I am currently in the process of a 5 part video series about using shallow crankbaits for fall walleye. As these videos came out I had a lot of people comment that they like to use something other than the lures that I mentioned. This got me thinking a lot about my goal when I publish these types of videos and I wanted to talk about my thoughts on this type of stuff.
The first thing is that I absolutely love getting other angler’s feedback! I think it is absolutely awesome! I am open to any and all suggestions on how to become a better angler, content provider and spokesman for the sport. I feel that once we stop learning we will go no further and I set a personal goal to learn something new and improve myself every single day. I love the comments and messages so please keep them up!!
The second thing I wanted to talk about is that I am by no means an expert. I do not want people think that what I say is law because it is not. That is the beautiful thing about fishing. Every angler is going to have their own preferences, goals, favorite spots and personality. The most important thing is that everyone HAS FUN FISHING!! Fishing does not have a right answer in the back of a textbook. Two anglers can do absolutely different presentations and still have the same result at the end of the day. The only thing that matters is that they both had fun.
Personally I love casting shallow crankbaits for big walleye. I would rather catch one fish over 20 inches on a crankbait than 4 fish 14-16 inches on a jig (just an example). I have a lot of fun casting plugs in fall and even if it may not be the “best presentation” for a certain situation I still do it because that is how I have fun. People that fish with me often have a running joke that I “hate jigs”. The reason this joke exists is because I would prefer to fish aggressively with a plug than skip or slow roll a jig. If I feel I can catch fish on a plug I will be using that because that is what suits my personality and how I have fun. If I don’t catch as many fish as the others with jigs who cares, I had fun. That being said I fish with jigs often. If I feel that is hands down the best presentation for the situation I absolutely tie them up and I still have a lot of fun fishing. Mason and Chris prefer jigs and are most definitely better jig fishers than me. That is their personality and how they have fun. This also works out great because we have multiple presentations out and can pick up on patterns quicker.
I also have a ton of fun bottom bouncing so often from May-September I do that even if it’s not the “hot lure”. That is the important thing about fishing: HAVE FUN!! I feel that we get so wrapped up into “needing to fill a limit” or “catch a trophy” every time we go out. I say this fully admitting that I have the same thoughts far more often than I probably should. The day was not a failure if you caught 3/4 fish or 7/8 or only hooked a 22 incher when you were looking for a 30. Shoot even if you didn’t catch a fish but had fun that is all that matters! It’s a lot more fun to enjoy the successes than dwell on the “failures”.
When I make these videos or write these articles they come from my personal experience. The pictures in every article come from that presentation, water body, time period, whatever I am talking about. The tackle featured in a video comes right out of my box. This is how I keep myself honest. I don’t want people to think they have to do exactly what I say or they will not have success. This is the furthest from the truth!!! All I want to do is share my experiences: what has worked for me, what hasn’t, etc. If this gives someone just an idea that they try and learn something new I consider that a success.
For many years I was someone that would share as little as possible. I wouldn’t even post pictures on social media. I felt that I couldn’t give away anything because I wanted to be the one to catch the biggest fish. I wanted to be the only one to fill a limit. Then I realized that competing with everyone on the lake was not a fun way to fish. Yes I love fishing tournaments. I am a competitive individual and I have a lot of fun competing against fellow anglers. I want them to have as much fun competing against me as I do them. I realized that not every day is a competition. I realized that it’s actually way more fulfilling to take someone out and watch them catch their best fish. Or tell someone a tip then get a text message a few hours later with a picture of them with a huge fish or full stringer.
Because of this I wanted to become a guide. I then realized that I can appeal to an even larger group by becoming a content provider. I might not be able to personally see the success, but if something I shared helps someone catch even just one extra fish then I feel that I have succeeded. Every video, article, comment on a Facebook post whatever it is will be 100% honest. There might be people that have completely different views from me and that is absolutely fine. The important thing is that whatever I say I want it be clear that it is from my past successes or even failures that I am sharing that.
As a content provider we are talking to a wide audience. I want to be broad with the information I share. It may not apply to one person, but it might apply to three others. It is a fine line of being vague enough that it allows people to make their own decisions, but detailed enough that it is at least semi-helpful. This is a difficult line to walk, but I want to do the best I can.
On top of that every single water body is going to fish different. What works on Oahe might not work on Francis Case. These are both Missouri River reservoirs in the same general region, yet have completely different personalities. In fact on reservoirs that like there will be certain stretches that are going to have different personalities than another stretch on that same water body! Much like people there will be similarities, but also differences. This makes everyone different and special. The same can be said about fishing. I feel that one of the greatest challenges an angler can pursue is to learn an area to the point that they can have consistent success on it for a prolonged period of time. This takes an incredible amount of patience, time and dedication and is an absolutely awesome thing!
I love hearing from fellow anglers. Whether you think I was completely wrong or caught your personal best on something I said please share! Send in pictures! There is nothing that makes me happier than seeing someone with a smiling fish picture because they got just the slightest idea from something I shared. I am going to continue to do the best I can and I want everyone to know that is what you are going to get from me no matter what it is.
Good fishing,
Nick
