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Part 2
Practice casting is certain to put more fun into your fishing. It’s also going to make it a whole lot more pleasant for your fishing companion.
When I wrote my previous column about the importance of practice, I immediately thought of what a friend told me about a couple of friends he had taken along on fishing adventures, each at a different time.
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You can bet Joe Bullock, of California, knows how to match his tackle to the problems he's up against and that he has practiced enough to be expert in using whatever gear he selects. That's what lets him take huge bass like this monster out of Mexico's famed Lake El Salto. |
“I asked both of these guys a few questions well ahead of the time we were to leave,” he says. “I was to provide the equipment and I needed to know what kind of gear they could handle.
“Charlie, the first of the two I took, assured me he was familiar with both level wind reels as well as open faced spinning reels. As a result I put together four bait casting rigs and a couple of spinning outfits. I asked him if he’d like to do a little practice casting before we left. He assured me that wasn’t necessary.
“How wrong that turned out to be! I doubt he had ever attempted to cast with a level wind reel. He never even picked up one of the outfits I’d brought along for him. His experience with a spinning reel had evidently been limited to trolling. He’s a heck of a good guy and I value his friendship, but if anybody could have used a little practice before getting on the water, it was him.
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See that submerged stump in the foreground? That's where that bass was holding. The successful angler had to get his lure in there just right to get the fish to hit.
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“I well remember the reaction of the other friend who I invited to accompany me on the same kind of trip. I was again to provide all of the equipment we’d use once we got there. “Jack,” this friend said, “any chance I could come down and spend a day or two with you before we go? I’ve not used a level wind reel much and I’d like to practice with it a bit if that works out for you.”
My friend went on to tell me how the second of his two friends did come to stay with him a day before their departure for the trip. He set up a couple of targets out in his yard and gave this guy, his name was Bob, a couple of the same reels he’d be using when they got to where they were going.
You’d like Bob. I’d heard that he was competitive in anything he tackled. He sure as heck was. In no time at all he was handling my level wind reels like he’d been using them for years.”
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It takes practice to learn how to use a level wind reel successfully. The sooner you accept that, and then do something about it, the sooner you'll be assured of getting your share of the fish.
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So what was the result of my friend’s experience? If you’re an experienced angler yourself, you could undoubtedly guess. The first guy, the one who didn’t see the need for practice, had an awful time. When he wasn’t hung up in the trees, he was picking at tangles. As a result he didn’t catch as many fish as he should have.
“That wasn’t how it went with Bob,” my friend told me. “He was a pleasure to have in the boat. He was able to put his lure on target darn near all the time. As it turned out, he caught more fish than I did and I think he went home happy about the entire experience.”
I expect I’ve done about as much preaching about the importance of casting practice as anybody in the country. As I mentioned in my previous column, I’ve been at it since I gave my first casting exhibition more than half a century ago.
There’s no question about it, casting practice is essential if you hope to ever catch your share of fish. The sooner you accept that, and do something about it, the sooner you’ll join that 10 per cent of anglers who catch about 90 per cent of the fish.
There are certain steps to take that can be of great help if you do decide to practice your casting. I’ll detail what some of the important basics are in my next column. It starts May 1.
-To Be Continued-
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