The Long and the Short of It.

[Mark]

I enjoyed a breezy morning on a DE pond yesterday.

Same fly.

Same area.

Same depth of presentation and method of retrieval.

Caught on consecutive casts:

P1060735A.jpg

P1060734.jpg

And again I am reminded that catching larger fish depends on their presence and willingness to bite more than my skill as an angler.

[Big Mike]

That’s a nice bluegill, and I agree, certain degree of luck involved.

[Mark]

Thanks Mike.

You found more than a little "luck" at your recent Piney Point outing. Congrats on that.

There's a saying attributed to Thomas Jefferson: "The harder I work, the luckier I get."

Although fishing for us here this forum is certainly not work, I think Jefferson's words apply. The more time we spend on the water fishing, the more we learn about the sport, and the more opportunities we have to encounter willing pixel-worthy catches.

We both got out before the storm in our preferred waters and had some fun. Now we wait to do it again after Ian finishes drenching us.

Continued success to you.

[DanMarino]

Nice bluegill Mark! I'm a believer that people make their own luck. The more I fish, the more I learn. Some of it is random, but when I catch a fish I think part of my brain stores some of the key things that happened. So when I encounter similar features of a stream, river, pond, or lake, or a similar season, the odds of success increase. Hopefully, I'm explaining that correctly. Like you mentioned, similar retrieves or similar lures/flies/baits, etc.

[Mark]

Thank you Tom.

That particular pond produces even larger bluegills, bluegill hybrids and redears. I've caught many species of fish on the fly but I never tire of catching bluegills and their cousins in the fish family.

Indeed our fishing experiences build our knowledge and confidence. For me, that's especially the case with the lures and flies I use. I rely on a relatively small selection of species appropriate artifial baits even though the marketplace gives me countless choices. I've learned to present my arsenal well -- location, depth, speed.

However, sometimes, no matter how well I locate and activate my lures and flies, the fish do not humor me. Either they are not present where I am casting or they are there but not interested. So again, I know of no absolutely guaranteed way make a fish attack my lure or fly. Nor, unless I am sight fishing, can I select the size of the fish I catch. My success as an angler is always up to the fish. That's rather humbling given our supposed difference on the evolutionarty scale!