10 fishing blunders Canadian anglers make (even experienced ones!)—and how to avoid them

#5 MESS UP YOUR HOOKSET

Speaking about setting the hook, I’m convinced that doing it improperly is the single biggest mistake many anglers make—but the easiest to fix. I have a buddy, for example, who goes on point like a Labrador retriever whenever he feels a walleye. “There it is,” he’ll say, then try to set the hook so hard he sometimes stumbles. He misses almost every fish.

How you set the hook depends on the size, diameter and thickness of the hook. Powerful hooksets are fine when you’re fishing with large, thick-wire hooks for big toothy critters, giant lake trout and largemouth bass buried deep in the weeds. But if you’re fishing with a small, razor-sharp, fine-wire hook, particularly for walleye and bass, you’ll lose at least 80 per cent of the fish if you set the hook too aggressively. Instead, a smart sweep of the rod tip is all that’s required to nab every fish.

#6 FISH FOR WHATEVER’S BITING

Last fall, a reader messaged that he’d been unsuccessful in his angling efforts, asking if I would help him zero in on the key depth to fish. I flipped him back a note asking what species, in particular, he was targeting. “All of them,” he replied. Similarly, when I was a senior manager with Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources, I sometimes accompanied conservation officers and fisheries technicians on creel surveys, and when anglers were asked what they were fishing for, they often replied, “Whatever bites.”

Sure, you can sometimes catch any number of fish and a variety of species when you head out without a plan, but it’s a huge mistake to assume it will happen. To be consistently successful, you have to focus in on a specific species and learn as much as possible about its behaviour and seasonal preferences. Then you need to use that information to select prime locations, the best lures and the optimal presentations. To do otherwise is to take a shot in the dark, which almost always misses the mark.

#7 BELIEVE THE DOCK TALK

I will never forget interviewing Kevin VanDam, the most successful angler in bass-fishing history, immediately before one of his four Bassmaster Classic victories. He had sequestered himself at his brother-in-law’s house, far away from the tournament venue. When I asked him why, he said, “To avoid the dock talk.”

With social media so prevalent these days, it’s easy to get caught up in the hysteria associated with a hot lake or new bait. Some folks even post the waypoints of popular fishing spots. But if you know about the hottest tip, so do a lot of other anglers. Relying on reliable, guarded, insider information from one or two trusted friends is a good thing, but avoid second-, third- and fourth-hand accounts at all costs. Why? As VanDam says, “It messes with your head.”