Wildside - Reconnaisance & New Adventures

Look, listen, be willing to try something new and stay fresh

© Zane Mirfin, Wildside Column, Look, listen, be willing to try something new and stay fresh, Nelson Mail, 11 April 2009

 

Another horizon:  Scott Mirfin enjoying a new outdoors experience in North Canterbury’s Wilberforce Valley.

Fishing and hunting are like sex – you’re only limited by your imagination... FISHING CLIENT

Fishing and hunting is supposed to be fun and exciting. But lately when out snapper fishing in my boat, the magic just wasn’t there for me. It wasn’t because we weren’t catching fish – it was because I hadn’t used my imagination.

Out twice this week, I took my brother-in-law from Melbourne and his eldest daughter, and then an old mate from varsity days.

My guests had a great time and thought the snapper fishing was epic, and it was good fun, but what I did wrong for myself was go back to the same old places where I had been successful in the past.

Catching fish had become routine and turned into a fish-harvesting exercise rather than a fun recreational sport.

I’ve always loved the excitement of visiting new locations and challenging myself in different conditions in the outdoors.

Exploring new places and learning new things is more than half the fun of hunting and fishing and will always make you a better outdoorsman.

Becoming a creature of habit and pounding the same locations doesn’t have much going for it, and running back to favourite spots time and time again is fraught, because ‘‘never-fail’’ locations will always let you down.

If you understand the habits and behaviour of the fish and game you seek, and know a range of locations under different weather, environmental and seasonal conditions, you will always be better placed long-term to be consistently successful.

Trying new places can take time, energy, and initially you may not do as well, but ultimately it will make you much more successful. Like an elderly American client once told me, ‘‘fishing and hunting are like sex – you’re only limited by your
imagination’’.

From the earliest times humans have been explorers. When hunting grounds became overcrowded or when lands became uninhabitable through natural disasters or warfare, they needed to find new locations to support them.

Our forebears endured abysmal conditions in the hope of a new and better life in New Zealand. We are lucky that they succeeded in their endeavours and that now all we have to do is concentrate on enjoying the egalitarian sporting paradise they created.

When it comes to trying new places for hunting and fishing, embrace change and learn to enjoy it.

Many outdoors individuals get stuck in a rut and keep going back to the same places and doing the same things. Often they complain that the hunting and fishing are no longer any good, but I think boredom and familiarity can destroy the experience. A little innovation and exploration can add wonders to your attitude, enjoyment and results.

One of my good mates describes the definition of insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

For about six or seven years, a group of mates and I would go on an annual fishing and exploration trip together each October. We fished areas such as Golden Bay, South Canterbury, Central Otago, South Westland, among others, and while we’ve had a recess for a couple of years while careers and family take precedence, I’m really looking forward to the next trip together which is written down as Southland.

My brother Scott and I have always enjoyed testing out some great new spots together over the years, whether it be a new kingfish spot, a new channel to set a flounder net, or a new bluff system to climb after a shaggy bull thar.

One day I particularly enjoyed was exploring the Wilberforce Valley in North Canterbury for brown and rainbow trout. It was a truly magical high-country day and something to cherish for years to come.

My last two decades or so as a fishing guide have been great for learning new areas and I’ve been fortunate to have been all over the South Island by foot, vehicle, jetboat, helicopter and raft, searching for the holy grail. I still haven’t found it – but I’m not giving up just yet.

Trying new places needn’t be a hazardous exercise and often minor variations in your approach can work wonders.

For example with trout fishing, I often try to fish a river from the least popular side, or approach a trout pool from an unorthodox angle or try fishing that same location at some unusual time of day.

Experimentation coupled with exploration can make you a more diverse, experienced, and successful outdoorsman. But most of all it’s fun and exciting, keeping you fresh and young.

As a professional fishing guide I try to dedicate time every day to trying something different – trying a new location, a new fly, a new technique, a different approach.

When it comes to learning new locations always listen to what other people have to say as well. ‘‘Big ears, small mouth’’ is what a West Coast friend likes to say.

You can learn a lot and create some wonderful outdoor opportunities for yourself by listening carefully, asking questions, and learning from the experiences of other people.

But at the end of the day, you’ll still have to get off your backside and do the hard work yourself, because there is no substitute for experiencing it first-hand.

As the world’s No 1 boy scout, the very late Lord Baden-Powell, wisely said, ‘‘time spent in reconnaissance is never wasted’’.

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