David Norman reports from his blog West Cork Bass Fishing :
A question came to mind last year whilst chatting to an experienced Bass angler as to how many of us as anglers are truly self taught? I would argue none, unless you were born on a desert island with no other anglers or media to observe, we all learn from others it’s to what degree is the question.
A very experienced guide told me recently that over the years he’d learnt the most from the people he’d been paid to guide – a very honest and revealing admission – but also a very understandable one. I think we all evolve our own styles of fishing based on what we see and experience, those who fish with others, have the best chance of all to further their knowledge quickly, fishing in isolation can lead to false assumptions, I know because I’ve benefitted greatly from guided fishing, made many false assumptions in the past and will undoubtedly make them again in the future as I move up the never ending learning curve that keeps this area of fishing so interesting to those of us that are lucky enough to take part in it.
I take my hat off to those at the top end of other areas of fishing – coarse, game, deep sea, etc but fishing the wild unpredictable and tidal shoreline with the conditions changing by the minute, if not the second, for a fish that rarely gives visual clues as to its whereabouts or activities, often in poor light or even full darkness, has to be well up there with angling challenges for lure anglers and that’s before you consider Fly.
To balance this it does have to be said that with the techniques and equipment now available to us Bass can be RELATIVELY easy to catch if they can be located at the right time but therein lies the challenge. To be consistently in the right place at the right times across a range of conditions and tides rather than repeatedly hitting a favourite mark at a prime time is a tough call and one that I’m sure, I for one will never fully perfect…
So there’s my two penneth worth on the subject of learning, for what its worth. With the new year underway and the days already starting to get longer I’ve begun to think of new ways to fish the areas I know and love, ways to maximise my time, ways to be in the right place at the right time and to make the most of what’s available. So lots of new ideas to try, can’t wait to get on with it in a few months time…
David Norman
West Cork Bass Fishing
Web: www.westcorkbassfishing.blogspot.ie
