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Inspiration comes in many forms. It can be a simple act, a
phrase, possibly a quote or a full bore sequence of events that provides those
who are witnesses, the fortitude to take action. In a recent conversation with a good buddy,
the simple approach came to the forefront in the form of the phrase. During our conversation, he mentioned it once
in our back and forth dialogue and it stuck in my mind not only that day, but perpetually
all weekend. To make matters worse the reminders were so evident, it was like
housing the Goodyear blimp in my tiny backyard.
As a result, I finally decided to take the time necessary and put it into
word format and share it as a blog post.
The conversation was simple. We talked about life, caught up
on how things were going, and as we shifted topics to future plans, the phrase
aforementioned, surfaced.
He said, “Man it is much easier to “work with” than “work
for” someone…isn’t it?” My response, “Yeah
man, that’s the truth.” It was something that simple, but it was profound, and
the more I reflected on it, the more it became clear. It’s about leadership and
followership.
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| My first F-16 Ride - Push it Up! |
Having been in the military for almost 10 years, I’ve experienced
leadership. I’ve worked for good and bad leaders, but for the most part have seen
far more good leaders than bad.
Actually, I’ve seen more great leaders than good, and what I’ve learned
and witnessed is that great leaders are able to connect with their people. They
do so by being in tune with them personally, which affords them to highlight
their strengths, capitalizing on their capability, which empowers them for
success. As a result, the leader has
created a self-sustaining organization, with people that want to “work for”
that particular leader, because he “works with” his troops. So what in the world does organizational
leadership have to do with a fishing blog?
Particularly to a speckled animal that swims around, eats, avoids being
eaten and makes babies? Similarities, in
life, often extend way beyond the realm in which they are applied, and for me
the notion of “working with and working for” applies not only in leadership,
but into the fishing world. Let me explain…
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| Kyle Perry with a healthy 5 lber from MS |
I predominantly target speckled trout, and during certain
times of the year I target “trophy trout”. In short, what I “work for” is
consistently catching trout, particularly big trout, and as you may have been
able to tell in my previous blog post, that is my passion. I love the skill, knowledge and techniques
that are required for consistently producing big trout, and I’m a student every
time I’m on the water, off the water and in dialogue with other fisherman who
share my passion in their search for large trout. That said, not everyone’s
“work for” is the same…others may include, catching more fish, targeting
tournament fish or just simply getting bit more in hopes of filling the freezer. All are good, however, the success of what I
“work for”, is due in large part of knowing what I’m “working with.”
I always compare trout fishing to putting together a puzzle. Some days the clues are easy and it takes
little thought to being successful, similar to my 2 year old putting together a
5-piece Melissa and Doug animal puzzle, match the piece in the hand to the
piece on the board…easy! However, some
days, and those who have been there know these days, the puzzle is 10,000
pieces, and it takes a lot of creative thinking, ingenuity and overall
intelligence to be successful and scratching out a limit or catching that
trophy was more than a struggle. Keeping
that in mind, like the puzzle, there are multiple pieces and putting them
together adds to quick wins and overall success. For me, a person who avidly targets big
trout, I “work with” these three things, which are the some of my bigger puzzle
pieces I equate to above.
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| The basics of my wading box |
1. I always work within my realm of confidence
regarding lure choice. This means I’ll
always have a jig, a topwater and a corky in my wading box, and in basic lure
colors. Why? Because I have confidence, that once I put the puzzle pieces
together regarding water temperature, clarity and depth. I will, notice how I
say WILL, catch them on one of those lures.
It’s not being arrogant, its having faith in your lure selection which
is winning half the battle, particularly the one between the ears….which I
think is most important.
2. I always work with the weather. From wind to cloud cover, knowing your
approach in certain types of weather will give you the advantage, and will put
more fish on the end of your line. Additionally, this directly plays into #1
just mentioned. Let me give you an
example, if the wind is blowing against the tide in a certain spot. I will
always choose having the wind at my back…here’s why. I rarely stay on anchor,
so if I’m in a boat, having the wind at your back increases your contact with
your lure, and drifting to your lure provides a similar presentation to working
your bait with the tide. Determining cloud cover, water temperature and depth,
will dictate what part of the water column you will fish. Once you put those
together, you will get more hits. Once you get more hits, zero in on why you’re
getting hits and start catching.
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| 100 trout on an August Full moon - Shell Island Pass |
3. Lastly, I always work with the tide, unless I
have a stronger than average wind…mentioned in #2. In TX, I’ve noticed that there isn’t a whole
lot of tide, as a result much of the water movement generated is due to the
wind. That being said, if in calmer
conditions, I work my bait with the tide 10/10 times….its just natural.
Predatory gamefish like trout, will almost always be facing the tide, waiting
for an easy meal. A firm indicator of
this is hook up ratio. If I’m fishing with the tide and I’m bringing my bait
off a ledge, a trout will have the opportunity to engulf the bait which leads
to “taps” and solid hooksets (bait down the throat). When fishing against the tide, the opposite
will take place. Most of the time the bait will come from behind the fish and
most bites will be more reactionary and leads to less than stellar hook sets
and more fish coming off just before being landed. We call this a “short-strike”. If you’re experiencing this, adjust boat
positioning and presentation. The good thing is that you know fish are
present…which is certainly the main thing.
Without a doubt, fishing, like anything has its
certain nuances, and although its a stretch to draw similarities between tricking a fish into eating a plastic imitation lure and organizational leadership, its remains clear that in whatever we choose to do we do for a purpose. So the next time your on the water or in the office always remember to work with whomever or whatever to achieve maximum results to whatever or whomever you're working for!God bless and Tight Lines!
Chris
