10-02-2024, 07:34 PM
(10-02-2024, 06:26 PM)MWScott72 Wrote: That pistachio rig is what we caught most cats on last week in Shawn’s boat. Sounds like we may have needed to probe the shallows a bit more too…no comment about bananas in the boat.
As a veteran of MANY full seasons of fishing Willard, I have built up a pretty sizeable database of past experiences under a variety of weather and water situations. I didn't leave the ramp with the conscious thought that the fish might be shallow Tuesday. But after NOT finding anything in deeper water I decided to make a swing in closer to the rocks and BINGO. I can reckymember days of even lower water conditions when I have caught fish right next to the rocks...in water less than 6 feet deep. They hang out in any given area for one (or both) of two reasons...comfort (water temps) or food availability. In the cooling water the surface temps in shallow water can be a couple of degrees warmer...earlier in the day. And there WERE some shadlets hanging out in the shallows too.
I long ago gave up trying to apply any kind of never-fail reasoning to anything to do with fishing...or wives. Instead, I always keep an open mind and if something ain't working I keep messin' around and experimenting until I find something that does. I have always liked the story about Thomas Edison. He discovered a working light bulb after about 1000 other experiments that did not work. When asked how it felt to fail 1000 times he replied "I did not fail 1000 times. I merely found 1000 ways that would not work before I found one that did."
The banana thing is obviously just an "old fisherman's superstition". But it helps to have something to blame poor fishing on. Back in my earlier years in California...when I worked on both party boats and commercial fishing boats...there were skippers who would throw you overboard...along with the bananas you brought aboard. But there were a lot of times when us troublemakers smuggled them aboard and then brought them out to show after a stellar day of fishing. Can't remember EVER having a really bad day and then not daring to show the bananas.
But they say that everybody has gotta believe in something. I believe I'll just go fishing and leave the fussin' to other folks.