Poll: Are you

[Smily]

Part of the 10% that catches fish or are you part of that 90% That doesn't. I seem to be part of that 90% that doesn't. I did finaly mangage to catch a native steelhead that was about 10 lbs last Saturday with a guide. What a blast that was. It was the only fish of the day, It had been pretty slow all up and down that river. I think I have been picking up techniques but still fumbling around alot. Been out springer fishing also with no luck as well. So which is it? 10% or 90% Smily

[First Bite]

Smily good job getting into the 10#'er. I remember the first time I heard the saying that 10% of the people catch 90% percent of the fish. It always seems that certain people catch fish all the time. I fish for Steelhead and/or Salmon at least once a week, sometimes more and the last time I didn't hook up with a fish was December of last year. Does that make me part of the 10% group? It doesn't matter to me, I just like to catch fish and help people who go with me get into fish.
Mark

www.firstcastjigs.com

[rcl187]

I think it depends on what your fishing for, i know that if I were to pick up a bass or walleye rod I would probably be one of the 90% who doesn't catch fish and one of the .005% who manages to hook themselves in the foot while wearing leather boots and still get the barb burried half an inch into the big toe...but if you put me on the saltwater with a piece of dental floss and a shiny rock I would outfish almost anyone 2 to 1. It's not that I neccessary know what I'm doing its more that the fish like to be eaten by a nice guy like me who's willing to take the time out of their day to catch them and tell them that they are big enough to be eaten which makes the fish feel good about themselves and that is what all that really matters in life. Doesn't everybody want someone to come up and say "I like you just the way you are" and then wack you in the back of the head with a wooden club.

[smilesforu]

I think the 10% are always looking for ways to improve and pay attention to whats going on around them so they can make the adjustments to improve their fishing sucess. First you need to be in the right place at the right time, Then you need the right equipment. Then adjust the equipment until it is working at the same effectiveness as the people around you. The more you understand what is going on around you the better you can adjust. It won't be long and you will be out fishing the others once you understand the keys to sucess. Good luck at becoming a 10%er.

[Salmonator]

rcl, that was exactly what I was thinking...Sal

[SteelieSteve]

I used to be a 10%'er but not so sure anymore. I figure if Bait-O-Eggs and I go out to the crowd in OC we can probably shut the river down for at least a day. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[sinker]

These averages get you. I know they used to say that it took an average of 7 yrs hunting to get and elk. The guy that lived across the street from me got one every year for I don't know how long. Never did the math to see how long it would take me. [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]
Guy I used to work with would go out steelhead fishing and get one or two and think nothing of it. Here I am pounding the water and not getting anything. [img]images/icons/mad.gif[/img]
The difference is that these guys had yrs into their sport before they got to that level. I've still got a ways to go.

[Snagly]

On my turf -- very narrowly defined as a couple of steelhead rivers and a fair amount of swampland in Northern Australia -- I'm probably in the top 20%. The rest of the time I'm a wannabe. I just returned from the Annual Alaska Pilgramage. At one stage I lost seven steelhead in a row. Some weren't entirely my fault -- straightened out jig hooks accounted for 3 or 4 -- but when it's all said and done, if you take credit for the one's you catch then you take the blame when you get beat, too. So it was with some pride that I landed that eighth fish, a 38" buck. And I closed out the trip on Sunday by landing the last five I hooked.

This is where fishing is like golf -- there are enough good fish (good shots/ good holes) to allow average fishermen/ golfers to delude themselves into thinking that "This is the REAL ME -- the guy who catches three steelheads in one run, or pars two holes in a row." (We conveniently ignore the rest of the day/ trip/ round where we play at or below our imagined "real" level.)

Do 10% of the fishermen catch 90% of the fish? Maybe, but only under the special circumstances that these 10%'ers stick to their home waters. I certainly don't believe that someone who's an ace on River X is going to be just as good on River Y. Better than average, yes, but not outfishing the average angler 10-to-1. That's a very tall order and I've seen too many gun anglers revert to just above average when presented with unfamiliar turf.

[Backlash2]

I agree with our friend from the other side of the big pond [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] ...I am not a person to brag, well, let me clarify that...Do I get that warm fuzzy feeling when our boat has hooked 5 fish in the last hour when the 40 other boats around haven't touched a fish, yeah baby [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] ...But, i'm not talkin' smack to the people around me when it happens...There are certain places where I fit the 10% category, but there are others where I don't. I think it all comes with experience. The places I fall in the top ten are the places I fish the most often. Put me on another stream and I will probably catch a fish, but I will be watching 3 or 4 other people putting a schoolin' on. Do you ever notice that the 'hot' set-up is never the same from one place to another? Most of the time, it's just a little variation of an old standard, but we all know how finicky fish can be [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] Learning the little things, and having the CONFIDENCEto try new or different things, even though noone around you is doing it, are the keys.
One other thing...the gift of gab...I have a buddy that if you give him 2 days in a totally new location, will be catching fish with the top 10% by the middle of the second day...EVERYTIME. Why?? He's a 'people person'. He can walk up to the roughest looking guy at the boat ramp, and 10 minutes later not only know the guy's little secrets, but have his daughter's phone number, and the last 8 beers out of his cooler! Thankfully, I benefit as well [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] Talk to the people around you, almost all are willing to lend a hand. You may not get there 'go to' setup out of them, but hey, that's why your binoculars are on your 'getting ready to go list', right below the toilet paper, and right above your rod and reel [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Bait O' Eggs]

You guys said it all, put me in the right rivers at the right time and I can put on clinic. Other places, well I am just cannon fodder. [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img] I think we all want to be great at all locations/situation. I have a lot to learn about a lot of water and techniques.

[Pilar]

Well said all of you. RCL, do you thank the fish for giving it up when you whack em and stack em?

I think it's pretty simple. Try to learn a new thing everyday and soon you won't care which group you're in. You'll catch fish and learn new tricks. Backlash2 has it figured out. Every one wants to feel like they know something worth knowing. BS with them and learn that daily new trick.

'If you give a man a fish he eats for a day
If you teach a man to fish he sits in a boat and drinks beer all day'

[WheresMyBobber]

Oh God backlash, I'm laughing my butt off! I had to check your profile to see if you are somebody I used to work with. He used to say that I was the only person he knew that could walk up to a couple guys in a fishing hole and within 15 minutes have the hole to myself, their bait, and their wives name and phone number!

Great post, and very accurate in my opinion.

[img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[BellBuoy]

About the time I feel I'm in the 10% something changes and I'm back in the 90.But if I've learned anything you can never stop learning to keep fish biting. Can't be afraid to experiment either. Caught a nice Chinook on the Nehalem in front of Wheeler last fall on a slow day when the tried and true methods weren't working for anyone by pinning on a green and yellow flatfish I only bought because I couldn't believe they would make something that ugly!!!!
Bananas in the boat are bad and women can and often do outfish men. Know a guy who sturgeon fishes with his wife claims if she does the baiting they get way more fish. They've even had anglers next to them ask her to bait their hooks????? It's the little things that matter most.

[TH]

Well put Snagly, again.
On my home waters, I can fish w/ anyone... I know where the fish are, I know where to put my boat, I know where to cast, I know what to use... at all water levels... but a new river, I rely on my fishing ability and techniques and not as much home court advantage..... I like to play at home...
I have noticed that over the last few years (5 or so) my home court has expanded a bit and each year I try to expand my GAME. YOU GOT GAME? [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Phish_on]

90! No doubt about it!

And it's 10% catch 90% of the fish.

I still catch fish, and have certain spots dialed in to some extent - - but I know the skunk well!

WORK bad, FISHING good.

[Oakie Drifter]

One week 10%. [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]
Next week 90% [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Third week 10% [img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

Thats why they call it fishing instead of catching!

[Navigator]

I like to think of myself being in the 90% category ..... Yeah, with the 90% who get 10% of the fish.

[wak'm&stak'm]

Pilar I get a chuckle when I see my log on name used like you did. RIGHT ON..
I never really put my sucsess into percentages, but 10% sucsess would make my wife hide the boat keys. Hmmmmm??? lets see, for a day off shore I burn 20 dollars in fuel, I use 15 dollars in bait and we will skip gear and boat repair. This adds up to 350 dollars for 10 trips and at 10% sucsess the fish I would catch on the good day would be worth their wieght in gold.
I like to fish, but I love to CATCH'em, and now days I target days I know the odds are with me, for nothing more than economic reasons.
PS>>>>The ocean is flat, flat, flat this morning, but it is supposed to pick up or I would have gone today to the pile. I just got back in town, and it's time to get serious again.

[FishinMission]

I like..."10 percent of the people fish 90% of the time ." Those are the ones that get the fish. Hate to say it...but it helps to put in your time. I saw the majority of folks heading home the last two weeks on the Columbia before the action even started!! One nite we hooked a couple in 15 minutes....at 6 p.m.....and there were only 4 boats around when earlier there were about 100.

[Pilar]

Hey Wak'M&Stak'M, I sure like your tag. It gets used on my boat as we fill the fish box. Glad you don't mind me using it on the board. Next time you hook a big Ling that just burns your reel you can use mine, Peeeeeeeeleeeeeer.

I looked at the offshore forecast today and saw the downhill trend. I sure would like to get some barnacle bill crabs off Tillamook tomorrow and maybe a few bottom fish. The trend is for ***** though with the wind swinging around to the NW and the waves picking up to 3ft sea 5ft swell. What was it today 1 and 3?

On the ocean you can be part of the 1% that dared to cross the bar ..... everyone gets the fish.