Mine was when I learned how to sink my line without hardly reeling in, by sinking the tip and striking upwards sharply, it revolutionised my canal fishing in that the far bank could now be fished with much more control.
Can I have 3, as I was told at the same time?
Nick the maggot, use a smaller hook & start on the bottom.
As a consequence I went from 1 tiny perch in @ 6 years (I don't count the 13 'tame rainbows), to a small net full of fish. I was so pleased.
I still remember sitting in the rain, no brolly, 6 ft rod not catching anything for years. Those of you that had someone to show you the ropes don't know how lucky you were.
mine was how to find the depth in a very deep lake at Clattercote on Sat by the man himself Graham, i'd been sat there for hours then Graham had a look at my set up changed it then within ten mins i'd caught my first tench
I once watched in utter amazement as my father floated a metal cigar tube under the branches of a tree on the far bank. He had added shot to the bottom of the tube so that it sat high in the water, but as soon as it got to where he wanted it he held back, the tube tipped over and filled with water and sank. Brilliant.
One of the best tips I was ever given was how to'balance' your feeder/bomb in flowing water. By altering the height/angle of your bankstick until your feeder/bomb just stopped tripping along the bottom and leaving a bow in your line enables you to see bites instantly without using excessive weight to hold bottom.
Sorry, 3 from me as well:
1.never neglect the margins however shallow they may be.
2.never become stereotypical in my approach. Always think of how to change instead of accepting that a certain method/bait will always get results.
3.plumb/plot the depth and underwater features accurately before fishing. It will help in catching that day and contribute to the knowledge gained for catching consistently in the future.
Oh, and 1 more:
Never drive 85 miles to fish a very exclusive, once in a lifetime opportunity lake to find you've left your rodbag at home.
Always find the depth of the swim at the start and mark it on the rod.
Oh and resist the urge to do the do the "buzzing insect repelant" dance.....I didn't realise how funny it looks untill I saw my brother do an advanced coreographed set as a load of waps objected to him fishing at the entrance to their nest.
Pole fishing - Once the swim has been plumbed, use a spot of tippex on the pole section to signify where the bottom is. That way you can alter the depths of your rigs but still be safe in the knowledge that you know where the bottom is! Simple, but this has saved me a lot of time and energy when match fishing.
Stu...will you introduce me then?
Years ago (honest!) my mate told me there was no need to bite the line through and retye it just because i had forgot to put it the right side of the bail arm!!....well my previous fixed spool reel had a half bail and it didn't matter!