Fishing is like golf.
Today was a great day to be outside and I got to thinking about the comparisons between golf and fishing. Now, while golfing cannot put food on my table, I believe it can teach us to be better anglers that are more disciplined, focused and relaxed, all while keeping our target in sight. Our adventure can be on par, above or below and the results depends on our knowledge, experience, education and some degree of luck (being in the right place at the right time). How we rate success can be through hitting new targets, improving on where we left off or simply just by enjoying being outside rain or shine. Everyday is also different. Not one day will be the same which is what keeps us going back for more.
My day started out with a solo adventure to my local lake. The kokanee fishing has been producing decent sized kokanee on jigs and today was no different.
I took a “risk” and left all my trolling gear at home. My jig box, a handful of jigs and a selection of scent options was all I needed to get into some aggressive kokanee that were smashing my jigs (sometimes before they hit the bottom). I missed a lot of bites as they seemed to be hitting lightly until the sun was up in the sky. I lost quite a few fish as well, which I believe was from using small barbless hooks, so I upsized my hook size where I could and it seemed to help.
The kokanee I found were hanging out in 25 to 35ft of water and the aggressive ones seemed to still be hanging out a reel or two off the bottom. I marked many large (I mean LARGE) schools of fish which usually has me searching for other areas of the lake (I often find the large schools of fish to be the smaller age classes), but not this time. Most of the fish in these schools were not the smaller fish that I thought they were (except for my last one). Surprisingly, a lot of the fish were in great shape and it excites me to see how much bigger they will get by August.
My kokanee slammers were getting hit many times, but I was not able to connect with any fish that were willing to come home. I caught 1 kokanee on my new Big-Nasty Tackle orange rattle jig, one on an original glow rattle jig and 3 kokanee on a blue holographic buzz bomb. I upsized my treble hooks and it seemed to help keep the fish on.
I switched back and forth between my new Gibbs Fishing kokanee scent that came in my subscription box and some anise scent. I put one piece of pink PowerBait crappie nibbles on my hook and made it a focal point at the center of the junction of the hooks. It seemed like this technique helped increase my hook up ratios.
Back at home, Sarah and the boys found a set of golf clubs with a bag for each of the boys. They were excited with their find as they have recently been playing with the clubs that were handed down to me from my grandfather. The timing could not have been better, because I’ve been thinking about learning how to golf as it’s been my dream to “slow down” and start golfing and fishing around the province as I ease into retirement (who am I kidding, retirement is a ways away yet). Golfing is something I want to learn how to do. I have often thought of it as a perfect way to spend an afternoon and a way to connect with my family and friends outside and away from the lake (well, maybe beside one).
Besides hitting a few balls at the driving range, one 9 hole adventure and a fun time at Top Golf in Las Vegas, my golfing experience is very limited. Sarah and I decided to take the boys on a surprise adventure to our local 9 hole golf course. We did well recording our score on the first hole, but after 1 ball in the swamp and 3 balls bounced off the trees, we knew we were I trouble and decided to just have fun and learn. The next 8 holes would have me thinking how to get better. Like fishing, a basic understanding helps, but sometimes guidance is needed to help improve and reach targets. While the basics helped to a certain degree, we will need to find someone to help teach us how to golf and then spend countless hours at the driving range practicing our form, and learning what clubs to use and when.
There were definitely many clubs we had in our bags that we had no idea when to use and why. Like fishing, there’s a time and place to use each tool in the tool box. There are also expensive tools and inexpensive old tools to use when fishing or golfing. Sometimes, we may not have the newest gear or the best of the best, but we always seem to get by no matter what the activity. We just need to get outside. While my grandfather’s clubs were old and the bag falling apart from many hours in the sun, they got the job done.
The best part of golfing and fishing is the time spent relaxing, having fun and meeting new people. On our longest hole, the sun was definitely doing what it does best and draining the energy from us. A bottle of water and a Gatorade were no match for the relentless rays that continued to sneak through the canopy of trees above us as we rested on the bench at the start of the 7th hole.
As we sat there, we decided to wait for the group of guys coming quickly behind us. We let them proceed ahead of us, because we did not want to slow them down. A quick conversation about ice cream after we finish and a few tips on golfing had us ready to push through the heat to the finish line.
Our learning curve was steep and self taught today while golfing. Similar to fishing, our processes improved as we continued down the course. It was all starting to come together and then it was over. This adventure was perfect. We now know what we need to work on and what gear we need for next time.
Just when we thought the day couldn’t get any better, we arrived at our car and noticed a note stuck on the front windshield of our car under the wipers. I was amazed at what I found and was lost for words. The guys we let past us had left us a $20 bill for the ice cream we were talking about. I wish I could have thanked them and I hope to see them back on the course one day so I can say thank you and how much I appreciate the kindness and generosity from someone I met in passing.
Golfing is like fishing. While it may not put food on the table (with the exception of the ice cream we received from strangers), it teaches us discipline, focus and how to relax.