Lost in Translation

[WTL]

How many times has it happened where two people would be fishing together, and one would catch so many more fish than the other that the less successful angler then takes to trying to replicate the lure, technique and presentation of the guy catching all the fish?

Sometimes, this results in the 2 anglers both having good days. But also some of the time, the results dont change so much even though both anglers are now seemingly using the same lure and gear and fishing in the same spots.

The difference between a successful attempt at learning a new technique and an unsuccessful attempt can sometimes be so minute that it perceptable only to the fish. Even if the successful angler takes minutes of time to try and explain, again, exactly what he is doing the 2 anglers may never figure it out. It is not luck. When a pattern repeats itself over and over again, it is not luck.

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Now take these two anglers out of the same boat. Take them away from the same location. Put one in Great Bend Kansas. Put the other in Bath New York. Or whichever towns you like. And instead of having the one who is on the fish demonstrate in real time, in person, what he is doing, have him explain it in the written word. On the internet. Few or no pictures. Two different situations, with two different lakes, populations of fish and even patterns. Two different times of day and two separate sets of weather and water conditions.

The hypothetical man in New York tries to learn the new technique that his friend in Kansas is slaying the fish on, but now the problem of translating just what the successful angler is doing has gone from the difficult task I outlined in the beginning example to something even that much more difficult to get across.

And in this lay the most pressing problem that anglers, especially young anglers, will face on this board. I don't have any real solutions to getting around this problem. It is just one of those things that exists, and if people realize it, and don't get discouraged but persist with a constant and detailed approach to learning the new techniques they will eventually overcome the problem.

A lot of people discount the information they hear on the internet because fishermen are liars. Well that is sometimes true, but even more often I bet the information is correct, as far as all parties can relay it, but the fish is just that much more selective.