I was reminded often this past week on how small the margins between success and no success are when muskie fishing. I had a number of conversations and emails as well as in boat experiences where mere seconds or inches made the difference in hooking up or not on fish.

The hardeset thng to do is stay focused all day, from the first to the last cast an opportunity can come at any time. Early in the outing you may not be quite in the groove and dialed in...later on you may be tired. In reality the fish could care less, if your presentation gets into their zone and interest's them they will respond and how you react may determine the outcome. Stay in the game, keep one half of your brain on the fishing and the other on conversation, the scenery, and entertainment. Begining muskie anglers need to have so much more focus on actual technique and presentation and being ready when a fish shows up than more experienced angles who can run on autopilot for most of the day and easily switch into the proper action mode when the opportunity of the day shows it self.

So unlike bass walleyes and pike which give us mutiple opportunities daily and thus a shorter window to the next one it is way harder to learn from our mistakes on muskies....so work on good mechanics, turn those figure 8's, keep your gear in good shape, sharpen hooks, replace worn leaders or line...in short be ready for the one or two bites you are looking for on the average day on the water....actually on a good day.

Relax have fun and enjoy your time on the water (because time out there is priceless) BUT keep one eye on the prize...because catching the prize always makes it more fun.

_________________________
www.fishwithbob.com