Goals

[Loren Williams]

I am goal-oriented.  I know the guys in Poland are too.  So, how do you evaluate your performance?

I lament a good deal because I do not have easy access to fishing buddies who compete--so I am never really sure where I stand.  I get scared of growing stale.  I am picky who I fish with because I am not interested in competing when I fish with a buddy--nor am I interested in performing for someone.  I am always driven to learn. 

At home when I train I train specifics.  Numbers are not really what I am after, instead I try to grow my weaknesses and polish my strengths.  I look at my skill set as a bell curve that I am trying to both make a horizontal line, and elevate the line at the same time.  Right now I am working hard on the following:

1.  Finding the launch point for aerializing fish to my net.  I really feel lost fish hurts more anglers than lack of fish hooked.  There is a "spot" you need to get the fish to then launch them...too far away and they hit the water and get off--too close and you fling them past you and they get off.  The more I work with this the more I want to go back and rehash some old competitions where it really mattered!  UGH!  The longer the fish is in the water the greater the chance it will get off.
2. Floating lines on stillwaters.  It will be how you catch on the worst conditions (dead flat calms), and often on the best (fish are up on a nice breeze).  Fishing a still water with zero confidence absolutely sucks!  I want to feel comfy no matter the conditions and full knowledge of a floating line is my monkey wrench.  Most guys want to pull flies but in lakes a very slow or static presentation rocks!
3. shallow frog water.  Who like this stuff?  But--you will get a beat that is shin deep and hardly moving.  There are fish there and they can be caught.
4. streamers for small fish .  It's a different concept but can be really effective.  Little things matter.
5. Single flies.  There are many times when multiple flies are more of a detriment than an advantage-at least that is what I am finding.

During a competition I operate under the following targets:

1.  Top third of my group for each session.  Again, you will rarely win each session (I scored perfect once in 2007 as did Lance this past year) but I feel if you finish in the top 30% for each session you will medal and you will put your team in a podium position.
2. Fish my beats the best of all 4 or 5 anglers that will fish the beats I have drawn.  We will not always draw a winning beat but if we attack what we have it will pay off.  So, even if I come in 4th in my group on a session, if I fish that beat the best after all is said and done I feel pretty good.
3. No excuses.  Sometimes I just fail to perform well.  A weakness has been identified and I attack that in training.  I refuse to play the blame game any more.  I did that once and it backfired and I learned a hard lesson.   
4. Enjoy the moment.  There are great guys on your bus!

[Mark Hanes]

Loren good topic and I will need to think about it more and add my thoughts.  Being new to competitive fly fishing I don't have nearly the knowledge to add that you do but I will see what I can come up with.

One thing I really want to work on myself is being more effective and helping share what I am doing on the stream with my team mates.  I struggle with this.  It is hard to figure out the small differences in my approach and tactics that might mean the difference of a few extra fish caught.  This goes both ways and I am also trying to figure out what questions to ask my team mates then they are the ones really into fish.  The goal is simple communication.  Any suggestions on this Loren?  With your youth team coaching experience I am guessing this is one of your strong suits.

[Todd Oishi]

Excellent post and a great insight into your thought process Loren! Thanks for sharing it so openly!

I would like to add a small part of my philosophy, which I say to myself during any given competition:

In competition, "luck of the draw" will ultimately determine your beat and its potential for holding the greatest number of fish, but a true champion is the individual who is able to look beyond this fact and instead focuses on hooking and landing each and every fish that resides within their beat...

[Loren Williams]

Mark, for me it is simple:

If I offer someone info and he beats me with it then that person is a better angler and deserves to finish ahead of me. Ultimately it will make the World Championship team the strongest possible. 

What makes all of this so much fun is the learning process.  I think all information is valuable...the really excellent anglers will take note of the most subtle benign things like rod angles, lens colors and finger placement.  Guys who are struggling or really new worry more about fly choice and leader formulas. I feel this relates to confidence.  Confident anglers are always looking at ways to grow...anglers who lack confidence seem to be trying to just stay in the game.

My advice is to ask, ask, ask....and ask the "why" part of questions.  That is where the meat is.  If I cannot answer "why" then it forces me to evaluate what I am doing.  If I can answer "why" then I have a standard with which I can evaluate further.

Loren good topic and I will need to think about it more and add my thoughts.  Being new to competitive fly fishing I don't have nearly the knowledge to add that you do but I will see what I can come up with.

One thing I really want to work on myself is being more effective and helping share what I am doing on the stream with my team mates.  I struggle with this.  It is hard to figure out the small differences in my approach and tactics that might mean the difference of a few extra fish caught.  This goes both ways and I am also trying to figure out what questions to ask my team mates then they are the ones really into fish.  The goal is simple communication.  Any suggestions on this Loren?  With your youth team coaching experience I am guessing this is one of your strong suits.

[Mike Wisniewski]

Even though I am not a competitive angler, I hope that you do not mind if I share my goals which have very little to do with the number of fish I catch.

1.   Fish a variety of waters, especially new waters that take me out of my comfort zone.

2.    100 % of time be in contact with the fly as soon as it hits the water and be ready to set the hook.

3.    Try to look at a stream as a series of connected sections and formulate a strategy to fish those sections as a whole.

4.    Slow down and breathe

Mike

[Loren Williams]

You kidding!  I love to hear your thoughts.  You, my friend, "get it."  In my opinion that is the highest compliment I can give.

Even though I am not a competitive angler, I hope that you do not mind if I share my goals which have very little to do with the number of fish I catch.

1.   Fish a variety of waters, especially new waters that take me out of my comfort zone.

2.    100 % of time be in contact with the fly as soon as it hits the water and be ready to set the hook.

3.    Try to look at a stream as a series of connected sections and formulate a strategy to fish those sections as a whole.

4.    Slow down and breathe

Mike

[Dejon Hamann]

I love this thread.  Like to take a little time to reply.

Just got in from fishing the J all day.  Leaky waders and 85degree muggy rainy weather have me walking like a well ridden harlot, but damn there's nothing like predictable nearly wild trout! 

[Dave Haines]

My goal every time I go out is to take something away from the outing that will make me a better angler and tier. I really try to be as observant of every thing going on, the bugs, the fishes reaction, etc... If I am with someone with more experience ( The mini comp on the Clarion a couple of weeks ago ), I try to listen more than I talk. That way I can learn. If I can take just one thing away from each experience than the time spent was priceless. This whole game is a constant learning experience. I think that is why I like it so much.

[Frank Muscente]

I'm in the same boat as Mike as far as not being a competitive angler at this time. My goals are:

To keep challenging myself.

To become consistant in making the best presentations possible.

To spend more time reading the water and disecting each section.

To fish as many different places as possible.

Learn how to streamer fish

At the end of the day to appreciate what I have been given, and not get caught up in the numbers game.

[Rich Strolis]

My goal is to continue to get on the water as frequently as possible and forget about everything else that's been going on in life, and really appreciating the moment.   Trying to continually not take it all for granted.

[Chris Topmiller]

Even though I am not a competitive angler, I hope that you do not mind if I share my goals which have very little to do with the number of fish I catch.

1.   Fish a variety of waters, especially new waters that take me out of my comfort zone.

2.    100 % of time be in contact with the fly as soon as it hits the water and be ready to set the hook.

Amen to these two.   especially #2.  I'm getting there.

My current goal is to fish the long leader effectively with light nymphs in the wind.   Its a struggle.

I'm moving away from an emphasis on patterns and trying to focus on strike detection.   

[Aaron Laing]

All laudable goals.

Mine include some of the above plus:

1. Learn to set up a good drift
2. Learn to properly use a sighter (I was self taught and had an idiot for a teacher)
3. Get in shape
4. Finish top 50% in the Canadian Nationals... consistently .

Aaron

[Dejon Hamann]

Some of my major goals:

1. Find that next "eye opener" on rivers.  I feel like I've seen it all: leader permutations, fly designs, indicators, etc, etc.  Fine tuning the usual things like endurance, strike detection, netting excellence are ongoing, but I keep wondering where that next "curly indicator" or "pop fly" aha! revelation will seep into my game.  My worry is constantly: what are the guys at Worlds doing/using that I'm not?

2. Get comfortable on lakes.  I find I know what to expect on rivers.  I've opened the door on lakes, but I want to roll up to a stillwater and feel as comfortable as I do analyzing a stretch of river.

3. Pulling fish in blown water.  Some guys seem to have a knack for it and they're not just throwing big huge bright streamers.  Where do those fish go, they keep feeding, how do I get them?  What about the ones rising in pure chocolate water?

And next two I echo from Loren.
4. Frog water.  Whether it's shin deep or over your head. How do I consistently nail fish in water that has almost no speed?  The kind of water that merely ripples if you look at it wrong.  Many of those fish are selective or dormant, but I know they can be caught.

5. Everyday streamers. Not just for blown rivers but when are fishing streamers more effective then nymphing, dry/dropper, etc?  And furthermore how do I accomplish this well with one rod/leader in hand.

6. Place in the top 10 at every single sanctioned competition in 2011.  Hey, you said goals. Not realities. Don't tell my wife that one she might cut up my credit cards and lock me out of the house

Above all I just want to fish as much as possible and have as much fun as possible doing it!

[Loren Williams]

I caught way more 7"-10" trout on streamers today than I did with nymphs.  Made some amazing observations today

[Mark Hanes]

I am really thinking we need a thread on streamer tactics. I know I have been catching a lot of fish on streamers myself the last year or two that I would not have thought would take streamers.  There are a very under used fishing tool.

[Mike Norton]

make the time on water most efficient
Always watching, listening and learning and helping
and for me Always  have FUN , dont let it get to you. Yeah we all have our ups& downs out there but if your not having fun then is it worth it..IMHO

[Anita Coulton]

I'm a goal setter as well, since as long as I can remember.  Coming from a competitive athletic background, I've been known to set some rediculous goals and go after them.  I see great value not only in the achievement, but also in the pursuit of any worthwhile goal.  As far as fishing goes for me, my time is limited due to family/children demands.  The time I get to spend in the water is extremely limited.  My current goals and areas of focus are these...

1. Fishing with dry/dropper and streamers, and be willing to try different techniques.

2. Fishing water flowing left to right which is a weakness.

3. Thinking "out of the box", and considering all options prior to entering the water.