No one turns 16 and becomes Michael Andretti.
You have to practice somehow. Boots are great, catching something of that size also is a turning point for alot of my friends I have brought along on trips with me.
Its either a sense of accomplishment in hooking and landing a big old boot. Or a sense of Why did I just do that?
Boots at their worst aren't the same as smaller fish. They have a bit of fight in them, even if they start turning sideways and the current carries them down stream its still a fight to retrieve your line.
It sounds bad, I am one for conservation. Everyone needs the opportunity to experience hooking into a salmon be it a boot or chrome before they know if they like the "sport"
when I moved down to Florida alot of people thought I was crazy because I targeted Gar, while they an easy catch they fight hard and they present a huge challenge. I LOVE IT! 99% of people in Florida target bass, I don't get it tho. There isn't a challenge in the fish itself. The challenge is in presenting the bait properly...... Once the fish is hooked its a minute or less till you have him in the boat.
Id have to agree with all of this. While boots seem like a waste of time to me now, the first time I caught one it was like a turning point for me. I no longer had interest in small fish. The challenge of bringing in a heavy fish was a thrill that I since have always craved. I now, primarily, fly fish for carp in my local waters during the spring and summer months and steelhead in the fall / winter. Carp being the largest fish available to me locally besides the odd freak pike which are nearly impossible to find.
I really cant seem to understand North Americas obsession with bass. They say pound for pound bass give the best fight which I don't disagree with, but unless I can loose 90% of my body weight, pound for pound bass are still a small creature compared to me and the fight is too short and easy. On the note of pound for pound, you could say a bluegill fights the hardest as well, like come on. People spend tens of thousands of dollars to fish for bass and it baffles my mind. To me the only challenge is coming up with all the money for the boat and then coming up with the gas money to drive around finding the fish, and at times choosing the correct presentation (presentation is a common challenge to all fishing generally), the rest is child's play. Of course you can fish bass from shore or wading but most serious bass anglers are the boat + lake + tournament type. I was out on rice a couple of weeks ago on a boat with some family and I had to dust off the old 6 footer spinning combo and some senkos as the boat was too full for fly casting. They wanted bass so bass we caught, I definitely had a great time, but reeling in those fish was a joke really. Im used to having a carp on a fly rod that it takes at least 5-10 min to get it close enough to attempt a netting, fights last up to 30 minutes sometimes. Or even a decent steelie takes a few minutes at least before you can pump it in. Anyways, Ill end my rant here.
Heres to patiently waiting for the steelhead to flood the rivers, for now, carp carp carp
Awesome post
( lol,, any help ,, greatlyyyy appreciated.
