hunt turkeys is not to kill them, its to talk to them.

The last sound that I long for is that of a fishing reel screaming as the drag peels off at lightning speed. Many a fishing trip has been highlighted by the storm during the calm. A rod sitting patiently in its holder, suddenly thrust downward as the reel screams as line is peeled from its spool seeming to say - "get me, get me"

These sounds of nature are some of the reasons I go - why I spend hours in the woods and water. These are some of the reasons I am a Sportsman, to see, smell and yes to hear the wonder of it all, and recognize once again that the times I spend afield are always Times Well Spent.

Good Record Keeping

Years ago I began keeping detailed records of all my outdoor adventures. I must admit, I am not as detailed for my fishing as I am for trapping and hunting. But I see that there is a big difference in my success when I not only keep records but when I refer to them in subsequent adventures.

Case in point. On my trap line, I keep a list of what type of set I made, bait used, lure used, and type of trap used. Its pretty simple. But what I see when looking at this, is that I am catching a most of my canines on one particular bait. And raccoon's on another type of bait. Does that mean that I switch all to that bait - maybe, I will continue to experiment with others, but it does help me when purchasing or making future baits to know what has worked in the past.

In my deer hunting records, I see that certain stands produce better in early season and others in late season. This helps me to not waste time sitting in a late season stand in the early season and to focus my attention on the correct stands. Now I must admit, my hunting records are a bit anal, but it works for me. Each stand has a wind direction chart. Telling me when I can hunt this stand. All of the stands are broken into specific directions. I have stands for North winds, south winds, east and west winds and I NEVER hunt a stand if the wind isn't right. This does two things, it gives me confidence, and increases my odds of seeing and harvesting deer. It also prevents me of educating other deer on my presence.

Some think this is extreme, but I have seen over the years that it works. And it works well.

Weather conditions, moon phase, wind direction, time of year, time of day all are important to what the success will be. Records help to see correlations between similar circumstances. Plus for me, it adds to the experience. When I can look back through my book for 10 years and see what I did under these circumstances and the success makes me a lot more confident.

I use a simple excel spreadsheet to make and keep my records. This gives me a PC backup and I have hard copies in my binders that go with me on all of my trips.

If you aren't keeping records, do so. I know of one fellow who has records of hunts going back over 75 years. His grandfather wrote down his information, then his father and now him. What a legacy to leave for our children and grandchildren.