One of the things that us bassin folks don’t talk about often but is an essential part of our preparation for any fishing trip is our various superstitions. I have yet to meet an angler that doesn’t use something that they consider good luck that is always consistent no matter the time of year, the target species or whatever other factor may change and these items are usually considered irreplaceable unlike every other tool that we use. For me, the most unchanging part of my equipment over the past fifteen years has been my lucky hat. When I first started fishing I bought a brand new hat and it has been with me on every fishing trip since then. I rarely wore it for any other purpose than to fish, but as all good things must come to an end, it too, after fifteen years, was more than on its last leg, it was definitely five out of six feet under. I have been putting up with the jokes about my hat for at least the last five years and in that time have had to make several “fixes” to that cap to keep it limping along,able to stay on my head, until now.
After having endured all the jokes from my family including my sons, darling daughters and my lovely wife and having made every excuse in the book for not replacing my hat, I was put in a position this Father’s Day in which my lucky fishing hat was discharged, with the highest honors, and finally replaced by one that actually had a shape, no funny looking sweat lines and above all else, didn’t need to be lysol’ed every week to keep it from attracting to many bugs. We had gone to Bass Pro Shops so that I could pick up some new lures and give the kids a chance to see the store and run around it looking at all the attractions they have when my wife spotted a hat that she thought would do the job as a new fishing hat for me. After listening to all of the soft prodding from my darling bride and of course all of the coercion from my daughters, I gave in as they graciously insisted on paying for the new chapeaux to replace what had become an ongoing family joke.
They got me a new redhead light felt full brimmed hat. I have, as with my previous lid, taken it with me on every fishing trip since they gave it to me and it has replaced my beloved old fishing hat. While not the same as a baseball cap, it has definite advantages over the old hat. Because it’s full brimmed, it provides more shade to my eyes and enhances the ability of my sunglasses to peer through the water and see more of what’s going on underneath. It also gives me a lot more shade on the back of my neck and provides some welcome relief for those summer sunburns while on the water. Furthermore, it seems to be cooler over the course of the day than my previous number one for fishing.
Now I have some other idiosyncrasies like wearing clothes that blend into the background of the shore since I am shore bound and don’t want to give the fish any more clues to my presence than is absolutely necessary when attempting to catch them. But all of them are fluid and have been changed many, many times over the years unlike my “lucky fishing hat”. But I have to say that I am extremely happy for all the gentle and sometimes otherwise prodding to replace that old gray mare. I am also more than positive that just like the cap that this one replaced, my new hat will be by far the most consistent piece of my fishing equipment for the next decade or two. Here’s to an anglers superstitions and our bonds to our favorite tertiary fishing equipment.
It’s hard to have a bad evening out on the bay. There is something about fishing that without a doubt makes me smile. Keep up the great work.