Knowing when to quit

When does blind optimism turn into an utter waste of time?

Fishos are eternal optimists - we have to be. The reality of the sport is that we invest time, effort and significant amounts of hard earned dollars to chase a few fish. If I've fuelled the boat, spent money on new tackle and have compromised a good night's sleep to wake up at 3am, the likelihood of heading home after a couple of fishless hours is low - I'll usually stick it out, try a few different things and try to save face.

But when is it actually better to concede defeat, give up and head home early?

A couple of weeks back I went out for a blackfish session in the Parramatta River. At this time of year the blackfish start heading downstream so a betting person would be fishing the lower reaches rather than upstream like me. Even though the odds were against the fish being in the river, I figured I only wanted to go for a "quick fish" and with the river down the road I could easily hit it for an hour or so without having to drive across town through the city.

Three hours later I'd used a bucket of berley and had not a single "down'. I was stubborn and overly optimistic, ever hopeful the fish would turn up. There was ample tidal flow, my presentation seemed fine, the bait was fresh and I had berley gathered from the spot.

Reflecting on that trip I now believe an irrational thought process invoked by blind optimism had clouded the early signs of a fishless trip.
After an hour on a good tide and some modest berleying for several unsuccessful drifts I should have given up. Sure, the fish may have come on the bite at some stage later but waiting for that "may have" moment is the crux of my dilemma. I'm not talking about being out there just for fun, but making a decision to stay or go independent of emotional considerations.

A rational thought process would have recognised that the first hour I fished was likely to be the most productive at that spot. As time progressed the probability of catching fish decreased. To top things off, I actually became bored and started losing focus after an hour, poking around for fresh and different weed, swapping floats and even calling mates on the phone to see what they were up to.

Either of those signals should have invoked a rational thought process that would ultimately have led to me going home after that first hour, and I would have saved two hours of my weekend.

Jewie fishermen are another prime example of fishos that don't always know when to give up. While some people will stay out all night to catch a jewie, my jewie sessions now only coincide with tidal events. Sure you're chances increase with hours spent on the water but the fish caught per hour on average is likely to be lower if you take the all nighter option rather than around tide changes.

Don't get me wrong, I love getting out on the water but sometimes it actually makes perfect sense to give up and go home.

So how about you? Are you a never say die warrior or a short session only fisho?