Originally appeared in Florida Sportsman
I’ve got a friend who always seem to catch fish, in salt or fresh water, with live bait, lures or flies. When I fish with him he catches more fish than I do. Why? He’s smarter than I am and knows all the tricks. He fishes far more often than I do, and he has an extensive network of fishing friends, so he knows exactly what’s biting and where. A few phone calls gets him the information he needs. He won’t leave home without it.
He knows before leaving the dock that the water is very clear, big trout are holding over sand holes in two feet of water in a specific area at a certain time of the tide, and they’re busting live pilchards free-lined on medium spinning tackle. He learns where the pilchards are hiding. Naturally, he will be quiet in the boat or get out and wade, knowing that big trout are easy to spook.
When I get the time, I’m apt to jump in my skiff and go flats fishing for trout. Tide? Won’t know ’til I get there. Don't know where I might find pilchards, and my live well isn’t working anyway. I’ll have two fly rods and a spinning rod, with plenty of lures and flies. My plan is no plan. I’ll wing it. I’ll have fun, but I won’t catch nearly as many fish as my friend.
Here’s an example of how he outsmarts me even when I’m in his boat: Pompano fishing recently, three of us anchored and tossed flies and jigs into a tide rip on our right side along a drop-off known to hold pompano.
He doesn’t use an anchor chain, which I have done all my boating life, to let the catenary curve of the anchor rode help set the anchor. He doesn’t want the noise. Instead, in his 20-foot skiff, he has a small laundry basket and 50 feet of 3/8-inch nylon line tied off the bow to a mushroom anchor. (I’d bet he has a Danforth anchor below decks, on a longer line.)
He always pays out all the anchor line and anchors up-tide of his known hot spot, then uses his motor to drag the anchor down-tide until he’s positioned perfectly. (This gives him the chance to fish the up-tide area before the other two anglers, leaving them the area he’s already fished when he finally stops the boat.)
Quiet is good, so as a guest you’re encouraged to stay in your area of the boat, seated or standing. , A friend fished the bow, I was in the middle, with the captain in the stern seat. He was able to cast to the area directly to his right and work his fly or lure along the bottom, with the current, in a wide arc down-tide, covering a broader area than the other two anglers. The angler in the middle had the narrowest casting window, not wanting to over-cast the bow and stern anglers, and the man in the bow had to be careful not to catch the middle angler or his line if he tried to broaden his casting arc by casting up-tide along the anchor line. In this case, the guy in the stern covered more water; his piece of the pie was larger.
If the guy in the bow starts getting all the action, the captain in the stern can effectively be shut out. He can’t cast up-tide over the other two anglers’ lines and allow his lure to bounce down-tide.
The captain’s solution is simple. He asks the bow man to shorten the anchor line, which pulls the boat up-tide into the hot spot. (He’s implying that a small shift will improve fishing for everyone.)
If the man in the stern begins to catch fish and the others don’t—he anchored the boat knowing precisely where the fish usually “hold”—he’s sure to tell stories as he’s reeling in another one, while you watch him and net his fish. Blah, blah, his biggest fish of all time, etc. He may offer suggestions to you about the speed of your retrieve, your hat. You may be asked to count the fish in the box.
Relax! Get yourself 50 feet of 3/8 nylon and a mushroom anchor for your boat.