Despite all the technologido is to have a clean boat, and
cal advances, there is one item
I’m not talking about spotless
that cannot be purchased but
clean, but clean from anything
must be learned in
that is not in a secure
order to actually
spot. Make sure there
catch a red in the
are no empty cans or
skinny water, and that
anything else that can
is the art of stealth.
roll around to make
No stealth means no
noise. Don’t lay pliers
fish when you are tryon a console or hatch
ing to sneak within
cover if there is a
by Capt. JP Morel
Marsh
&
Bayou
Outfitters
casting distance of a
chance they can fall to
fish that is already
the deck. It sounds
nervous.
simple enough, but is often forWhen you look at the howgotten. I speak from experito of sight fishing, you can
ence. And I promise you that a
pretty much break it down into
pair of pliers can sit on a contwo separate entities. One is
sole for ten miles of open
what you do in the boat, and
water, but the minute you get
the other is casting to the fish.
close to a fish, they will jump to
Let’s talk about the boat first
the floor spooking every fish in
because if you don’t have that
the pond.
part down, then you may never
Have all your rod rigging
have a chance to make that
done before you get to the fish.
cast.
I know of no one who can open
The first thing you need to
and close hatches, dig for
26
February 2016 www.marshandbayou.com
tackle, get rods from lockers or
holders, and generally get
ready without making any
noise. As you may have figured
out, the common theme here is
no noise.
When moving about the
boat, do it slowly and with deliberate steps, and by all
means, try to stay in the boat.
Nothing spooks fish like 200
pounds of splashing angler.
Again, I speak from experience. If you are fortunate
enough to have someone push
poling you around, try not to
spook the fish with shuffling
feet. If the person on the push
pole tells you there is a fish to
your left, then turn your upper
body without moving your feet.
Once you spot the fish, then
you can ease yourself into casting position.
Continued