Fishing Rituals, Let’s Hear Them

I started to think about the ritual my dad had on our way to our favorite lake to fish. We had to stop at a Holiday gas station in the morning for gas and a cup of coffee (English Toffee for me). On our way back home it was a stop at DQ for a Buster Bar. Even though my dad passed away 20 years ago, I continue this ritual today.

How about fellow IDO fisher’s. What are your rituals?

I’ll sometimes do the DQ thing on the way home. Quite often me and whoever is fishing with me have a friendly wager that the loser has to buy.

Regular fishing not so much but cat fishing, I get my rig out in the water and wait about 10 minutes. Then decide its time to have my breakfast or a snack and a smoke. That time of getting settled in and comfortable with your hands full seems to trigger the strike so I make sure to take my time and do it every time.

My parents never fished nor hunted. So once in a great while they would take me to a local river or dam.
Now days the kid and I wake up, stop at kwik trip or holiday for fuel and coffee and snacks and then on the way home he usually wants some kind of ice cream weather it’s dq or a gas stations.
Not long ago him and I went out hunting in the morning and skipped the coffee stop and he said it wasn’t the same with out getting his hot chocolate in the morning.

Used to be superstitious when I muskie fished a lot. Like always had to have a banana in the boat and would keep wearing the same “lucky” hat or shirt after a good day. Went on a span wearing the same waldo shirt for about 2 weeks straight at one point – couldn’t break the streak.

A buddy always matched his shirt to the sky color. Blue shirt for clear skies, gray for overcast, and black for night fishing. Yes he had all 3 with and would switch them out

My favorite is when we are up to our cabins. Everyone seems to like eating later in the evening except for me. Before 7pm, I’m in the truck pulling out the driveway with everyone looking at me like they are the starved dogs in an ASPCA. Amazing they still haven’t figured out how to cook for themselves over an open fire and wait on me…..

Mine seems to be a visit to Thorne Bros or Joes to replace the lures bit off my previous trip.

My ritual is get up about 9am work nights hurry to shed hook up boat to truck. Pull out of shed. Wait in truck for 10 minutes. Get out and start rechecking line on rods. Sit back in truck wait another 10 minutes. Get back out and start to recheck tie downs bow strap. Sit back in truck wait another 10 minutes get out of truck go to house. Wife needs to put on lotion put clothes in the dryer. Do the checkbook wrap a present then may be ready in 10 minutes. Sit in truck for 30 minutes wife comes down. Finally get to lake its around 11am at this time “boy the bass just aren’t hitting very good” Could it be we should have been here earlier? Some questions in life will never be answered but I love every minute fishing with my wife. This happens every weekend for 3 days straight.