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| See all that pad cover in the background of this photo? The lightweight spinning rod you might have used to throw 1/4-ounce lures earlier in the day won't work well in this kind of situation. |
Fishing and Golf: Part 1
"They've Got a Lot In Common"
By Stan Fagerstrom
I was speaking to a group of students at a junior high school in Chandler, Arizona not long ago.
In a question and answer session following my casting exhibition, I explained that no one rod was adequate for all types of fishing. I also asked them a question. "Just what kind of a round would Tiger Woods have, " I asked, "if he attempted to play it with only a putter and a driver?"
A young man in the back of the gymnasium was quick to answer. "He'd do pretty darn good!" was his response.
Now I'll agree with that lad that Woods could probably do nearly as well armed only with those two clubs as some duffers do with a bag full. But he wouldn't even get his name onto the very bottom of the leader board while facing any kind of professional competition.
Chances are Tiger would be among the first to tell you just how important it is to have the proper tools if you hope to ever shoot par golf. Much the same thing applies to the sport of fishing. The two do have a great deal in common.
If you've ever watched one of my casting exhibitions at outdoor shows around the country you may have heard me compare golf to fishing in talking about different types of tackle. Think about it. A golfer attempts to solve different problems as he moves from hole to hole. A variety of clubs helps him get the job done.
An angler who hopes to put many fish in the boat has to match his rods to the problems at hand just like the golfer. This matching of tackle best suited to solving the problems you're facing is one of the great keys to consistent fishing success.
Take a fishing trip with experienced guides and you'll find them doing exactly what I'm talking about. They go out equipped with half a dozen or more rods. Each rod is equipped with a reel and line designed to best handle the different tasks required of them. Again, those tasks won't always be the same.
A question I've heard often over more than half a century of fishing and writing about it is: "I'm just getting into fishing. What rod should I get?"
I wish that question could be answered in short sentences and words of one syllable. It can't. There is no one best rod for everything from trout to tuna or bluegill to barracuda. It simply doesn't exist. If you're to be successful as an angler, if you want to get maximum enjoyment out of the sport, you'll need equipment best suited to your objectives.
There aren't many things we have a prayer of controlling when we're on a lake or stream. We can do nothing about air temperature, wind direction, wind velocity, water temperature or barometric pressure. You don't even know what kind of mood your fishing partner will be in.
But we can control having tackle best suited to our needs. Unless you exercise that control, you're like that golfer I mentioned trying to play nine holes with only a putter and a driver. It could be done, I suppose, but it wouldn't be much fun--and your score would be terrible.
Having said all that, I'm well aware it's not always easy to come up with the bucks to purchase the best rods and reels money can buy. I grew up on a small farm in North Dakota during the Great Depression. I actually did catch my first fish---a bullhead catfish---on a safety pin my dad had bent into a hook. My first rod was a willow tree branch. That was way back in the 1920's.
I am well aware what it's like when your mother and father don't have enough money to buy groceries---let alone quality fishing tackle. Be that as it may, you'll never get the most out of fishing until you have tools to help solve your ever changing angling problems. You'll be wise to make that an objective.
Having said all that, I'm also aware that today there are some rods that will handle more angling tasks than others. If I was just starting out today and could only afford one G.Loomis rod, do I know which one it would be? Yes I do.
Stay tuned and in my next column I'll tell you which one it would be. I'll also share some additional thoughts on why being able one day to have access to a complete set of angling tools remains so essential.
To Be Continued
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| The angler shown here is heading for his boat with a big tackle box in one hand and several rods in the other. He knows no one rod is likely to handle the different prblems he'll encounter while he's on the water. |
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