"Evolve or Die!"

"Evolve or Die!"

     I've been haunting these waters for a long time. It's impossible for me to not come in with preconceived ideas. Memories dictate what I'm doing. Even what I remember others doing, plays its part. This can be described as "insight" or "baggage". As open minded as I would like to think I am, I usually go through the rolodex of past experiences, grabbing the same ol' things every time. This thinking can inevitably bring success at the lowest percentage possible. 

How the heck am I supposed to learn if I think I already know everything? This thought was brought on by the "AA" example of insanity, "doing the same things over and over, expecting different results".

Fly fishing taught me to get on the water, poke around a bit with a net and take samples, then try to "match the hatch". My OCD tendencies require me to be all set up and dialed in before leaving the house, when I know I'm "putting the horse before the cart".

Fishing has confirmed to me how "outta wack" this world of ours is spinning. Two past decades of ocean happenings tells me that this is a different world we're living in. Fish seem to be about as confused as I am regarding the whole reproduction process. Records are suddenly being broken daily regarding weather, animals, people. Serious changes are happening world wide, yet still I find myself digging deeper into my past experiences', only to be left feeling clueless. 

I've been fortunate enough to have fished quite a few private ponds in the past. Ones that have never been fished before and were stocked with hatchery fish. I remember how practically anything would work at first, so we would fish topwater. We'd be killin' it for a time but eventually the strikes would slow as they became conditioned to the bait and technique as something not to be eaten. When a popper stopped being effective, we'd have to then go to something like a floating Jerk bait, and so on. The lures would continue down in depth and speed, to a weightless rubber worm. Everything could still work in the right situation, optimum conditions and/or right presentation. But the bass definitely learned quickly that there's no more free meals. This seemed to be passed on to their offspring as well, because never again did these techniques work like they did the first time. 

So everything needs to be innovative or refined or in optimum conditions. And constantly adapting and evolving to the feedback we are receiving. 

Drop Shot, Wacked & Neko Rigs, Chatter Baits and big Swimbait's have also taught me about conditioning and that new approaches need to be applied. We have to remind ourselves that every year more and more people populate the world. More people are throwing at that fish before and after my presentation. The bass's own will to survive forces them to "evolve or die". The fish are still there but much like children today, they're maturing and getting smarter, faster, every year. Meanwhile, some of us are still trying to figure out how to use our darn cell phones. 

So we can't get locked into certain technique's that we favor. They need to be refined, applied in new ways, and ever changing. What has become "the new rage" will have an expiration date. It will work when the conditions are right but never again like it did the first time around. 

I remember this time when I took a free-spirited girlfriend along for a few casts. (She had never fished before) We were at the point where we needed some time apart and we were easily getting on each others nerves. We both had Senko set ups and she was chucking and winding away without a care in the world. She wasn't hurting anything and was content just being outdoors. Though I knew better, I suggested that she might want to try letting it sit on the bottom. She gave me the "you're such a jerk" look and said "you do it your way and I'm gonna do it my way". While there's no happy ending here, when I think about it, the fish determine what's right or wrong. Maybe they missed the Senko edition of MasterBaiter Magazine? And I can't really say I've ever even tried it.(her way)

So don't be afraid to try new things, even if they make you laugh.(A-rig) Don't dismiss anything as "not doing it right"(Wacky) and don't be afraid to combine aspects of any techniques' (DS) And when you figure out "the next new rage" don't be so quick to let it out of the bag. Because all things in this world will come to pass. 

Once you can free your mind, "why didn't I think of that?" might be replaced with, "why didn't I ever try that?" BTW, the Senko WAS intended to be a jerk bait.