I was recently watching a science themed show. The show discussed all the random factors that would have to come together for an asteroid to hit the Earth. The odds are all these random events coming perfectly together where staggering.
The show made me think about all the random decisions, factors and events that converge to put man and fish together at the exact moment in time so that man hooks fish. When you think about all the randomness that goes into hooking a specific fish, the odds are as staggering as an asteroid hitting the Earth.
For example, July 2nd, 2014 I hooked my largest catfish ever on a fly rod (video is below). Here is a list of all the random choices, decisions and factors that went into catching that one fish.
Before heading out to fish:
- We woke-up later than normal therefore a trip to the big waters of the Lower Salt River or Canyon Lake was not feasible given our time allotment and weather;
- weather forecast hot triple digit temperatures before noon;
- our team member that beat cancer was still not one hundred percent and has difficulty on hot sunny mornings;
the above considerations led to a decision to fish a a community lake (previously Urban Lake system); - the most likely candidate was Water Ranch Lake as we hadn’t fished there since our member finished chemotherapy and we needed video footage of this lake for a DVD project;
- we began to get ready with this “plan” in mind;
loading the truck the sun was already intense so we decided to change locations to Red Mountain Lake which offered more shade than Water Ranch Lake; - the plan was to walk once around the lake sight fishing and casting in locations that were previously productive and then call it a morning;
Once we arrived at Red Mountain Lake:
- We tied on our most productive lures and flies and set out;
- on the fly rod I chose a fly that I purchased for carp fishing but that was also productive for bass;
- walking along the bank we fished the entire lake in about an hour and a half;
- at this point, we were done fishing;
- I stopped to talk to a fellow fisherman (who is heard in the video) and took a few moments to show him fly fishing. This took about ten minutes;
- we continued to walk along the bank back to the truck;
- about fifteen feet from where we would turn towards the parking lot, we spotted a huge cat fish right by the bank;
- with all rods rigged, and the carp fly already tied on, I made a decision to try with the fly rod;
- six or seven casts later, it was “Fish on!”
ALL of the above led up to that exact moment in time and place when our path crossed with that of the catfish. A different lake, a few minutes sooner or later, a different choice of lure and the hook-up would have never happened.
So, catching a specific fish is like an asteroid hitting the Earth. A series of random choices, events, decisions and factors that come together to put man and fish together under exactly the right circumstances.
In the video I’m wearing an uv protection shirt I purchased from Wicked Catch gear. You can visit their website at http://www.wickedcatchgear.com/fishing-shirts/
use promo code: WCProstaff-JSzmitkowski at checkout for a 5 % discount (not applicable to shipping costs and taxes).
Sensei John
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