July'00
Sorry for the wait this month but things have been hectic. I have trying very hard to think of something to discuss this month. It just came to me while talking to a customer. He was worried that his up coming 5-day trip was going to be awful. He had been reading all the current reports and things looked bleak. No matter how many trips you take there is always a chance the fishing will be poor. You just give it your best shot and hope for the best.
I told him, you never know what is going to happen in a day or two. I always like leaving on a trip when fishing has been in a slow stretch. It can’t get any worse and can only get better. There is nothing worse than leaving the harbor knowing that the fishing is wide open only to fish the next day and have the bite shut off. Did he really believe what I was telling him? Maybe, maybe not.
After, a couple of minutes watching him walk around the shop I asked him if he had everything he needed for his trip. He said, “I think so.” I showed him the new 2.5 oz. Shad heads and a new color that Fish Trap had made. I wasn’t trying to sell him any tackle I just wanted to get his mind off the fish reports and back to fishing. We talked about what he had and how to fish the slide and Guadalupe Island. Things like fluorocarbon topshots and circle hooks. I reminded him about using chrome sinkers on the drift for Bluefin and Fish Traps on kelps for yellowtail. He ended buying a few Shad Head, Fish Traps and Owner Circle hooks. Not a big sell but I wasn’t after his money just wanted to change is outlook. I just wanted him to leave the shop with a hope of having a good time.
There was a line from the Kung Fu T.V. that Master Pope tells Caine not to worry because worrying will not change the outcome. So why worry. So how did his trip turn out? Their group got into great albacore and Bluefin tuna as well as a day of fishing Guadalupe Island for Yellowfin tuna. So he had worried for no reason.
So next time you are getting ready for a trip read the fish reports but do not let them get you down and depressed if the counts are low. Things are always changing. The good anglers just adapt to the situation and have fun. Isn’t that what fishing is all about – having fun.