3 minute read
CATCHING NOT FISHING
What separates the successful anglers from unsuccessful anglers? The guys that are constantly posting on social media fabulous pictures of amazing catches that we wish were ours, how do they constantly do that? Wouldn’t it be the best if we always said “hey, I’m going out catching fish”, like your berry picking or something. Well, I’ve been privileged enough to fish with the Genz family for many years and that’s exactly what they do, not to say they never have to fish, but because of all the years of fishing and their vast network of fellow friend anglers for the most part they sit at the breakfast table having coffee in the morning and then say There are some real ways where you can make this happen without being a Genz or fishing with one. One is having the confidence to head out on that lake with the attitude of gratitude for all those fish you’re going to catch. I’m a firm believer in if you believe it then its way more likely to happen. Even if you must fake it till you make it in the beginning, eventually you’ll start believing it.
Now to be a catcher and not a fisher you’ll have to know where the fish are, if you are a confident angler you will and should use all resources to up your odds of catching, before game day be open to where you might fish, call local bait shops by different lake areas that you’re interested in and really listen and ask questions about what lake in that area has the best bite etc… Use social media, some anglers have no problem sharing the fun, but be prepared, some anglers will be as tight lipped as a rough day of fishing. Google it, sites like Explore Minnesota, lake finder and countless apps with claim to the best fishing reports can help you decide you’re catching quest.
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Feeling and seeing the bite is key to catching fish and having Clam Outdoors frost Ice metered line on my rod really helps, I use a lb
test Monofilament for pan fish and prefer the orange and clear metered line, tying the clear part of the line to my Jig and positioning the orange part of the line right at the top of my ice hole so I can watch the line when fish lips even touch it. Although there’s always the game of do I need to let the fish take it for a while or do I set the hook immediately, these are things that will be figured out by trial and error that day, but if you see slack in the line, set the hook because the fish has committed at this point.
Another tip to be a catcher, not a fisher is the silky, put one of these on any of your CPT jigs and the fish find it irresistible. The natural fibers make the silky float effortlessly underwater agitating the fish and making them instinctively crush your jig. Have a few rods set up using different jig styles, not forgetting that it might not only be color that needs a change but whether it is a vertical or horizontal jig, that could be all that’s needed to get them on the dinner plate.
Finally, being mobile when ice fishing is necessary and a weed line or mud/gravel line would be ideal, but sometimes we are just a few feet away so keep in mind small moves can be all that’s needed, you picked that spot for a reason so before giving up make sure you’ve made several small moves before any drastic changes,
But most of being an angler that’s catches fish is putting in time and effort which leads to the kind of experience Dave Genz has earned. We all learn something new every time we go out fishing and I think proclaiming I’m going Catching not fishing is a mind over matter confidence issue I use as just another tool in the toolbox.
