Simplify it

The other day, I ran across some old photographs of my childhood.  Several of them were pictures of me fishing.  I looked so proud holding up those little Panfish in one hand and my old fishing pole in the other.  It got me thinking, I only fished with one rod and one reel back then. That's all I had so that's all I used, yet I still caught fish.

Fast forward a bit, to when I was a teenager. Again I had one rod and one reel.  I still remember the reel was an Ultra Lite Shakespeare open-faced reel.  I had a small tackle box with a few plastics, some hooks, bobbers and one crankbait.  I really thought I was something with all that gear.  I caught the biggest Bass of my life with that setup too.

Since then I have accumulated a plethora of gear and tackle.  All in the pursuit of fish.  I have rod and reel setups for Bass fishing, surf fishing, deep sea fishing and inshore fishing.  I even have duplicates of certain setups.  I have a tackle box for freshwater fishing, one for saltwater and a separate kit just for soft plastics. I even have stuff for fly fishing, which I've never done.  My entire garage is dedicated to fishing gear, with rod building supplies and equipment and storage for everything.  

Then I look at my son's fishing equipment. They each have one rod and reel, that's it.  They all have a small tackle box with a few weights, hooks and some small plastics.  Yet they are so proud of the little they have.  It makes me wonder if I could be happy with one rod and reel again.  I doubt it.

Kayak fishing, however, almost forces me to trim down what I fish with. There is no way I could carry everything I think I need for an outing. Instead, I have to decide how I want to fish that day and bring only what I need for that particular trip. I rarely take more than three rods with me.  I bring two baitcasting and one spinning setup. As for tackle I bring whichever tackle box I will need depending on if I'm fishing fresh or salt. There are days where I get so frustrated, because I keep changing lures and having to retie often. Other days though, I enjoy deciding ahead of time what I'm going to use and sticking with it. Those days seem to be more relaxing and remind me of my childhood fishing trips.  

Sometimes I think we all just need to simplify it. Limit our options and make ourselves fish with just a few techniques.  Tie on that spinnerbait and throw it, then throw it again and then again. Let it sink, burn it near the surface or stop and go.  Throw it all over the place spend hours with it instead of minutes. You may not catch anything, but I guarantee you'll get to know that spinnerbait by the end of the day. Which might come in handy on those days fish want that spinnerbait.

D.S