Why are there times when one or the other of us catch more fish than the other does? This is a mystery pondered by many fisherpeoples over the centuries. Same lure, same ocean, same night, same spot and one person just seems to have the hot hand. The conversation goes something like the following: “Dude, are you hooked up again? What are you throwing? Hmmm, white ½ oz, Spro jig with 30# leader. Me too. Working it on the bottom with slow twitches, huh. Hmmm, me too. You’re hooked up again?! What the heck? I can’t buy a hit. What areeeeee you doing?” This is then followed by a flurry of lure changes, grumbling, talking to ones self (quietly or not so quietly), and even blaming the fish sometimes “come on you stinky little buggers”.
The simple answer could be that Jason usually catches more and bigger fish due to his advanced experience, lure selection, and crafty ways of fishery and I am just playing catch up. Or sometimes one has found the hot lure or approach and for a bit out produces the other, which is quickly rectified by a switch to the hot bait and then things get back on an even keel. Maybe it is like in Las Vegas when the cards just seem to ebb and flow in streaks and random patterns, and one player seems to be able to do no wrong and others can’t catch a break (well that is what someone told me about Vegas anyway…). Some might say you have to wear a certain shirt when you fish, and if you wash the thing, it loses its mojo (don’t try this one at home folks – it is not good fishing partner etiquette). There is even a fish song some say needs to be sung to improve the possibilities. “Here fishy, fishy” or “Here Snookie, Snookie” as the case may be. It is mysterious and can be frustrating.
A few nights ago, I was having one of those nights. Jason was hooking snook, trout, jack, Spanish mackerel, mermaids, whatever had fins, etc. (well maybe not mermaids). I was changing lures, watching Jason carefully to see how and where he was casting and working the lure, and yet, nothing. And I mean nothing, nothing. Like not one thing. Eventually the evening ended and I had to admit I was outfished, but this is just part of fishing with a snook slayer like Jason. However, a couple of nights later, on the last night before Teresa and I were leaving back to Tennessee and then on to Webster Groves for our daughter Robin’s college graduation, we were back fishing and the conditions were really difficult. Windy, weedy, wrong tide, etc. and not many fish around that we could see, and none making their presence known.
Yet, as we both beat the water without any rewards, I hooked up with a big mama snook. She ripped out line, jumped to show her size, and then made a run for it with the swift current toward the piling. I gave it the old college try to turn her head, but in the end, she managed to leverage the tide, got around the post, and cut the braided line with ease. A few minutes later, another mama was on. She also came up to show her size and then turned and ran away from the dock at full speed, taking drag and pulled the hook. 0-2 and one jig down. I then put a snook or two on the dock. All of this action had Jason at a loss. We moved from the dock and onto the beach to another spot. There I again was on quickly and putting snook on the beach. Jason, was getting some action, but could not keep one hooked to get them to shore. So at the end of the night, there was clearly something very unusual at work.
Over the years, I have seen situations like this before. There was the 40th birthday redfish bonanza, 
the 50th birthday snook, tarpon hookup, and more recent special catches just prior to my leaving the island for some time. These special events could be explained by simple coincidence if you really stretch that term – a lot. However, given the repetitive nature of these types of wonderful “coincidences” I would like to offer a different possibility: these special situations have been blessings from God, meant specifically to show His love to me.
Now before you dismiss my thinking as the product of an over-active imagination, consider the following:
- I have been in love with fishing from a very early age. No activity really brings me peace like fishing.
- I have assurance that I have a personal relationship with the Creator God in which he takes pleasure in giving good gifts to his children, of whom I am one.
- His special gifts to me (not the only ones mind you) of special fishing events are a reflection of His desire to express his love for me in a way that I can see more easily and relish the intimacy of the gift.
- When I am the beneficiary of the unexplained events I see while fishing, it is easy for me to give credit to Him for the things I know are not likely just “coincidences”.
In any case, Jason should be secure in his fishing skills, and know that sometimes I might get special favor for a night here or there. We should all be aware that there is something more at work in this life than just the obvious, and that “Something” is involved with all of life, not just the “big, important stuff”. Most times that intimate love is expressed to us in a special way that only we understand, even if it is “just fishing”.
David