Practice And You Can Cast Inaccuracies Aside

Posted: July 16th, 2014 by Bill Dance

Many a word has been spouted (and often with a good degree of accuracy) in regards to practice and how important it is toward improvement. And of course as with all old sayings, cliches, etc., you just have to know there simply would not be so many words floating around on a subject if many of them did not ring true.

For example a list of quotations on practice, that I found in a Google search includes:

• “You don’t know how much someone goes through to make it look so easy. It’s all in the practice.”
• “What a player does best, he should practice least. Practice is for problems.”
• “Practice is everything. This is often misquoted as practice makes perfect.”
• “The more I practice, the luckier I get.”
• “I figure practice puts your brains in your muscles.”

But even without the added quotations back the belief in the importance of practice, I would still think it is very important in everything we do and want to excel in–even when fishing. For example take one of fishing’s more simple and essential elements: the cast, or the way we get the lure to largemouths. It’s very important to be accurate.

And I know that practice can make you a better caster. Every competent bass fisherman I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and observing in a bass boat or on the bank have proved to be an extremely accurate caster. The majority of the time, the angler could place a lure exactly where they wanted it to land, time after time. And they also exhibit superb familiarity with the tackle they use, whether it was bait-casting, spinning, fly-fishing or spin-casting.

If you fish a little or a lot, you soon recognize that the ability to drop a lure on a precise spot will mean more fish and strikes on a consistent basis. Nothing destroys confidence faster than the frustrating tendency to hang a lure in a bush or let it fall short of the target.

Precision can make all the difference in the world, especially when fish are finicky or in those hard-to-reach areas.

Casting is a learned routine and anyone can perfect their accuracy by doing one thing and that is practice, practice and practice. Another old saying verifies: practice makes perfect. The best time to improve your accuracy is when you are on dry land. I think if you wait until you are fishing you will end up with a feeling you are wasting and/or not enjoying your time on the water. It is much better to simply set aside a few minutes each day and practice in your yard or at a nearby park or ball field.

When doing so, always select a target whenever you cast and try to put your lure on or close to the mark. Certainly, today’s market is filled with some reels that are really amazing when it comes to smoother casting. And remember all bait-casting is wrist action. The wrist plays an important part in it, just as it does in so many other sports, such as tennis, passing a football, bowling, ping pong, baseball and many others.

Casting is a learned routine and anyone can improve their control and accuracy with practice.

As a final cast, I will pitch you one last practice quotation to ponder. It is by a fellow named Billy Corgan, who reportedly said, “”If practice makes perfect, and no one’s perfect, then why practice?”

Ummm? That’s an amusing and interesting point to ponder, but I am only going to do so while chunking and winding somewhere. I am still betting practice makes you a better angler. Here’s to casts that make us all better at what we love to do–catch bass!

As always, catch one for me!