True or false? The 5% - 90% theory about who catches how much

[Timbaux65]

Dude who spoke a little Cajun came over by me today before i shoved off on my disappointing trip at the spillway. i can understand if they are cajun or speak Y'at like those of us from New Orleans. Had a little trouble, being deaf and all, but we got thru it.

 

We were talking about City Park. One of the guys here on the forum is a very successful city park fisherman and has shown pics...the dude can fish. I cant remember his name but he is a big guy, very good man.

 

Anyway, if you go down Marconi Drive, where Bayou St John runs thru, they got people talking about catching four and five pound bass, monstrous bluegills, and sacalait.

 

So many have gone there and come back with nothing. Interesting that one man who is pretty good as a freshwater fisherman went down there with small crawfish , whcih we were told is the best bait, and caught nothing at all.

 

The cajun dude was telling me, "5 % of the people catch 90% of the fish".

 

In freshwater, and especially when you talking about bass and sacalait, that might be true. Bluegill arent as hard to catch (the most fun, far and away in my opinion), but when you talking about bass and sacalait, there are a few guys catching most of the fish.

 

I think sometimes we get lucky. I think sometimes the best fishermen get lucky too.

 

It was Mario Andretti who made the comment that , in auto racing, its 10% the car, and 90% the driver.

 

I dont know what applies to fishing,,if its us, or the fish, or what, but I would say that, when things get really slow, you will have a few guys catching most of the fish.

 

what yall think?

[Leo Nguyen]

If you average it out, it's not 5% of the people catch 90% of the fish. More like average of 2% of the people hammered 99% of the fish. The other 98% of the people got the remaining 2%. Make sense in any way?

[Timbaux65]

yes it does. Bill Dance one wrote in a book, "10% of the fishermen catch 90% of the fish". With the fish populations being down, i think that percentage is probably closer to what you have come up with.

 

Me and the guy i talked with were discussing about boats. He has a similar set up. A 12 foot flat with a 9.9. Mercury outboard. I got the little 1.75 but that makes no difference, really. i know where the fish are at the spillway.

 

I am not even a drift fisherman. I like to plant and work an area. These guys are zooming by with their trolling motors, and though they cover more ground, they miss a lot more, too.

In cases like at City Park, very few people fish in a boat down bayou st john. Most have no idea what to do. I saw a guy out there in a canoe with a fly rod, but that was during summer time.

 

People have to familiarize with an area, at least thats how I am. I need to spend time and study, trial and error, etc.

[John Sheehan]

Knowing a lake well with many fishing jaunts in the boat with friends ,brothers,nephews ,the wife and alone, has kept me from being disinterested in fishing .Long as I catch I'm interested! I love catching, photographing,releasing, posting here  and talking results and experiences .Thanks Timbaux65!

 

[Derrick Bustle]

Makes sense. My friends would say im the 5%. We all can fish the same lures yet im the only one who catches bass. Generally i catch the biggest and the most in an outing..

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

 I believe it's true to an extent and here is my belief........I personally don't believe that many people target big bluegill as some of the members on this site do........I fish many areas and I fish repeatedly in some locations but one thing in my area is the fact that very few people fish for bluegill.....I'm not talking about the random guy that has the boat and it gets out three times a year, Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor day......I'm not talking about the casual fisherman that might go once or twice a month but stays home when its cold and doesn't go long when it's hot.......I'm talking about people that fish at least once a week or more often in my case.....I'm told by the people that know me and people that don't..."You got to go with Jeff if you want to catch fish, he ALWAYS catches fish" (not true).....Fact is, I catch  a lot of gills but not always....I catch big gills, but not always....I just have a passion and the belief that no two bluegill trips are the same, I always believe the next trip will be better than the last....So that being said, I believe I target Bluegill and fish more than anyone else locally which means I catch most of the fish..(maybe) But I also believe if I were to introduce the FEATURED Members of this site and OTHERS to the very same locations I fish, they would be successful because of their knowledge, skills and abilities when it comes to Bluegill fishing......that's why there is so much to learn here...It's and interesting discussion  to say the least.......Just one opinion.....

[Leo Nguyen]

Jeff, that's me falling under the once every 2 weeks category, which tossed me to the 98% of the anglers. Unless you fish actively every few days, which place you into the 2%, or the 5%, you guys are the one that harvest 90% to the 99% of the fishes. Of course, this don't count for those who toss nets into the water. This focus mainly on rods and poles.

[Derrick Bustle]

I try to fish everyday. and the best part is my girlfriend is wanting to go just as bad. so i never hear  anything about fishing to much

[Leo Nguyen]

Remember, unlike guys, we don't change as much (may be 3% or less) after marriage. Girls' behaviors and opinions change drastically after the ball-and-chain establishment. However, enjoy as much as you can now..it may not be the same later ;-)

[Derrick Bustle]

oh no..The first thing i tell them is if you mess with my fishing..Your out the door..She knows..i wont allow that..Plus shes the only one ive ever been with that i think may be almost as addicted.she drags me out fishing

[Leo Nguyen]

I bow down to you, master of the angling art. I'm more impressed with her actually, to take that proposal face on without flinching. WOW! You may have caught a golden fish.

[Derrick Bustle]

yeah she thinks so..lol..she is right here with me..she knows..I told her about it right away and we still got together..she loves it now that i got her using lures and not live bait.

[Leo Nguyen]

Err..she's reading the posting heh? Hi there....

 

But live baits are the essential survival part of the fish. At least reward them after the catch. That's why I do my best to reward them after a catch, even with lures/cranks/spinners/spoons/swimbaits. Always a reward at the end, since they burn quite a bit of energy trying to get away, then follow-up with recovery.

 

If she doesn't like live baits, why not by with the resin for holding onto the live baits, if she doesn't like handling them. It's in the forum portion. Federico, myself, and a few others have tested out in the field. Work pretty good. The only pain is during cold days, you have to use a lighter to warm up the resin so you can stick more onto the existing glob on the hook. It's also pretty sticky if you get some on you.