Superstition can come in many forms. Some people have to tie the left shoe before the right one, others say some weird words to themselves and some even make sure to not do a particular thing. What they all have in common, even how weird they may be, is that they are there to keep one safe from bad luck.
Talking about luck. That is also a kind of superstition, or is it? The great Swedish skier Ingemar Stenmark once said to a reporter that asked how he could be so lucky and win all the time. Ingemar said – It’s funny, the more time I put into training the more luck I seem to have. Whether luck is a product of training and experience or if it’s just for the lucky bastards that are born with luck I leave here.
When it comes to fishing superstition is very common. You probably have a routine yourself that you have to perform each time before you start fishing. It’s probably made for giving you luck for the day. Routines and such are cool but we anglers know that the most important thing is your hat. You know that one hat that you always catch that big one wearing. However, since I’ve been fishing for a very long time and have studied biology, ecology and worked with fisheries for some time I have come to believe that superstition doesn’t matter. Science and knowledge do. But as usual, my schooling made me believe in things I really didn’t trust in. I know that now and have changed opinion again. It’s not about your skills or knowledge. It’s all in the hat – the magic hat.
Photos Courtesy of Emilie Björkman and Stefan Ågren, a Swedish fly fishing duo. For more awesome content from them, check them out on Instagram @steagr_photography & @emilie.bjorkman!
Is your “magic hat” losing its powers? or perhaps you’re like Stefan and someone took it? Well, we have you covered with our collection of lucky hats! Check them out here!
For more awesome Swedish fishing content check out these posts!
