Confidence is Crucial

Posted by nickhart in Blog | 1 comment

Last week I journeyed out to Ireland for a quick visit and as usual the trip produced a whole bunch of things to think about.  I would have relished the chance to chuck a fly, but the remnants of a hurricane dispelled any real chance of success using that method so the lure was the way to go.

Cian from Absolute Fishing has been fishing Wave Worms recently and so I decided to give them a go.  First session and I pulled a fish, using a weightless soft plastic.  Instantly I had confidence in the method and fished it hard throughout the session.  But I am convinced that those fish knew the weather was on the way, because we all struggled for the rest of the day.

In fact the weather got so bad that we opted for bait during the next couple of days.  I am into all sorts of fishing but so used to the active characteristics of fly fishing that two solid days without a fish (I was very good at missing bites!) meant that I was keen to get back to lures.  Then Nick Roberts of Topwater Lures turns up and nails a fish on a Komomo 2.  That was it; I would be stringing up the lures the next day.

We arrived quite late in the morning to coincide with a decent tide and I was ready, tooled up with a new rod from Megabass (The Blackshadow) which to all intents and purposes is a fly rod which will cast lures.  The water was dirty so I went for a White Wave Worm incorporating a pimped out Chartreuse back … colour bleed from another Wave Worm.  Carefully wading into the shallows I cast hopefully towards fish movement which I assumed was Mullet, hoping that maybe there were Bass amongst them.  Most of the fish spooked.

I continued fishing and then suddenly there was a huge bow wave heading straight for the worm, but no take?  Was it a Mullet perhaps; spooked and rejoining a shoal?  Nothing else happens for a good hour and by now both Nick Roberts and I have covered a fair bit of ground.  I started changing lures, hoping to find the winning formula.  I tried a Chartreuse Wave Worm in an estuary flow and did have one hit, but my confidence was dwindling.  More lure changes.

Moving to some moorings (the same area in which Nick had caught the day before) my confidence climbed once more, especially as I had tied on a Komomo 2.  Within a few minutes Nick had called over “crank it slower, feel for the action on the rod tip.”  Really confident, I followed his advice and then I noticed a loop in my braid.  “Damn, why now!?”  At which point Nick hooked a fish on some kind of rubber minnow … my mind was all over the place.  I didn’t have minnows, the worm had not worked and was I really fishing the Komomo correctly?  Confidence back down and a tangle to sort.

Then James Barry turns up and I begin inching closer to him as he throws a few casts.  Fish with this guy and you will know this is wise; he rarely blanks.  It was no surprise to see his rod hoop over and I set off to Boga a good fish for him.  And guess what it had eaten … yes, a White Wave Worm!  I was kicking myself!  Why had I not just gone with my instinct and stuck to the method … suddenly the bow wave in the weeded margins seemed more likely to have been a fish.

The worm went back on and when James got back to fishing I watched his every move and asked questions.  “What speed should I wind, should I add movement via the rod tip etc” As with all the guys over in Ireland including Cian, Ger and Paul they are only too willing to help.  I learned a lot from watching James and once again felt confident, especially when he got hit again, tearing the worm clean off the hook.

Heading towards some rocks we had a particularly exciting few minutes when we could see Bass momentarily in the waves, gliding through murky water little more than 2 feet in depth.  One of these fish rushed my lure but refused at the last moment.  We continued fishing, following the tide and hopefully the fish, but even James wasn’t getting a take.  We must have lost them.

The rocks began covering and then my radio crackled into life as Henry explained that they were heading back to drive to a new mark.  I could see them about half a mile away and said I would continue fishing until I could see them nearer the car.   Waist deep in water I wasn’t confident that we were with the fish and began wading back towards the rocks, there had to be fish hugging this feature!  A Tern dived nearby and I turned to shout to James … he was already shouting to me and motioning that I should get a lure in there.  The Wave Worm goes out; I give it a moment to sink and then crank steadily, gently flicking the tip of the rod to impart movement, confident that any moment I will hook up.  There is slight resistance; I just keep winding and then the fish hits.  What a feeling, total satisfaction … confidence had once again won the day.

It’s what I love so much about fishing; it’s about learning,observing, listening, trying stuff, using a bit of instinct and above all being confident.  My instinct had been correct (the White Wave Worm, the rocks and the Tern) and who knows, had I stuck with my original plan maybe I would have caught a bunch more fish? That doesn’t really bother me, what does is becoming confident in a method and the only way to do this is to listen and observe those who already have confidence/experience in a technique… then try it for yourself.  The result will be that you catch more fish!  I have a lot of guiding coming up over the next couple of weeks but at the earliest opportunity I will be throwing a Wave Worm at a Devon Bass; I have total confidence in them!