We’re all frustrated by this virus, and most of us have done enough tackle organizing and hook sharpening — not to mention learning about local lakes — to last us for a while. But I’ve been thinking …
Now is also the time to look at your fishing — career or hobby — and assess where you’re at and what you want out of it. It’s a matter of making the best out of a bad situation, seeing the glass as half full.
One of the wonderful things about fishing is that there are so many ways you can enjoy it. You can fish a few weekends during the spring, summer or fall. You can also get real serious about it on a recreational level by fishing local tournaments, Or, you can aspire to a professional career. The choice is yours.
And, you can fish when you’re young or when you’re old, or even if you have physical or mental challenges. Ours is a sport that isn’t as limited as some others. There’s a place for every angler.
The beauty of it all is that there’s nothing wrong with any of that. You don’t have to be a pro to love bass fishing or to be a bass angler. There are all sorts of levels at this sport. None of them are higher or better than any other. The weekend guy is every bit as much a bass angler as I am fishing the Bassmaster Elite Series. We both do the same thing. We just do it differently.
Give those things some thought. It doesn’t have to be deep, meditation-type thought, just thought. What is it that you’d like to do when the COVID-19 pandemic is behind us? Where do you fit in the sport of bass fishing?
There are some other things you can think about, too. What baits are your best ones? What baits do you want to get better at fishing with? What about that big trip you’d like to take with your family or your buddies?
This is also a good time to look around and see if you can find some weird, long out of production baits, something this generation of bass haven’t seen. It’s not like you don’t have the time to search the internet for them.
Remember something: Bass don’t learn from one generation to the next. Baits that worked for your grandfather will work for you.
I did some of that looking around the other day and to my surprise ran across some older lures that had special applications on the Bassmaster Elite Series tournament trail. I hadn’t used them in years, but when I picked them up I smiled at all the good times I had with them. I ordered a few of them. It’s true, I don’t need them right now, but I will at some point in the future.
What I’m talking about is something that not everyone gets excited about. I know that. Looking around isn’t for everyone. However, it can be incredibly valuable and fulfilling for those who will do it.
We’re all frustrated. No one likes the situation we’re in right now. I want things to open up as much as anyone, but I refuse to allow this to ruin my spring. There’s more to life than going to the lake. The glass can be half full or half empty. I prefer to see mine as half full.