The Bobber Effect

The last time I had seriously fished, I was about 13 years old.  On a remote lake near Mount Hood, and I learned using a basic and simple setup: a traditional rod and reel, a bobber, a small weight, and floating PowerBait. It worked then, so when my wife and kids wanted to get into fishing recently, that was naturally the method I taught them.

Bobber. Weight. Bait.

That was how fishing worked—or at least, that was how I understood fishing to work.

I had seen people fish using only a weight and bait, allowing the line to sink closer to the bottom, but I had never tried it myself. It seemed unnecessarily risky. The weight could get caught between rocks. The hook could snag a branch. I could lose my tackle or break the lines.

A few weeks ago, my wife and I took our boys camping at the same remote lake where I had fished as a kid.  We were staying for three days and two nights, and I had hopes and dreams for the trip that the kids would have fun, want to go again and to hopefully catch some fish!

We came prepared.  Everyone had a fishing pole with the bobbers, weights, hooks, and more than enough bait. Then it was time to fish, and we set everything up exactly as I remembered doing it as a kid.

Bobber. Weight. Bait.

We fished the first evening and throughout the next day. We went out during the times that were supposed to be best. We moved around the lake and tried several different spots. Nothing happened; only one bite and to add insult to injury instead of having one bobber for each person, we were down to three for the entire family.

On the last morning, my wife and I were fishing on the shore with the lines bobbing quietly in the water and I heard one of my sons coming down the trail. He was talking with his aunt about wanting to fish but not having a bobber available.

As a dad, the decision was easy.  I quickly reeled in my line, pulled off my bobber, and handed it to him. As every parent can relate, it was far more important to me that he got to fish than it was for me to keep using the setup that made me comfortable.

I tied my hook and weight back onto the line and cast it into the lake without the bobber, and thought snags here I come; Expected and practically looking for trouble.

Instead, I felt a tug within 30 seconds.

Was it a snag—or a bite?  I reeled the line in and found that half the bait was gone. I added fresh bait and cast back toward the same spot.

Within a minute, I had a fish on the line!

It fought me all the way back to shore and I had caught a 13-inch rainbow trout.  I then encouraged my wife to try the same thing herself- “Take off the bobber and cast right over there.” Within three minutes, she had a fish on her line.

After we got both fish situated near the shore, I cast my line out again and handed the rod to one of my boys.

Then he caught a fish too (HIS FIRST FISH! – Proud Dad moment here)

We went back to camp and made a breakfast of eggs, bacon, and fresh trout. Later that morning, we caught several more fish (ADD another kids first fish here) using the same bobberless method. After nearly two days of doing what had always worked before, the fish started biting as soon as we got to them.  See while the bobber kept us safe, it also kept us in the warmer top layer of water in the lake, which evident-fully wasn’t where the fish were.

I really do try not to turn every experience in life into a business & life lesson, but this one hit me hard.

The bobber had made me feel safer, and it kept my bait away from the bottom of the lake. It helped me see where my line was. It reduced the chance that my hook would get snagged, but it also kept me from where the fish where.

It was familiar, visible, and comfortable.

The very thing I believed was helping me succeed was limiting my ability to succeed.

That happens in business and life all the time.  We build processes, rules, habits, and safety nets to protect ourselves. Many of them were created for good reasons. They may have worked well during an earlier stage of the business.

Over time, though, those same tools can become artificial constraints.

• We use outdated process because it has always been the process.
• We are scared to offer a new service because it might not sell.
• We delay and avoid hiring because a new employee might not work out.
• We can’t delegate because someone might make a mistake.
• We don’t cut off a unprofitable customer because losing the revenue feels risky.
• And our marketing worked 5 years ago, and it should be working now

We hold tightly to the bobber because we are afraid the line might get snagged.

This is not to say we should remove and have to redo everything we have found success with, but to ask ourselves if we are letting an artificial constraint hold us back

Ask yourself:

• What am I continuing to do simply because it worked in the past?
• Which rules or processes were created to prevent a risk that may no longer be significant?
• Where have I mistaken familiarity for effectiveness?
• What opportunity might I reach if I were willing to remove one layer of protection?

We may lose a hook and snag on the bottom, but we may also discover that the thing keeping you safe is the same thing keeping you from the fish.

Sometimes progress does not require a new strategy, more equipment, or a more complicated plan.  Sometimes you simply need to take off the bobber and cast again.

Weight. Bait. Fish