The Adaptive Angler
CONTENTS
FOREWORD
PREFACE VI
Part One: INTRODUCTION 01
Designing the Ultimate Adaptive Angler 02
What is an Adaptive Angler? 02
Fishing and the Human Adaptation Process 03
The World’s First Benevolent Fish Predator * The Forgotten Side of the Fishing Coin * Fishing through a Learning Lens * The Adaptive Fishing Journey * On Being Your Adaptive Fishing Guide.
Part Two: THE ADAPTATION STORY 14
Origins of Adaptation * Nature’s Blueprint: How Life Competes * Nature’s Architect: “Form Follows Function” * Adaptive Ability: It is more than Survival * Nature’s Custom-Fit: Becoming One with the Quarry * Adapting to Change * The Blue Walleye Story.
Part Three: SCIENCE in ADAPTIVE FISHING 27
Nature’s Remarkable Fishing Machine 27
Intro to Science in Adaptive Fishing * Science vs Hype * Tuning the Fishing Brain Unit (FBU) * Scientific Limitations * Emergence: Simple Fishing Solutions in a Complex World.
Part Four: HOW ADAPTIVE FISHING WORKS 36
Cycle of Change, Uncertainty and Adjustment to New Conditions 36
Fishing IQ: Your Fishing Abilities Quotient * Finding the Adaptive Fishing “Groove” or “Fit” * Technology and Adaptive Fit.
Part Five: THE UNCERTAIN NATURE of FISHING 46
Our Sketchy Relationship with Fish * Getting to Know Your Favorite Fish.
Tracking External Uncertainties in Fishing 49
How to Find Fish.
Fish Decisions: The Uncertain Bite 54
Rattles Tattle and Hummers Betray * The Off, On and Dimmer Bite Switch * Two Extreme Examples of Bite Reluctance * No Light Line Panacea for Finicky Fish.
Choosing Presentation Modes 63
Reaction Bites * Reaction Strikes, Hesitancy and Hang Time *
The Finesse Option.
Fish Hunger: People and Fish are Different 70
Feast or Famine? * Hank Bites at Night * What are the Take Home lessons?
Reducing Complexity in Fishing: What Fish Know Matters 77
New Ways to Learn about Nature and Fishing * Simple Origins.
The Uncertainty Principle: Have Fish Figured Us Out? 81
Evidence supports Observer Effects in Fishing * Up Next: Biology and Better Fishing Decisions.
Biological Influences on Fishing 87
Secrets of Great Fishing Locations * Food Web Concepts to Fishing Patterns * Influences on Numbers and Size of Fish * Fishing Boom or Bust * Prospects of Good Fishing.
Non-Biological Influences on Fishing 99
Fishing Weather Basics: What You Need to Know * Ectoderm or Endoderm? Two Lifestyle Choices in Nature * Barometric Squeeze: How Fish Deal with Pressure * The Farmer’s Guide to Good Fishing.
Big Picture Influences on Fishing: A Walleye Example 107
Adapting to the Game Changers: Water Levels and Clarity 116
Change Happens 119
Part Six: SORTING-OUT BITE CONTEXT with ADAPTIVE BIOLOGY 123
Context Triggers Deception 123
What Else will Part Six Cover? * More Bite Mysteries * Beware of Fall Fishing Illusions * Biting Biology: Base Fishing Tactics on the Inside Game * Take-Home Messages.
Fish Pushback: Learning to Avoid Fishhooks and Anglers 134
Vulnerability to Fishing * A Frozen Fish-Learning Lab.
The Uncertainty of Lure Choice 142
Mother Nature’s Tempting Creations * The Genealogy of Fishing Lures: Darwin’s Finches and Fishhooks* The Broom Handle Test.
Some Color on Lure Selection 150
Light Sensitivity and Lure Choice * Fishy Flash * Changes in Light Intensity * Managing Colors Adaptively * Adaptive Perspective on Fish Color and Behavior.
Sound, Vibration, Smell, Taste and Feel 164
Beyond Visual Sensory Options * Sensory Perception of Fish and Humans * Amazing Gear used by Fish for Non-Visual Sensory Perception * Sound and Vibration * Smell, Taste and Feel * Adaptive Fishing Deceptions in a Non-Visual Sensory World * Information Currents * The Prop-Wash Stimulus.
Outside-In Fishing: Let Fish Choose the Lure 179
Part Seven: THE HUMAN FACTOR 183
Mr. Red & White * The Way it Ought to Be * Preface to Part Seven: Human Barriers to Learning.
Learning to Fish 189
What are Learning and Memory? * A Community of Fishing Knowledge.
Fishing Goals, Objectives, and Personal Growth 193
Finding Your Concept of Fishing Success * Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needy Anglers * What’s in it for Me?
The Fishing Learning Curve 202
Changes in Behavior with Fishing Experience * Reinventing your Fishing Product * Fishing Turning Point: Advanced Personal Growth Insights.
Fishing Decisions 210
Decisions, Decisions: What Next? * Making Good Fishing Decisions * Who are We?
Human Learning: Judgement and Decision Making 215
Getting into the Mental Game * The Mystery of Hidden Fishing Savvy * A “Feel” for Fishing * Science, Decisions and Hidden Fishing Savvy * Recognition Primed Fishing Decisions.
Riff’s Illusions of Fishing Knowledge 225
Where to now?
Two Mind-Powered Fishing Systems 227
Get the Whole Story * The Art of Fishing Delusion and Personal Beliefs * Fishing Intuition and Expertise * Discerning Patterns through Practiced Intuition * Developing Fishing Skills: Identify Patterns and Practice in Different Locations.
Contagious Fishing Illusions: Infectious Baits for Unwary Anglers 236
Priming: Unseen Influence and Piscatorial Persuasion * The Fishing Story Illusion * Knowledge Traps * Fishing for Confidence * Fishing Mood Matters.
Luck, Small Numbers, and Fishing Reality or Illusion? 246
Fishing the Frontiers of Reality * The “One in Ten Rule” * Containing Fishing Illusions and Random Noise.
Numerical Redemption: The Upside of Small Numbers 253
In Fishing, one is Infinitely Better than None * Adaptive Take on the Risks of Small Numbers * Things Even-Out in Fishing.
Part Eight: PATTERN RECOGNITION: USING EXPERIENCE to PREDICT the FUTURE 259
What is Pattern Recognition? * Examples of Pattern Recognition in Animals * Pattern Recognition Theory * Evidence of How Brains Build Patterns.
Fishing with Adaptive Memory and a Stone-Age Mind Set 268
Pattern Fishing: The Ultimate Predatory Fishing Strategy 270
Learning a New Fishing Pattern: Application in the Field.
Situational Awareness: A Predatory Position of High Alert 272
Part Nine: CREATING FISHING KNOWLEDGE from INFORMATION 276
Finding Hidden Fishing Savvy in Three Easy Steps 276
STEP ONE: Fishing for Information 276
Information and Common Fishing Knowledge * Fishing Cloud Theory.
Beating the Odds: Creating Uncommon Fishing Knowledge 281
Connections to Hidden Fishing Savvy * Doing Better Numbers and Bigger Fish * Coping with Change in Fishing * Fishing the Frontiers of Uncommon Knowledge * The Power of Observation * The Note-Keeper.
STEP TWO: Using the Power of Science in Fishing 291 What is Science? * Critical Thoughts for Finicky Thinkers *
Thinking Technology for the Fishing Brain.
Scientific Method: The Fishing Version at a Glance 295
Seeking Fishing Explanations * Inductive Reasoning: Fishing for Clues * Refining the Fishing Question * Applying the Scientific Method to Fishing * A Competition of Ideas and Multiple Choice * Example: How to Use Questions to Solve Fishing Problems.
Experimental Design: How to Fish for Answers 300
Helpful Experimental Fishing Tools * The Power of Replication * Using Experimental Control Options: How to Verify Fishing Information * Breaking Down Water by Elimination.
STEP THREE: Genesis of the “Adaptive Fishing Model;” Mastering the Art of Better Guesses 307
Finding the Last Piece of Hidden Fishing Savvy * Practical Appli- cation: How to Make AFM Work on the Water * Identifying Assumptions * Assumptions and the Power of Local Circumstances * Fishing Test Results * Using Fishing Test Results to Distill Hidden Fishing Savvy
* Repetition: Brings the Fishing World into Focus * AFM Repetitions: How many are enough?
AFM: Alternative to Fishing by Trial and Error 325
Evaluating Outcomes in the Adaptive Fishing Model 326
Avoiding Two Classic Errors in Science and Fishing 327
Coping with Creeping Complexity in Fishing 329
Ferruled Wands: Angler Antennae for gathering Fishing Data 329
Part Ten: SKILL LEVELS in FISHING 331
Fishing Skill Level Model 332
Level 1: Novice * Level 2: Advanced Beginner * Level 3: Competent * Level 4: Proficient * Level 5: Expert * Level 6: Masters.
Part Eleven: ONE LAST CAST 341 Wisdom, Intuition, and Fishing Connections * How Far Can You
Rely on Intuition to Guide Your Fishing Decisions?
25 Adaptive Fishing Tips 345
The Ultimate Adaptive Angler 351
NOTES FOR CURIOUS ANGLERS 352
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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