Competing Against Friends



Two successful anglers happy for each other's success
Picture from last year

I thought I would tackle my views on the subject of competition while fishing. There is a lot of money in bass tournaments, fishing derbies, Striper Fest, ice fishing tournaments, etc… That is not what I am going to talk about here. What I want to discuss is competing against friends.

 To be completely honest, I would prefer to work as a team and root for each other than to try to beat my buddy.

 My favorite thing about our carp fishing group is that we all root for each other. When we have our semi-annual fish ins, if someone catches a fish, cameras come out and pats on the back are as common as doughballs (carp fishing simile). I have been the guy to catch the carp and I have been the one to go fishless (more often than I would like to admit). The beauty of our group is we all get along and we have a good time at these fish ins sharing stories and laughs.

I have chased species I have never caught a few times with friends that had never caught that species either. I have said that whoever catches the first one, we will take a picture of it together. Obviously, if I wasn’t the one to catch it, I wouldn’t say I caught it but as a team WE achieved our goal. When I caught my first bluefish, I was with my son. Neither of us caught one before. I have a picture of both of us holding it. Even though I caught it, we as a team accomplished our goal.  He ended up catching one a few minutes later.

So I look at fishing more as a team game than a one on one contest. I figure the competition is versus the fish anyway. If I was trout fishing with a buddy, I would much rather lose 12-9 than win 4-1. Why? Because if I lose 12-9, that means I caught nine trout, which is a good day in anyone’s book.

I have had a few friends through the years that cared as much about catching more than me than how many they actually caught. I’m a guy and I have testosterone, so when they do this, it gets my dander up. There’s nothing more aggravating than someone rubbing it in when they are catching (especially when you drove) or worse being a sore loser when they are not.

I’ve been on both ends of the fish hitting one person’s bait and not the other. There’s nothing you can do about it. Sometimes it’s just luck. When I’m the one catching, I will do everything I can to help my friend(s) hook up. I’ll give them the same lure, tell them to cast near me, etc… However I don’t deal well with poor sports. Then all bets are off and it is every man for themselves. Hearing them complain about it makes me try harder to catch more fish (fuel on the fire).  My mom used to say “if you’re going to cry, I’ll give you a reason to cry.” Whining isn’t going to help you catch fish.

For my part, I don't mind "losing". I do not mind at all if someone catches more than me. I am a numbers guy so I know exactly how many fish I am catching. However, I look at it as me versus the fish. If I have five nights in a row of great fishing but you catch more than me all five nights, than my hats off to both of us. I’m a pretty happy guy. When your fishing partner is Dave Pickering, you learn very quickly that you’re going to “lose” more often than you win. I don’t waste my time trying to out fish him, I just enjoy talking fishing and having a few laughs. For Dave’s part on the rare occasion where I catch the bigger or more fish, he is happy for me and wants me to succeed.

If I do start fishing with someone and I see that they get upset when they are having a rough day or rub it in when they are catching, I usually distance myself from them pretty quickly. Catching fish is never a sure thing. We are all going to have days when the fish aren’t biting. Complaining about it, won’t change that fact.