If someone wants to fish effectively, should assimilate many of the characteristics of predatory animals. A noiseless approach and good masking is a recipe for success.
To be invisible – is one of the most important skills, which regularly successful anglers have mastered. If the fish spot us first, they are rarely caught with a fishing rod. Some example? Once I was fishing at high noon in a river famous for its nice chubs. Approximately wide 25 meters, the river in a short section was "pressed" by a human hand into a two-meter high concrete "corset". After reaching this attractive place, partially covered with dense thickets, I spotted a flock of handsome chubs in the water. A few of the fish were really huge. After some time I managed to catch two large chubs with a fly. But not concrete, but on my knees from a sandbank in the river! Some angler nearby noticed my feat and immediately climbed onto the concrete for that, I guess, to see chubs better. What happened was predictable. The flock of chubs immediately vanished. It is true that after a while the fish returned to the same place again, but none of them was tempted by any bait. This angler-mountaineer should seriously consider the saying about "an elephant in a china shop".
No varnish?
Practice proves, that being invisible is not that easy. All my rods, and I suspect, that yours too, are painted. So if we fish in the sun, The shiny blank of the rod is there, so to say, early warning system for fish! Masking hat on the head and well-worn, Fishing clothes in masking colors are also completely irrelevant in such moments. The fish have probably noticed the rod sparkling with every movement of the wrist, and although they cannot see the angler himself, they have certainly fled immediately where the pepper grows or they have become very alert. The flyers have one more hard nut to crack – while swinging the stick, The rope twisting in the air creates golden patterns of flourish in the rays of the sun, reason enough for suspicious fish, to start fasting immediately. Until today, however, I can't make up my mind, to paint my expensive, bought rods with matt varnish. Instead, I learned to throw from the side. From hiding behind bushes, and often on the knees it is true that lunges are not very comfortable, but I am completely invisible to fish. I unwind the rope not over my head, but parallel to the ground or water. My line is then almost invisible to nearby fish. If I decide to approach fish closely, I always cover my face with a hat. Polarizing glasses are for our prey like the red light of a traffic light at an intersection. The lenses of the glasses also reflect the sun's rays. Silvery buttons on trousers or a shirt cast similar strong reflections; I don't need to mention the belt buckle. At the end: so fashionable now aluminum reel spools also glow and on sunny days it is better to use spare plastic spools; a silver or gold wristwatch is a trinket that can scare away any relatively cautious fish.
The essence of the whole: all details in a fishing suit should be as little conspicuous as possible. When approaching a fish, I always try to do it in a green wool sweater. Of course I am aware, that if the water right under your feet is four meters deep, it is my advice that becomes less relevant. One day, however, pay attention to your behavior by the water! Perhaps then, after eliminating some bugs, you'll start getting even better results. Use every opportunity to disguise yourself (trees, bushes etc.). On your next fishing trip, remember your youth in a small watercourse. What was the name of the game? Stalking!? So, since we are already in the years of our early youth, a silent tread was decisive for winning in. The same goes for fishing. So let's be careful when walking on rocky ground (hitting stones against each other), let's remember, that when moving along the washed bank, the ground vibrations also propagate in the water. Let's move as slowly as possible, we always look at what we put our foot on, if possible, let's also try to cushion the weight of our body by walking on bent knees.
Sound out first
Many colleagues start fishing with careful sounding of the fishery. However, keep in mind, that in warm seasons many species of fish stand in shallow water very close to the shore. If we are already so brave and can get up to fish on Saturday at four in the morning after a whole week of work, although we ourselves should not reduce our chances by probing the water directly before fishing. On the other hand, it is difficult to fish in an unfamiliar fishery without sounding first. If we need to check the nature of the bottom and the depth, at least we shouldn't do it in the fishery itself, but somewhere a little to the side. However, the best solution is to poll a given place at least one day in advance. Many of you are certainly shaking your heads doubtfully right now, that this is an exaggeration, but tell me, what can come in handy with a perfectly positioned ground, when there are no fish at all in the fishery? Logically, for the same reason, we should not install the equipment directly on the water. After all, rattling boxes with various little things is completely unnecessary. Groundbait balls, if they are needed at all, should be as small as possible, for example, the size of a pebble of gravel. Large groundbait balls fall into the water with such noise, that they scare more, than the fish attract. If possible, try to lure with the smallest possible bait balls. Now let's move on to fly fishing – theme "magic dry fly". But lest you think, that the scribe keeps straying from the subject, again a small example. Imagine it, that you are in a group of people. Suddenly you instinctively feel, that someone is watching you. You turn around and – hello Heniek, how are you? Certainly, each of you has already experienced such a situation. But let's get back to fishing! Chubs are my favorite species. I once spotted a nice flock and planted a dry fly above the lazily swimming fish in the water. A leader made of a thin line taut and disappeared under the water – the artificial bow tie looked very natural on the surface. A large chub approached the bait and began to look at it. My concentration is at its zenith. Suddenly the fish panicked to run away – for no particular reason.
As I was gaining fishing experience, I came to a conclusion, It's me, what i call it, I "charged" the bow tie.” My concentration on that tiny speck on the surface of the water was way too much. Could the "hello Heniek" effect work here? Today for this reason I am trying, so that the tiny floating bow tie is only part of it, what I perceive at the moment. From a scientific or rational point of view, my feelings are sheer nonsense, but maybe you will try to find out for yourself? Perhaps you also "hypnotize" your dry fly?
But let's go back to the starting point. If you move around the water like an animal – like a predator looking for a prey – you'll hardly ever come home on a stick. Silent, masked and thinking while fishing – this is how one sentence can describe a successful angler…
