Night fishing can be some of the most rewarding fishing that there is to be had. In the summer time it's especially good as it allows you to escape the heat and dodge all of the boat traffic…leaving you to float alone on the lake as if you're floating right there with the stars above you.
Constant trips to the lake can get expensive. Between fuel, snacks, and chewing tobacco a man can run up a handsome bill in a hurry…oh yeah…tackle too. Those costs become even more painful when the trip turns out to be unproductive…i.e. you get skunked. I got to wondering if I could find a way to get more experience without taking the hit to the wallet that comes with actually going fishing.
Given that fishing, like flying jet fighters, is expensive, I thought it might make sense to look to the military for clues on how to do things more efficiently. Often times in the military the budget is tight. Jet fuel and aircraft maintenance are expensive, so rather than actually go flying…pilots simply practice flying in a simulator.
Now, I won’t lie to you…aircraft flight simulators are expensive…lucky for us we don’t have to buy one. What I am proposing here is a night-fishing-simulator…something that gives us the essence of night fishing without the expense of gassing up the truck and the boat, buying a bunch of tackle, and consuming hours of time. After a few moments of sage-like rumination, it occurred to me that night-fishing is well suited to this type of simulator training. After studying how my night fishing trips normally unfold, I was able to concoct a simulator from commonly available tools/stuff.
Constant trips to the lake can get expensive. Between fuel, snacks, and chewing tobacco a man can run up a handsome bill in a hurry…oh yeah…tackle too. Those costs become even more painful when the trip turns out to be unproductive…i.e. you get skunked. I got to wondering if I could find a way to get more experience without taking the hit to the wallet that comes with actually going fishing.
Given that fishing, like flying jet fighters, is expensive, I thought it might make sense to look to the military for clues on how to do things more efficiently. Often times in the military the budget is tight. Jet fuel and aircraft maintenance are expensive, so rather than actually go flying…pilots simply practice flying in a simulator.
Now, I won’t lie to you…aircraft flight simulators are expensive…lucky for us we don’t have to buy one. What I am proposing here is a night-fishing-simulator…something that gives us the essence of night fishing without the expense of gassing up the truck and the boat, buying a bunch of tackle, and consuming hours of time. After a few moments of sage-like rumination, it occurred to me that night-fishing is well suited to this type of simulator training. After studying how my night fishing trips normally unfold, I was able to concoct a simulator from commonly available tools/stuff.
My night-fishing simulator requires a few initial steps to get set-up, but once you have the basics you won’t have to do much work at all. The first step is to get your hands on your favorite baitcaster. Once you have it in your hands I want you lighten both the mechanical and magnetic drags to their absolute lightest settings and tie on a light lure. On the next really windy day I want you to give this set-up to the left-handed girl who lives next door and ask her to try her hand at using a bait caster. Tell her to just let it rip, as hard as she can, directly into the wind, and that you’ll check on her progress when you get back from the pet store.
Yep…you’re going to the pet store for the next step…to buy a bat. Any size bat will do but bigger is usually better…trust me on this. They will probably give you your bat in a bag as they are nocturnal creatures and daylight tends to freak them out…and we don’t want a riled up bat in the truck with us…it just wouldn’t be safe.
When you get home, collect the bird-nest-infested baitcaster from your neighbor and thank her for her help. Now you have all of the components for your night-fishing simulator so let’s put it to the test. I want you to take your fouled baitcaster and your new pet bat to the darkest closet in your house. With the closet light off, sit on a stool with your reel in your hand, then reach down gently, grab the bag, shake it like there is no tomorrow, and then open it. Have someone outside the closet start a timer and see how quickly you can untie the knots in your baitcaster with an angry bat dive bombing your head before you freak out and give up.
This is the essence of night fishing. Aside from the cost of the bat it’s virtually free (and if nothing goes wrong you can generally re-use the bat). The simulator lets you get just as creeped out and frustrated without the all of the fuel and bait costs associated with an actual trip to the lake. As I wrap this up I think there may be one cost I left out…that of paying someone to remove the bat from your house after your wife discovers your simulator…and those costs may be more than monetary in nature…on second thought maybe there is no cheap alternative to night fishing.
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