01: Training

Between The Lines - Ch 08: Training

Tasks such as spooling line, tying doubles, sharpening hooks, rigging gear etc, are traditionally prepared onshore and rarely done while fishing - except in an emergency. This is an accepted practice and to most people preparation is almost a religious act full of expectation of connecting with a jumping, head-shaking monster. It can be an all-consuming passion that takes up many more hours than will ever be spent fishing.

There are a few more things you can do to prepare yourself for such action. Unlike most of the things you do on shore that are rarely done out on a day’s fishing, these involve preparing, or rather training in the tasks that you expect to do at sea, especially when hunting, finding and ultimately fighting fish. These exercises also involve testing things to see what the items, the team’s and your own capabilities are.

Fortunately, things have improved over the years. In the past, big game anglers had to work out at the gym to build the strength and stamina necessary to not only fight the fish but the cumbersome gear itself. With the help of modern equipment, boats and techniques, even small children have a good chance of landing very large fish with relative ease or at least have lots of fun and satisfaction on small fish.

Certainly, the technique has a great deal to do with the ease and success in fighting fish. The great thing about technology is that much of it can be learnt on shore rather than learning it over countless days and seasons at sea. This is preferable to waiting for the opportunity to train on a hooked-up fish which without the right training, can result in losing many of these hard to find, hard to hook and hard to fight fish.

The following pages involve training exercises that will prepare you for most encounters. These exercises include training on land and on a boat. It is very important that these exercises are done in the sequences in which they appear. It is also important that you don’t just do the exercises once or twice, but rise to a level of competence so that your actions and reactions become second nature.