Field notes

Small habits that catch more fish.

Technique is public. Attention is private. These are the habits that separate a long walk from a good day.

Fish the edges

Current seams, weedlines, shade lines, drop-offs, and tide rips. Fish live on the border between two kinds of water.

Slow down after a follow

If a fish looks and leaves, change retrieve speed before you change lures. Pause is a presentation.

Match forage size

Color is a conversation. Size is the sentence. If bait is small, your offering should be small.

Keep fish wet

Support the body. Limit air time. Revive in current until the fish kicks away on its own.

Log the boring details

Date, water temp if you have it, wind, clarity, what you used, what you saw. Patterns hide in ordinary notes.

Leave the hole better

Line scraps kill birds and turtles. Pick them up. Give space to the angler already working a run.