What makes a good angler? It's this one quality, and Ty Hibbs has it in spades. Read on and discover what makes him so good at fishing.
Ty Hibbs Competes in Sweden
Before in this blog I've posed the question, "What makes an angler good?" When does one truly become good at fishing?
I don't think crushing a limit of speckled trout with live shrimp in November at your daddy's honey hole is it.
In November?
You better have caught that many speckled trout, because using live shrimp is the cheating-est way to do it, November is the easiest time of the year and your father found that spot, not you.
See, many of Louisiana's inshore anglers are duped into believing they are good at catching fish, though that has more to do with how good our fishing is, especially compared to other waters.
When do you become good at fishing?
When you can go into any body of water, that you've never been to before, and still manage to catch fish.
Louisiana's Heavy Hitter
Ty Hibbs is a professional angler possessing this quality.
He's fished everywhere and, if you were to meet him, you'd think he's a lot older than what he really is.
Get to know Ty Hibbs and you'll see he's mastered a wide range of skills, from flipping to pitching to fly fishing.
That and he's competed in local tournaments, landing in the money and even winning a few.
Ok, so that he's done those things is impressive, but what really dropped my jaw was his invitation to fish the Hobie Fishing World's Championship on Lake Vånern in Amål, Sweden.
Let this sink in:
Ty's first trip out-of-country...
....was to $*@#!&^ Sweden...
...to compete in an international championship...
...for fish he had never caught before.
It's mind-boggling to me because most inshore anglers couldn't catch redfish or trout if taken to another marsh (that's just like the one they came from).
What did Ty Hibbs have to catch?
Two pike and two yellow perch.
I know, it's kind of a weird format, but apparently that's how Swedes do it.
Now, I'm not an expert on fishing in Sweden, but I daresay that targeting and catching those fish is a whole other game.
How did Ty do?
After five days of fishing, he managed to land 14th out of 48 anglers.
See official results here.
That's 2 days of pre-fishing and 3 days of competition and, if you keep up with fishing tournaments, you know that landing 14th out of nearly 50 isn't bad.
I'd say that's pretty damn good, given that:
- he's never been to Sweden
- never caught a pike
- never fished those waters before
How is Ty Hibbs so good at fishing?
I think it's because of a lot of things: natural talent, time on water, angler's network, and more.
But, above all, I believe it's his passion for fishing.
That's it.
And, in my opinion, passion is where it begins.
Why do I say this?
Because it's what I've seen across the board, and not just in fishing.
I learned the Marines who graduated from Amphibious Reconnaissance School all had something in common: they really wanted to be Recon.
That passion fueled their willingness to never quit, to excel, to push the envelope, to eventually graduate.
You can learn more about this kind of passion, and how it can fuel your angling career, too.
I write all about it inside my "Angler Mindset" category and strongly suggest you read why I value this category of inshore knowledge above all else.
After all, Ty Hibbs does, and look how it has worked out for him.
Tight lines, y'all!
