So much emphasis is placed now on tactile sensitivity that fishermen tend to neglect their own vision as a tool.
Good tackle is important, but the keenest eyes catch the most fish.
They do so more to protect and comfort their eyes, however, than to enhance their view of the water and the secrets it holds. Bass fishermen need their sight to guide casts beneath overhangs or between stumps, but most amateurs waste that valuable sense during the retrieve by watching the line and the rod tip. Saltwater fishermen firing into wide open water tend to fix an unproductive gaze on the lure as it flies through the air, then follow the bassers' lead and watch the line snake through the guides and back onto the spool between casts. With a quality graphite rod, it isn't necessary to watch the line to detect a strike. For proof, make a few casts with closed eyes.