"Being more versatile can mean
more fish."
Author - John E. Brady, Hanover PA-USA
Copyright 2001
e-mail - jeb@jebswebsite.com
In business, being versatile and flexible helps you gain customers, acquire credibility, and become more successful.
The same adage hold true in fishing. Being versatile in the types of bait or lures you use, or in the different types of fishing styles you can master, can help you become a more successful fisherman.
Sure you say, I can catch fish. But can you catch fish consistently? Some fisherman can almost always catch fish on worms. A good crankbait fisherman, can probably catch fish most of the time on crankbaits. But, the most successful fisherman, that can catch fish day in and day out every time they go out, are successful because they're versatile.
Check out any of the notable fisherman on the tournament circuits. Each one of them have a favorite style of fishing or bait they like to use most often, but they also know how to use every other bait on the market. That's the only way they can stay at the top in their competitive sport.
A versatile fisherman can start out the day fishing a top water bait early in the day and catch some fish, but then know when to switch to a crankbait, worm, or spinnerbait to continue catching fish throughout the day.
However, switching to a different bait is not the only answer. You need to know how to use a particular bait properly. Each type of bait has it's own particular action, or way it needs to be fished for it to catch fish successfully.
An expert even knows how to change or tweak a bait to get it to do something just a little bit different that the other fisherman on the water.
These subtle changes can mean the difference between catching fish, and going home empty handed.
The best way to learn how to be versatile, is to go out and practice using each different bait you want to master. And when I say go out and practice, I don't mean throw it a half a dozen, to a dozen times, then put it down. One of the best ways to learn to use a particular bait well, is to leave everything else at home, and go out with nothing else.
This tactic may seem a bit extreme. And you may not have much faith that you will catch fish, but remember that this is a learning exercise. You must put in time with the bait to learn all of it's little subtleties and learn to work it properly.
A fisherman that is proficient at using a particular bait, probably uses that bait more often than any other. So to become just as proficient with a different bait, you need to put in the time for each one you want to master. Leaving everything else at home helps reduce the doubt that you should be using something else.
You'll be surprised at the success you'll have if you fish with the same bait all day. Besides, isn't that what you do with your favorite bait anyway?
One of the keys to becoming a successful angler is to become as versatile as you can with a variety of baits and fishing styles. Following these steps can help you become a better fisherman. And I can guarantee you, if you learn to be more versatile in the way you fish, you'll become a more successful fisherman, and catch more fish, more often.
After all..."They call it fishing, but the goal is catching!"