So there I was was, packing my overnight bag for my latest fishing trip when I started thinking of all the crap I needed to bring with me. I'm not talking about my travel coffee mug, toothbrush or deoderant. No. I'm talking about my beat to hell fishing shirts. You know, the shirts that I wear when I want...correction, know that I am going to catch fish. My 'Moose Drool' shirt is my latest safety blanket. As I began to think about my superstitions I realized that I did all of them without even thinking about it. Another one that I have is before I leave a good run, I will make 3-5 casts to make myselft feel at ease before I move up. Or how about when I sing or whistle to the fish. Sounds silly, but it actually works for me. So I guess what I am trying to get to is this: How many of you have superstitions that you would like to share? Cloths, gear, tobacco pipe, time of day you leave, weather, etc... I cant be the only crazy one out there.
I just found an old pull over shirt with hood and front long pocket. It is one of my best "FISH-CATCHING" shirts by far. It's made by bob wear and has two burns in the chest from cig ashes dropping on it while playing steelhead and having to have my friend slap my chest to put it out while I played the fish, the neck was to tight so one day I just ripped it down about halfway it's all fleece and cheap as hell and I love it. It makes me look like a mouth breather which is just how I like to look when I'm fishing - un-shaven old ripped cloths and patched up waders. we don't want to start talking favorite fishing hats now do we? that could go on forever! I also never get the net out until a fish is hooked (bad-luck) when my daughter used to steelhead with us we had the little troll dolls with the long bushy hair that sat right next to the anchor system up front so they could watch the water for fish, caught many a fish from those dolls good luck! powdered jelly filled donuts, never go steelheading without them! even my daughter will tell you that the sugar takes the human scent away and fish love sugar! I could go on forever. Used to be a baseball player!
i used to have a lucky lure. it sounds weird. before i was fly fishing i started out gear fishing. we were going gout fishing and stopped at a store that had a discount lure bin. i had a dollar and bought a lure. Every time i had that with me i would catch a fish. mainly with that one. it was great. i ended up going and catching a big salmon. as my dad was thinking i was stuck since i was just a little boy at the time. the fish jumped. we tried hard to land it but it snapped the line. along with my lucky lure on the other side. i was upset and will never forget the beautiful salmon.... oh well now i fly fish. nothing lucky so far but who knows. things happen.
I've heard it's bad luck to kill rattlesnakes. I found this out after I killed 2 in a year and that was a pretty crappy year.
I've always heard that for good luck its best to have a stripper dance in you fishing shirt ,But so far I haven't found a stripper thats big enough to wear my shirt.
Wait, you wear deodorant on fishing trips? Unlucky. Your Moose Drool shirt must have some major posi-counter-mojo.
two of mine have always been before i start fishing i would wet the net and i also sing a song that has been passed down in my family for a long time oh and i dont like to wash my vest because i feel like i will wash the luck out of it
I used to have what I considered to be my lucky hoody. By the time I finally disposed of it, no amount of thread woud have held it together.
I have a lucky fly rod...well, its my only fly rod,...but I have trouble catching fish without it---'course, I have trouble catching fish with it too, but someday when I grow up, I'll be able to spend less time untangling my leader, and the fishing should come easier.
I don't really have a good luck charm but I know the day is going to suck when I am on time for the ferry, but the ferry has already left the dock....and damn if it isn't one of those runs that has the 90 minute lag before the next ferry shows...or the one sort of walnut brown male fly rod bottom half amazingly enough doesn't fit the walnut brown male spin rod top and that's all you got for the Yakima after driving out there for an intestinally bloating two hours...or when you paddle the other side of Colvos passage under the impression that the tide and wind may change in your favor, but they don't....or you get to the rock, the one you know where you can cast from and always hook a steelheed and standing on THE rock, Itchy Dog's there and all "hey Boot...shoulda been here yesterday"...or you think, hey, well it's cool that there's a deep snowpack this year, you think that in March and April, but by July when the rivers are still blown and you think that chironomid fishing in Green Lake is actually a good idea, in July, in Green Lake, in a hole in the algae, watching that midge pupa sink while guys are getting closer with their shore-based power bait assault cos no-one, no-one, is catching anything and everyone is bored out of their mind and its even too hot for cute joggers to distract you from well how deep does this thing really have to go to catch a fish that 3 months ago called a concrete pool home and is just now pushing 13 inches...
In all the years of my fishing I don't think of things to junk my day. I just go. I never leave home with out what I need for that day. Be it what fly rod and reel, or do I have the right fly. I don't have a lucky shirt or hat. I always make sure my gas tank is full because you never know how far I'm going to travel in search of trout. I don't leave home without my gear for the day because I carry it all in my truck. My array of rods and reels are always with me. You can never be to prepared. I don't worry about thieves here because where I fish there is never anybody else with in ten miles of me. I also eat bananas. They stop the cramps in the hands. Nothing stops you having fun when your hand starts to cramp up and you can't even hold on to your fly rod. But they taste good also.
I always put my waders on right foot first , then the right wading boot , but when it comes time to lace up the boots , the left one always gets done up first . It`s not really a fishing tradition , it goes back to my hockey playing days . Natural order .
