Choosing the appropriate fishing gear is one of the most important factors in determining the quality of an angler, the expertise of the same, and how successful that angler is when it comes to landing fish. Also, in order to be a good fisherman, the same needs to know his/her own pieces of equipment - one by one. In order words, that person should know the function of each piece of his/her equipment; the advantages and disadvantages of each different piece of gear; when and where they should be used; etc.
Although the gear is important, it cannot be forgotten that skill and experience are also very important. A fisherman may have experience and knowledge to fish a certain species of fish, but the same may end the day performing poorly because he/she lacked the appropriate equipment in that instance. On the other hand, a fisherman may have the best available equipment in town, and do poorly at the end of the day because he/she didn't have the necessary skills/knowledge to fish a certain species at that instance.
If the person is new at the sport, my personal advice would be: buy the "cheap to moderate" equipment available. It's good to build a good base for knowledge and experience before having extremely good gears. Otherwise, the person can ignorantly damage the equipment and even hurt himself/herself. After a couple experiences and experiments, then it's advisable for that person to buy moderate to high quality equipment.
It may be obvious to state the following subject in this post, but I find it so fundamental and important that I've decided to do so. Also, some people don't practice these two important ideals, even though they know the concepts of it. It's about empirical data and notes. Fishing can be learnt in many different ways: through books, websites, communication (exchanging techniques, for example), teaching (dad to son, for example), watching, experimenting, etc. The last two items of this list applies to the concept of Empiricism: to obtain knowledge through observations and experiments. Maybe one person started fishing by being influenced by one of the other items in the list above - reading a book about fishing; or fishing with a family member. However, that person will hit a point when he/she is going to develop his/her own skills through his/her own experiences and empirical data. In other words, I am giving emphasis to the fact that it's very important to learn by looking at other people's attitudes and behaviors towards fishing (hopefully positive ones), and also from the fish's natural behaviors (not to mention mistakes). It's also important to be a "Scientist" when it comes to fishing: never be shy, and always be adventurous and willing to experiment something new and unusual, mark the results, and remember these achievements or failures. I cannot state here how many different techniques I've learnt just by watching other people fish; or how many hours I've spent somewhere - just observing my surroundings and fish - and recording everything; or how many interesting bait experiments I've made in order to enhance my skills, land more fish, and succeed even more as an angler. It's important and fundamental to be empirical. Secondly, it's even more important to write things down (even if you can memorize it). Many successful fishermen have notes (or even a notebook) on all kinds of events and situations. The angler could write about the weather, the size and quantity of the fish fished, the season of the year, the lures or bait that were used on a certain fishing day, the time and duration, the tide, the wind, the gear that was used, etc. One should follow this wise advice and never depend on memory alone - it's always nice (and easy!) to write things down. The notes can always turn out to be useful, and even if they don't: what do you have to lose with them? It's convenient, safe, reliable, and again - very important.
I'll leave the skills and experience part to the readers. However, I'll start doing topics about different pieces of gears, baits, fishing styles (when it comes to fishing a specific species of fish), etc. Note that this is a blog, though - and not a "fishing forum" or "fishing school". Therefore, the topics made here are not only informative to the readers, but they are also a reminder for me that there's "mountain after mountain". In order words: I will always progress and learn more, which means that my information may contain my opinions and be accurate, but it will never be good enough! I'll always be able to add information, re-read my topics and remind myself of certain stuff. It's a blog, after all.
My plan is to start topics with the basic fishing equipment: sinkers, hooks, swivels, lines, rods, reels, etc; and occasionally post techniques, hints and tips, and "behavior" when it comes to fishing a specific species.
Stay tuned, readers!
Long days and pleasant nights.
Leo S.
Although the gear is important, it cannot be forgotten that skill and experience are also very important. A fisherman may have experience and knowledge to fish a certain species of fish, but the same may end the day performing poorly because he/she lacked the appropriate equipment in that instance. On the other hand, a fisherman may have the best available equipment in town, and do poorly at the end of the day because he/she didn't have the necessary skills/knowledge to fish a certain species at that instance.
If the person is new at the sport, my personal advice would be: buy the "cheap to moderate" equipment available. It's good to build a good base for knowledge and experience before having extremely good gears. Otherwise, the person can ignorantly damage the equipment and even hurt himself/herself. After a couple experiences and experiments, then it's advisable for that person to buy moderate to high quality equipment.
It may be obvious to state the following subject in this post, but I find it so fundamental and important that I've decided to do so. Also, some people don't practice these two important ideals, even though they know the concepts of it. It's about empirical data and notes. Fishing can be learnt in many different ways: through books, websites, communication (exchanging techniques, for example), teaching (dad to son, for example), watching, experimenting, etc. The last two items of this list applies to the concept of Empiricism: to obtain knowledge through observations and experiments. Maybe one person started fishing by being influenced by one of the other items in the list above - reading a book about fishing; or fishing with a family member. However, that person will hit a point when he/she is going to develop his/her own skills through his/her own experiences and empirical data. In other words, I am giving emphasis to the fact that it's very important to learn by looking at other people's attitudes and behaviors towards fishing (hopefully positive ones), and also from the fish's natural behaviors (not to mention mistakes). It's also important to be a "Scientist" when it comes to fishing: never be shy, and always be adventurous and willing to experiment something new and unusual, mark the results, and remember these achievements or failures. I cannot state here how many different techniques I've learnt just by watching other people fish; or how many hours I've spent somewhere - just observing my surroundings and fish - and recording everything; or how many interesting bait experiments I've made in order to enhance my skills, land more fish, and succeed even more as an angler. It's important and fundamental to be empirical. Secondly, it's even more important to write things down (even if you can memorize it). Many successful fishermen have notes (or even a notebook) on all kinds of events and situations. The angler could write about the weather, the size and quantity of the fish fished, the season of the year, the lures or bait that were used on a certain fishing day, the time and duration, the tide, the wind, the gear that was used, etc. One should follow this wise advice and never depend on memory alone - it's always nice (and easy!) to write things down. The notes can always turn out to be useful, and even if they don't: what do you have to lose with them? It's convenient, safe, reliable, and again - very important.
I'll leave the skills and experience part to the readers. However, I'll start doing topics about different pieces of gears, baits, fishing styles (when it comes to fishing a specific species of fish), etc. Note that this is a blog, though - and not a "fishing forum" or "fishing school". Therefore, the topics made here are not only informative to the readers, but they are also a reminder for me that there's "mountain after mountain". In order words: I will always progress and learn more, which means that my information may contain my opinions and be accurate, but it will never be good enough! I'll always be able to add information, re-read my topics and remind myself of certain stuff. It's a blog, after all.
My plan is to start topics with the basic fishing equipment: sinkers, hooks, swivels, lines, rods, reels, etc; and occasionally post techniques, hints and tips, and "behavior" when it comes to fishing a specific species.
Stay tuned, readers!
Long days and pleasant nights.
Leo S.
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