What makes a person a good angler? Is it numbers of fish caught? Or is it being able to cach multiple species? Or being able to consistantly get hook up in different water conditions and in different rivers. I had this discussion with a guy at work the other night. He seemed to think that numbers of fish caught made someone good. For example we both know a guy that lands about 100 steelhead a year. This guy fishes almost everday during the summer. He only fishe 3 diffrent spots on the river. Is the guy good? I think not.
I think a good angler is someone that fishes a lot of different rivers and consistantly gets hook ups in different water conditions.
I fish different rivers for different species. I can usually muster up a fish or 2 per trip. Some days I do real well with multiple hook ups. I dont catch the numbers of fish that some guys do, But I dont fish as much as they do either.
So what do you guys think?

I would say a guy that can catch multiple species, is a better angler than a guy who is dialed into only one type of fish. For example, a guy that puts say Sturgeon in the boat this weekend. Then next weekend produces Steelhead and in the middle of the week gets a Salmon in Puget Sound is a better fisherman. It takes knowledge of all the places and the attention to detail to do multiple species. To me that is a good fisherman.

I think that a person that catches alot of fish, no matter where they fish, is a good fisherman. It is a personal preference as to choose to fish a single or multiple places and/or species and/or different runs. I think it pays to learn one stretch of a particular river real well when starting out.

My mentor is well known on the river. They say, "hang around him and you'll catch fish". He's strictly a drift bait bank fisherman and fishes the same river, same stretch but multiple areas. He used to fish a couple of different rivers but not anymore. Vows he'll never fish from a boat until he's crippled. He prefers summer fishing to winter fishing.

I like to try different areas (but not too many) types of water, and different methods, spinners, spoons, floats, pulling plugs and enjoy drift boating. I'd like to get a drift boat someday.

I lean towards willierowers definition. A guy who stands in the zoo at Blue Creek day after day after day and leaves with two fish every time could do that with little fishing skill. Don't believe it? Well, go down there when the fish are IN, and you'll see guys limiting that couldn't find their a$$ with both hands and a flashlight.

I think a guy is a better angler if you could take him, and drop him off on any river, in various water conditions, and he/she could still find a couple fish.

Of course, if you can have that kind of success on multiple species, then you've really got some info and skill in your noggin'.

I guess that it's more than a numbers game, but numbers do have something to say about success. However, some of the better anglers I've met would abandon rivers where their odds were good, and fish places with less fish and less anglers. These guys wouldn't catch the numbers of fish somebody fishing Blue Cr. or Reiter would, but they were able to catch fish where few others would get any hookups.

Now, if you can get solitude and numbers.........YOU'D BETTER KEEP IT A SECRET !!

I think the difference between a "good" fisherman and a "great" fisherman is to be diversified. A good fisherman can stand at blue creek or reiter and get a fish everyday IF they are in. A great fisherman doesnt put up with the crowds, he can go were there are less fish and less fisherman and do just as good as "Captian Flog."

Personally, i like to fish remote stretches of river were there are less fish and hardly any fisherman, but i will fish the more popular runs if there are good numbers available.

It all boils down to being at the right place at the right time =)

I think there is another component to being a good angler. Respect of the fish and enviornment. I don't care how many fish an individual catches if he has a bad attitude he is not a good angler.

A good angler gives more than he takes.
He puts more back into the system than he takes. He packs out his trash and somebody else's to boot. He only keeps what he needs for immeadiate use. He helps others learn about the sport. The list could go on but I think you get my general drift. It is not so much how many fish he catches but how he conducts himself.

Desertdog

"Jack of all trades, Master of none" --- that is how I'd describe myself. I would say Bass are the species I'm most sucessfull at, but, I've boated bass, steelhead, trout and salmon already this year.

I hear people say "that guy is a good fisherman" But, he only fishes one place one way. Granted It may have taken a long time for him to figure that spot and tech out but, put him in unfamiliar water and he's lost.

To me diversity defines a good fisherman. Put him on a farm pond for bass, and he figures it out. Give him a fly rod on a small steelhead stream in winter and he hooks up. In fact suceeding in diverse conditions with different angling methods for different species is what makes an angling trip good to me. I may go bass fishiing in January, but if I catch one or two I'm as satisfied as cathing a steelhead on a crowded river. Either way, you beat the odds. That's what makes you a good angler.

Good Thread--

Aaron

Yo Desertdog,
Your post is right on the money. Glad to see someone is all over it.

Bill

What makes me feel "good" is when I am able to get my kids (or any rookies) into fish. By that I mean them doing everything on their own. 1 nice fish for one of my kids is worth about 50 of mine.

Thanks for the replies guys.
Desertdog is right on.

One thing that makes a good fisherperson is the ability to read water and see fish. Also have to fish when there's fish in the river and the water level, clarity are right. Polarized sunglasses will help you cut through the glare and see into the water. Got to know where the fish hold and be able to distinguish between a rock and those gray ghosts with the steelhead tail. The next thing is to cast and guide your offering to the fish. Got to guide it around rocks and the current. Summer runs tend to hold back in the tailout in the morning and work there way up into the riffles during the afternoon. If the best spots are occupied you must be able to move on to the next spot. Never leave anything unfished! If you don't get any bites or see anything after about 6 casts then move on. There are still some river sections out there that do not have combat fishing nor sleds or drift boats.

Desertdog hit on some important points. Sometimes I think anglers get caught up that success and great fisherman are measured by the numbers tallied and how well they promote themselves. To me great fisherman I've met are the ones who continue to learn, experiment and investigate their "hunches", not always looking for the big "give me". They also RESPECT other fisherman's water and give back to the resource. They continue to challenge themselves and still enjoy a day of fishing even though it was a slow day. They also enjoy their partners success as well as their own. If we define great fisherman by the numbers fish caught, then maybe that's why there seems to be an increasing amount of unsportsmanlike conduct on our rivers.

i dont care how good i am, i love to fish, i am not competing with anyone other than trying to out smart a fish when i`m fishing.

I think Desertdog gets at the heart of it. A good fisherman measures his satisfaction in fishing in terms besides number, length, and weight of fish. He gives as well as takes. I also think that anyone who actually cares how good a fisherman he is probably isn't very.

The ability to catch lots of fish or fish of many species in fresh and salt water also does not a good fisherman make. I know exceptional steelheaders who have never caught any or only a few salt water fish. But that is because they choose one sort of fishing over another. They would probably be equally good at fishing bonefish, tarpon, or marlin if they dedicated the same effort toward it.

Catching lots of fish or especially big fish isn't the mark of a good angler either. A passible fisherman can catch a lot of fish or big fish if those are what are around. A good angler is one who fishes 5 miles of river and catches two or three when there were no more than five in the entire stretch of river. Catching 5 or 10 when there are hundreds or thousands around is a nice catch, but not an impressive achievement.

A good angler is the one who catches the large and wise brown trout from under its extensive root wad holt, covered with overhanging vegetation, with conflicting currents moving multiple directions, and takes this trout in direct sunlight on a size 18 or smaller fly on 6X or lighter tippet. Catching a hundred steelhead is easy by comparison.

A good angler is one who gets an exceptional measure of satisfaction from fishing and all the ancillary activities that go along with it.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

A lot of good thought and ideals went into many good replies to a very tough and interesting question here. I think there are a couple different ways to look at this concept of "how good of fisherman are you?" - qualitative and quantitative. And there are no rights or wrongs with these opinions. ...

As for qualitative, I think the 2 biggest factors mentioned are the generalizations Waterdog put into his post about being a good steward of the sport, and the last sentence of Salmo's post in which he thinks the best fishermen are essentially those that get the most overall enjoymnent out of it. I agree with those guys ideals for a qualitative measure of fishermen. It took me a long time, and perhaps a little less testosterone level :), to finally get to where I don't fish as competitively or intensely hard like I used to. I still fish fairly efficiently, but not as intense. I prefer to relax and not compete so hard, and I have found I enjoy fishing more again because of it. If you race around and fish intensely to 'be the best' or 'come in first place' with the most fish at the boat ramp, I doubt you properly enjoy the days when others were more lucky than you on the river any given day. And that's a real shame - because you lost out on a lot of the sheer joy of just fishing! ....

As for the quantitative aspect of 'how good', I agree it's not just a numbers game, but how overall comprehensive your general fishing knowledge is and how successful you are in using that over the long run - NOT on any given lucky day - in a variety of conditions you encounter. I have a pretty good knowledge base about salmon and steelhead fishing, and do well in a lot of areas and conditions; but I often don't do as well as the guide or fanatic on there 'home turf' that fish most days of the week and can get dialed into the intracacies of what it's taking to catch the fish there that day or week. That doesn't make the guide the better overall fisherman though. I think I would say for this latter way of looking at it, the most consistently successful fishers over the long haul in multiple areas could be considered the best fishers. I don't know the answer though, if there really is one. However, I am glad that the first concept of the qualitative aspect has taken it's rightful greater significants within me now, because I enjoy it more that way.

RT

Right on Salmo G. I don't want to be a great fisherman, I want a great day fishing. It drives my son crazy when I sit down on the river bank and just watch the sun come up. There is nothing better. Just have fun that's what it is all about.

It requiring looking at two aspects of this.
One is,If its just being a good fisherman, it would be catching fish when no body else is.
The second would be, having a client happily giving you a wad of bills even though it was a skunk day, and rebooking another trip.
sometime presentation is more than just to the fish. remember "if you always caught fish they wouldn't call it fishing they'd call it catching". catching is a bonus.

Fishing is MY religion.

The river & forest are the cathederal.

Amen to the Fish!

[ 04-09-2001: Message edited by: Coho ]

I think a good angler is:

1) Someone who is cathching fish when no one else is. I am refering to the angler that adapting to conditions, reading the water and thinking "outside of the box", not the angler who just has the right rock that day and got lucky.
2) If you put a good angler on unfamiliar water, they still will produce fish. It is much easier to look good on water that you are intimately familiar with than a foreign place that you have never been.
3) Good sportmanlike etiquette and conduct! Willing to share helpful tips and insight.

Thomas

I agree wholeheartedly with what Desertdog said. It's more then just catching fish. I always like to leave the river bank cleaner then it was when I got there. If I see someone fishing along the bank I'll share information and/or tactics with them to help them get into a fish. I think a good fisherman respects the fish they are fishing for.
Mark