Got Lucky Drawers?
“Any luck?” is usually the second question anglers field when they return from a fishing trip (“Where have you been?” perhaps being the first). There are Luck-E-Strike and Lucky Craft lure companies. Lucky 13 is a classic lure that can be found in my tackle box. And “luck” or “superstitions” were part of the 20 Questions series posed to Bassmaster tournament anglers.
Responses regarding superstitions seem to fall into three categories:
1) “Yes.”
Jeff Kriet does not wear red boxer shorts. Greg Hackney will not fish with the notorious banana in the boat. Kyle Fox wears the same pants all 4 days of a tournament. And Boyd Duckett wears his red shoes.
2) “No.”
Hank Parker, when asked if he had superstitions answered, “None at all.” Shaw Grigsby simply said, “Nope.” Alton Jones went so far as to respond, “I’m not superstitious. I love eating bananas before tournaments and tossing the peels around for fun.”
3) “No, but I always…”
Kevin VanDam is not superstitious but always has his wife’s cookies at tournaments. Dean Rojas carries a duck decoy on his boat where his batteries are but he’s “not superstitious or anything.” A charter boat in Hawaii washes each lure with soap and water between ono. “Just something we always do,” a shrugging crew member shared.
I probably fall into the latter category. Though grounded with a background in fisheries courses, I certainly have noticed some tendencies when fishing. If several poles are in use by a fishing party, the biggest fish will be caught on the lightest tackle. A good way to lose a fish is to “choose” the minnow; only take “volunteers.” And, if you are fishing with me, never, never say, “just one more.”
Some things are just not worth the risk.
You Might Also Like
Andy Whitcomb
Andy is an outdoor writer (http://www.justkeepreeling.com/) and stressed-out Dad has contributed over 380 blogs to takemefishing.org since 2011. Born in Florida, but raised on banks of Oklahoma farm ponds, he now chases pike, smallmouth bass, and steelhead in Pennsylvania. After earning a B.S. in Zoology from OSU, he worked in fish hatcheries and as a fisheries research technician at OSU, Iowa State, and Michigan State.