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#1 ·
Angler's Math

by Gene Trump



For the longest time I thought I'd offended some great fishing god. It seemed no matter how hard I tried, I was never able to catch as many or as large of fish as did my fellow fly anglers. Even if I was fishing with these very same fellows and could bear witness to each and every fish they did or didn't catch -- they still caught more and larger trout than I had observed. At least that's how I heard them relate the story to others. This was very perplexing. I thought my eyesight must be fading or my ability to judge size was out of whack. I couldn't believe my fellow flyfishers would sink so low as to actually stretch the truth. Then I discovered my mistake.

They were simply making use of Angler's Math.

This is how it works: If you manage to catch anything, ANYTHING, be it a sculpin, a snake, a log or the bottom of the river; this is computed out as "Yeah, I hooked a few". If you actually catch a fish of some size or species, this figures as "Fishing was good". If you hook but lose at least one legal-sized gamefish you can add "It was really good". To actually catch and land two or three legal-sized gamefish is calculated as "Fishing has never been so good. Best ever. It was too easy".

Angler's Math is also used to figure size:

If you catch a fish eight-inches long, this computes to ten-inches. If the fish is actually twelve-inches long, Angler's Math allows it to grow to fifteen-inches. If by some quirk of fate you actually do catch a fifteen-inch fish -- you can now measure the fish in pounds, starting at five pounds and multiplying 1/2 pound each time the story is told.

So, if you are aware of Angler's Math you can put things in proper perspective. Remember, the species of the fish caught is also part of the formula when using A.M,. By using the standard Angler's Math deviation, 5 bluegill, 2 crappie, 1 squawfish, 1 salamander and 1 popbottle equals a report of 13 "nice-sized" bass landed at the pond.

If you're not currently using Angler's Math -- you're missing out on a lot of great fishing.
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#2 ·
I saw that math in use back 30 years or so ago. I moved into a new neighborhood and the one neighbor was from Montana. He kept telling trout stories and said he "didn't keep anything under a foot". We went fishing one time and he caught a nice trout about 10 1/2 inches long. I scooped it up in the net, unhooked it and dumped it out. I got the nastiest look from him and then realized what his "foot" was.
 
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