Fishing is many things to many different people. Some people think of it as a fun hobby, others make a living with fly fishing, while others compete by fishing. This makes it difficult to discern how to succeed on a fishing trip. However, there are many ways you can measure the success of your fly-fishing trip—here’s a look at a few popular methods.
Quantitative Measurements
One of the most efficient ways to tell if your fishing trip was successful is to look at objective measurements. There are many ways to track your success, and each has its own benefits and traditions. Here’s a look at some of the more popular methods of quantitative measuring for success.
Number of Fish
The simplest method to determine your success is counting the number of fish you caught on your trip. When you can only catch one fish at a time with your fly-fishing pole, each fish is a whole new challenge. This method shows off your patience and presentation skills, but catching just one type of fish may not be as impressive if the fish is easy to catch.
Size of the Fish
Many people like to compare the size of the fish they caught. Who wouldn’t be proud of reeling in a huge trout on their hook? Size is probably the most traditional measurement of success, but it does have many drawbacks compared to other methods. Just catching one large fish may not be impressive when you compare it to catching 100 medium fish. Measuring the size of one fish doesn’t represent consistency, which is often an important element of success.
Target Fish
When someone goes fishing, they usually choose a target fish species that they want to catch on their trip. This can be a great way to measure success, as the number or size of the target-species fish that you catch can show your specialized skill. Targeting fish is a great way to measure your improvement as well, as you can see your skill improve as you catch more and bigger target fish. Plus, you can single out these fish by buying targeted gear like flies from an online fly shop.
Difficulty To Capture
Another way you can measure the success of your catches and your fishing trip overall is the difficulty of capturing a fish. Larger, stronger, and healthier fish can be challenging to capture when fishing and can be a great way to measure success. At the same time, there are a lot of fish that people don’t typically capture due to bad presentation or skills. These fish can be prizes when you do capture them.
Value of the Fish
Although this isn’t too common a way to determine the success of a fishing trip, some people fish to sell their catches as food. This is why some people use the value of the fish to determine if a trip is successful. As more valuable fish means more money, there’s no reason why this can’t work for you. However, selling fish requires at least one fishing license to sell, so follow any local laws before you try selling anything you catch.
Competition Placement
There are many fishing competitions all over the country, and they’re quite popular. You can use your placement in these competitions to gauge your trip’s success. If you win, you can even pay for your trip and start planning for the next one. Additionally, it’s a great way to make friends and meet other people who like fishing.
Consider the Trip’s Purpose
Outside of objective measurements, you can only figure out if your trip is successful by considering why you went fishing in the first place. Although there are as many reasons to fish as there are people, you can generally group reasons by their motives. It’s important to note that there’s no one correct reason to fish, and any reason is completely fine.
Skill Improvement
One great way to measure success is by how much you improve on your trip. Focusing on how you can improve your cast or present better for fish can be fulfilling, and it’s a great way to measure your success. Even if you can’t see the improvement on paper, just knowing you’re making progress on it can make the trip worth it.
Stories To Tell
Some people like telling stories of their fishing trips, and with that comes bragging rights. Whether you catch the biggest fish of your career or have an amazing anecdote after your fishing trip, you can consider the trip a success. You’ll feel especially proud when you get to see the faces of your friends as you recount your adventures.
For Food
Fishing didn’t start as a fun activity; it was primarily a way to gather food for people and their families. This is still the case for many people—some go out fishing every day to catch some of their favorite fish for their own consumption. If you’re looking for food when fishing, then filling your stomach as a result of these trips is a success.
Your Fun
One of the best ways to determine your success is with the fun you had on the trip. Sometimes, a trip is nothing more than a fun adventure you want to take for entertainment. There’s nothing wrong with this; in fact, everyone who fishes should be having fun. So look at the fun you had on the trip and judge its success based on that.
Bonding With Friends
Fishing is a great time to bond with friends as you spend hours together enjoying each other’s company. Fishing trips are the best when you’re with friends and family who can enjoy the time with you. So a great way to measure the success of a fishing trip is by the fun you have with friends on the trip.
These are the measures most people like to use to determine the success of their fishing trips. You can use whatever method or combination of methods you want to determine your own success. It all depends on what you want from your fishing trip and what will make you the happiest when fishing.
