The Key To Success in Hunting & Fishing

Success is a funny thing.  There are a million different ways to define success; and probably as many ways to achieve success.  Weather it's hunting, fishing, archery, shooting sports, team sports, individual sports, or just about anything else, success plays a big role in our happiness.

Last Friday I endured my Kayak Fail.  I must admit, I was bothered by the fact that this outing didn't go well.  Not only was it disappointing, it was embarrassing, and even hurt my pride a little. Even though I'm 50 lbs overweight, I still consider myself fairly athletic and agile.  I stay pretty active by coaching baseball and softball, and now Tball again along with all the outdoors activities I do. It wasn't long ago that I was in the construction industry, loading and unloading, toting lumber,concrete, and tile around jobsites.

Having had the weekend to think about this, I have come to a new outlook. I realized that I overlooked the learning curve.  In most cases, I would have pressed on and shortened that learning process.  I would have removed all my gear and headed out to flip myself in order to figure out my limits and gain confidence.  However, given the fact that the water temperature was as cold as it was, the chill of the wind on wet skin, and the chop on the water lapping over the side. I limited myself as to what I would endure to compensate for this learning curve, and rightly so. With low water temps, choppy water, and no buddy with me, there were definite safety concerns.

Success and failure go hand in hand.  Life would be pretty boring if we didn't have to work at some things from time to time. Those of us that are hunters and fishermen know all too well that we can do everything right and still not succeed. I have also been around people who do everything wrong and still succeed.  Who among us doesn't know someone who hunts the wrong wind or is loud in the deer stand, plays video games and still ends up with the biggest buck.

Sunset in Hondo from the deer blind

I think many times, it comes down to how we define success. If we expect to limit out every day we, we will surely be disappointed.  If we always go hit the same spots where we had success before, we will again be disappointed at some point.  Without trying new techniques, new places, new baits, etc., we will never grow as fishermen.  The same is true for hunting.  We must test the things we think we know, and try things that may not make any sense to know what works and what doesn't and try to discern why.  The variables are virtually never ending, so success this time may yield failure next time.  Lately, I have been taking photos of sunrises and sunsets, and other nature photos to remind me that ultimately, I don't have to fish to eat and I'm there to appreciate what God has created.  Sort of like the old saying goes. "A bad day of fishing is always better than a good day at work."

When I was a senior in high school my buddy and I went fishing ALOT.  Our first trip together was in January of 1989.  I caught a pretty nice bass that first day and we were hooked. We fished at least 2 or 3 times per week and  had some real adventures along the way.  After a month or two of not catching anymore fish (and I mean ZERO fish), you would think we would have given up, but no, we kept going, kept trying, and kept failing.

Sunset at the Crappie Pier

For a long time, we continued doing those same things trying to catch fish. We went to the same place, used the same baits to no avail.  At some point, we began trying different things, we went at different times, different places, different lakes. Finally, one beautiful day in May right before graduation, we found a pier on Canyon Lake.  We sat there and fished around it for quite some time and finally caught a Crappie.  I don't remember if I caught it or my buddy did, but it was the start of something good.  We met a local there on the pier that told us the fishing was great at night, so we came back the next night at dusk and stayed late into the night.  We caught limits of Crappie. Over the next several weeks, we re-equipped ourselves for crappie fishing with ultra light gear, lanterns, floating lights, etc.  We went back time and again. Sometimes we caught, sometimes we didn't. To this day, I'm not sure what I learned from all that, but I know it made me a better fisherman and I love to catch Crappie to this day.

41" Bull Red

Last August, I took a trip to Port Mansfield with my son to fish with my brother.  During that trip, my son caught his first Trout, Flounder, and Redfish (he had a Texas Slam for the weekend as the Redfish came on Sunday).  I caught two personal best Redfish and we had a great time catching fish and spending time with my brother.  A week or two after that trip, my son and I went back to that crappie pier. We got blanked. Another failure to learn from.

Over the years, I have learned to pay attention to the solunar data and adjust my presentations and expectations accordingly. I have also learned alot about seasonal patterns and have been able to apply my experiences years later to understand why things have worked or not.

Success is a long term goal that is born from failure. We learn from our mistakes; and although it's hard to admit failure, we must continue; even in failure until we succeed. This is the learning curve.