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Tag Archives: tournament fishing

Fish Psych 101: Reflections on a Hot Streak (part II)

05 Friday May 2023

Posted by Henry Veggian in Essays, Kayak Fishing Posts

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

confidence in fishing, kayak fishing, Largemouth Bass, psychology of fishing, sports psychology, tournament fishing, tournament kayak fishing

Overview

During the darkest hour of the recent pandemic, I started reading articles about sports psychology. It began with an article on the BBC news website about a phenomenon known as “Quiet Eye” that can be identified in certain elite athletes (I’ll have more to say about that in another post). It continued from there through sports journalism, scientific studies and science writing in various media. In short, I started to wonder how current research and concepts might apply to tournament fishing.

For example, I started asking questions about what’s happening in my body when I am fishing. How is physical exhaustion related to mental fatigue? What are my eyeballs doing in relation to what my hands are doing? Can I identify patterns of movement and thought – decisions I make – from my body language and movements in the countless hours of video I record? What is my brain doing? I began noticing things, and I started writing them up.

This second installment in my “Fish Psych 101” series is actually a sequel to the first article I wrote on the topic, which I posted last season.  In that article, I began asking questions about how types of brain activity might correlate with results in tournament fishing.

Here, I dive into the recent tournaments since that streak in late 2022, waters I fished, and my general mindset. I may be starting to elaborate a theory about “confidence” that goes against the grain of what I hear in most conversations about tournament fishing. What I know for certain is that something dramatic has changed in how I approach the water, mentally speaking.

As before, I am elaborating basic concepts and attempting to summon questions more than I am deciphering answers. At times, I feel like the sorcerer’s apprentice in Goethe’s poem, and I can’t quite figure out how to control the spell. Nonetheless, I make the cast.

Continue reading →

Fish Psych 101: Reflections on a Hot Streak (I)

11 Sunday Sep 2022

Posted by Henry Veggian in Kayak Fishing Posts

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

(sports psychology fishing, Hot Streak, kayak fishing, tournament fishing

Overview

During the darkest hour of the recent pandemic, I started reading articles about sports psychology. It began with an article on the BBC news website about a phenomenon known as “Quiet Eye” that can be identified in certain elite athletes, but also in mediocre athletes who suddenly go on a “streak” (I’ll have more to say about that in another post). My interest in that article led me to more sources: sports journalism, scientific studies and science writing in various media. In short, I started to wonder how contemporary writings about sports psychology might apply to tournament kayak fishing.

I started asking questions about what’s happening in my body when I am fishing. How is physical exhaustion relation to mental fatigue? What are my eyeballs doing in relation to what my hands are doing? Can I identify patterns of movement and thought – decisions I make – from the countless hours of video I record? What is my brain doing? I began noticing things, and I started writing them up.

This first installment uses a recent run of good results as a starting point to explore some of those questions.  Maybe I’m jinxing myself by reflecting on it during the hot streak, but I’m not superstitious (unless it’s my football team). I’m also trying to figure out how it happened after a major surgery that seems to have cleared my mind as my body healed. It seemed counter-intuitive: wouldn’t my recovery impede strong performances. Or did the extended period of trauma and recovery do something that helped me succeed on the water?

I’ll introduce some terminology and basic concepts, then proceed to results and speculation. I have no preconceived notions; like stars in the night sky, curiosity and experience guide me.

Continue reading →

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RSS Welcome to Bowfin Country

  • Fish Psych 101: Reflections on a Hot Streak (part II)
  • Learning the Water: Kayak Tournament Fishing in Falls Lake
  • Jackson Kayak Blog Posts 2022
  • Jackson Kayak Blog Posts 2021
  • Jackson Kayak Blog Posts 2020
  • Fish Psych 101: Reflections on a Hot Streak (I)
  • The Extraordinary Complexity of a Fishing Life: A Review of Janet Messineo’s Casting into the Light (2019)
  • Kayak Fishing: Wading, Portaging and Fishing in Fast Water
  • Form and Void: A Review of the Wilderness Systems Kayak Krate
  • Kayak Fishing in Carolina Country Magazine

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