Crowded

"It's too crowded"! "There were 15 boats on the river today"! "Man, I can't find any water to fish"! "Too many bank anglers"! This is what I hear day to day. Needless to say crowds are a part of fishing. For me, the biggest problem with crowded fishing conditions is the anglers who are complaining. It seemed that the more I listened to people complain, the more crowded it got, and the more I complained. Then, one day I decided to stop listening and stop complaining. I made a point to avoid those who complained. My goal was to start fishing again. Like I used to. An amazing thing happened once I started focusing on a good day of fishing rather than a crowded day of fishing. What happened is I found myself alone on some of the most popular stretches of the Trinity River. The fishing was good. Amazing what an attitude change can do. Then one day my newly found philosophy or paradigm was put to the test. I found myself on a stretch of the Trinity with 12 boats in front of me and countless anglers fishing from the bank. My guests had no idea what they might be in for. I could have described it as my worst nightmare. I was picturing rowing my boat downstream in a hurry to find some water to fish, only to end up at the take out early and without a fish, but I persisted that I would treat this day like any other and fish the river as if I was the one fishing. As we moved down river, people would seem to vanish. One angler said to me as I approached the run he occupied, "it's all yours"and he left. My guests caught 12 steelhead out of that run. By 4:00 PM my guests said they had caught enough and wanted to call it a day. Caught enough on the Trinity? Unbelievable! Patience and a positive mental attitude are your best flies on crowded days on any river. Instead of worrying about everyone else, just relax and at least have or provide a good experience. I guarantee that by the end of the day, everything will have worked out and you and your guests will have had a good day. No regrets!