The Spoonpluggers Forum

One of the very few things I enjoy about winter is that it allows me the time to focus on the "mental aspects" of my fishing. This practice of retrospection has helps me to place an emphasis on those matters pertinent to my fishing success; in areas where I'm weak, or what lake-types I need to experience in order to expand my fishing knowledge. Since the advent of the internet, the fisherman has an invaluable tool at his disposal, (such as this forum) not only examine his personal perspectives to that of his peers, but also glean information necessary for improving his fishing results. Speaking for myself, I know that has been the case, and I thank you all!



Walt

"helps me to place an emphasis on those matters pertinent to my fishing success; in areas where I'm weak,"

This sentence hit a chord with me. I find it amazing that during the off season the errors of omission or commision stand out like a sore thumb. I attribute this to the fact that when on the water my head is filled with too many thoughts of what to do and how to do it, while at the same time I too often miss the obvious.
A case in point:
There is this one small section along the old river channel that has always been productive. Trouble is that there is no recognizable feature that I can concentrate on so I keep trolling the spot. Still the fish see something of interest there that seems to draw them. It comes to me now that the snow is on the ground, that I have not anchored in a few different positions, using a marker as a reference, until i make contact and then take some rifle sightings. I guess this is what Buck meant when he said "to fish a spot thoroughly." He also spoke about reviewing each fishing trip and analyze what was done right and what was not.
This is only one of the errors that come to mind in the off-season. I can recall many others that need changing.
My mindset for the coming season is to exercise more patience. lots more!
Your post was well taken.