Big bass are swimming around the ponds you see everyday and your PB bass is probably living his best life... GET PERMISSION AND GO CATCH HIM! Brad with @Shield Outdoors shares how he talks to land owners and how he gets the thumbs up to access private water! Where do you fish?? Have you ever had to ask for permission??

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Video Transcript:

Brad:
Let's face it. We don't all have the opportunity to fish big lakes every single day. We don't have the opportunity to get in a boat every single day. So we need to learn and we really need to master the art of getting permission for private bodies of water and ponds.

Brad:
I'm Brad. I'm with Shield Outdoors coming to you on the Monster Bass channel, and today we're going to talk about how to get permission, how to talk to land owners, or at least how to get access to some of the best fishing in your life. Before we go any further, make sure you like this video and comment below where you fish. Do you fish ponds or lakes or rivers? Just comment below ponds, lakes, or rivers, and go over to the Monster Bass website, put in your email, they will send you ridiculous offers and deals for the VIP list. I got a text yesterday, 71% off of bundles. 71% off of bundles. It is springtime and fishing equipment is 71% off. Tell me you wouldn't buy that in the store if you saw that opportunity.

Brad:
So like this video, comment below, do you fish lakes, rivers, or ponds, and then go over to the Monster Bass website, make sure you put in your email. And then if you have spare time and you're feeling oh, so kind, you can check me out. I'm Brad with Shield Outdoors and I'm on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and Twitter. All right. Well, let's get into this.

Brad:
So some of you guys know what I do for a living. We'll just call it a social worker. We'll just say I work with people day in and day out. And for the most part, I have to negotiate that those people make good choices in their life. And sometimes I have to convince people to do or say things that they don't want to do or say. So I'm going to show you today some tactics for getting permission, and we're going to talk about why it's important, we're going to talk about when to do it and how to do it. And then at the end of the video, we're going to talk about the most important part of asking for permission, the most important part. Not only is it something that you have to understand, it's a mindset. You have to have this. So when those geese are done honking, we're going to get into it.

Brad:
So let's talk about why this is important. Why do I got to ask for permission? You got to do it the right way. We got to be making good choices, kind of like making my lighting correct. We got to be doing the right thing because we don't want to make a bad name for ourselves or for other fishermen. One of the biggest parts of this conversation that we're having right now is going to be about rapport. We're going to build rapport and it's very important to build rapport with good relationships. Are you going to come fight me? You're going to come fight me? That's what I thought. So I thought. Yeah, you better fly away.

Brad:
So why is all this so important? Well, we need to do it the right way. We need to make a good name for ourselves and for other fishermen. Don't be that fishermen that gets a pond locked down. Don't be the reason somebody puts no trespassing signs all the way around their pond. The other thing is establishing rapport. Now, what is rapport? R-A-P-P-O-R-T. Harmonious relationship between people who have established mutual trust. This has been my bread and butter when it comes to getting hunting land, permission to hunt in different places, especially for free. In 2021, if you could hunt or fish for free, you're doing something right. So we're going to talk about establishing rapport as well.

Brad:
All right. We had to reposition because the wind is getting a little bit ridiculous. So let's talk about when to ask for permission. If you see an HOA sign and it says residents and guests only, guess what? You probably need to get somebody to give you permission. Or if there is signs that just say no trespassing, don't let that completely detour you. Maybe they just don't want random people out there, but maybe you can get permission to be out there. And then on the other side of that question, when to seek permission, I like to try to catch people outside. I like to catch them when they're already outside and I can make a consensual encounter. What that means is where you start a conversation and they don't really have anywhere to go unless they just turn their back on you and leave.

Brad:
So examples of that, you're walking down the street with your dog and somebody's already out in their yard raking leaves, that presents you an opportunity to have a consensual conversation. Hey, how are ya? And then you could find things to talk about or you can go from there, and we're going to talk about those conversations right now. So something I want to make sure you guys always, always, always, always do. When starting this kind of a conversation is a greeting, say hello or good morning, present a greeting. Next, an introductory statement. Hello, greeting, my name is Brad Garrison. I know it's COVID times, but I still like to shake hands. I like to extend an arm and shake hands, the elbow, fist, something.

Brad:
Now, don't just walk up to somebody and be like, my name's Brad, you got to smooth into it, right? So be calm, be smooth. Have this conversation planned out in your head and don't be nervous. What's the worst that they say? No, get out of here. I'm not letting you fish. That's literally the worst thing that'll happen is them saying, no. There's not an audience watching you. No one's going to see you get told no and that's not a failure, right? It's not a failure if somebody says, no, I don't want you to fish. That doesn't mean you failed. You just didn't get the permission. No big deal. Let it roll off your back. Move on to the next one.

Brad:
So we're talking about, I keep getting sidetracked. So greetings and introduction. Hey, good morning, right? They say, hi, how are you? And then you can say, hey, yeah, I live right up the street. Establish a common ground. You guys could both live on the same street. You guys could both drive Dodge trucks. You guys could both have pitbulls or retrievers. Find a common ground because again, we're going to establish rapport. You want them to think, wow, that guy's just like me. You want them to think, wow, this guy is kind of a cool guy, right? Because you want to establish a common ground and rapport.

Brad:
Then we're going to get into a much more upfront condition of the conversation, your intentions. Now, your intentions need to be honest and direct. Now, I don't always like to get straight to the question, do you allow fishing? That leaves people a very easy window to say, nope, nope. Don't allow fishing or no, HOA doesn't allow it. That leaves too much room to say no. So oftentimes something I might would say, hey, I noticed there's a pond out back. I'm huge into fishing conservation. I'm really big on habitat management. Do you know? Do they do any habitat management at this pond? You could go into something that gets you into the fishing conversation without jumping straight to the conclusion of, can I fish?

Brad:
So let's say you bring up, hey, do they treat the lake for weeds? Do they do any kind of habitat management? Do you know of any of these things? And most people are going to say, I don't know. And then you could say, yeah, I'm really big on catch and release. I've loved fishing my whole life. It's something that I do to de-stress and it's just really important to me catch and release and habitat management. So now you have greeted them, you have introduced yourself, you have established some kind of a rapport. They think you're a trustworthy person. Maybe you're not, I don't know, but they think you are. And now you have let them know that you love fishing. You have let them know what your intentions are in this conversation. Whether they want to go directly to that or not, you've already established it.

Brad:
And then you can get to the question, hey, do you care if I fish, or do you care if I park out here on the curb and walk back and fish? So this is good for residential retention ponds, this is good for private ponds and it's good for access. Maybe this is a house that's on the river and you want to get down to the river to wait or to kayak. This can be used in a lot of different aspects.

Brad:
Here are some easy ways. Garage sales. People are literally inviting you to their house. They're inviting you into their driveway or into their garage. How better of an opportunity could you have to talk to somebody about fishing? So somebody has a garage sale. You go up, you make conversation, you purchase an item. You already have common ground, and now you've established a little bit of a rapport. You've given them money. They've given you a product. You have had a conversation of, even if it's just about the price, and then you can roll right into it. Hey, while you're holding the item, you just gave them cash money for, hey, I noticed a pond out back. Do you mind if I park out on the curb or do you mind if I walk back there sometime and fish? And see where the conversation goes. Or my people in the Midwest when it snows, or when a tree falls, if you see work to be done, go assist.

Brad:
So here's a situation example. It's snows. Go around and shovel a bunch of the driveways around the pond you want to fish. Whether it's a retention pond or maybe a private pond with a couple of houses, go shovel those driveways, say, hey, we're just doing this. We're just trying to pass it forward. We're trying to do some good deeds. This is great for my young teenagers. If you are a young teenager and you're looking for permission, going out and providing manual labor can build rapport instantly. It tells those people that you're responsible and it tells people that you're a hard worker.

Brad:
And then you don't say anything about fishing that day, unless the conversation goes there. Don't say anything about it that day. Come back in a couple of weeks, catch them outside, maybe go for a walk past their house, or you can go knock on the door and say, hey, my name's Brad. I don't know if you remember me. I shoveled your driveway a couple of weeks ago. I hope you're doing well. I hope you made it through that snow storm. Hey, I was wondering about the pond out back. Do you care if I park outside and fish? And the reason I keep using that, can I park outside and fish is because you want people to feel as least obligated to your presence as possible.

Brad:
When you say, can I park out front, you're not saying, can I use your grass to walk to the pond? You're saying, hey, do you care if I park out front and walk around the back? It detaches them from the direct connection of your physical presence, and a lot of people are awkward by that. I know this is really deep guys. I know this is really deep. A lot of psychology behind this, but we're getting to this. So don't forget we're getting to the most important point.

Brad:
Another thing though talking about snow, trees. If you see a tree in someone's yard and they are out there cutting it up, go offer your assistance or offering manual labor of any kind, especially if it's an older resident. If you're talking to an older resident, manual labor is really tough. It can get really tough in your older age, and that could establish rapport very quickly, very, very quickly.

Brad:
All right. Now, we're going to talk about the most important thing here. We're going to talk about something that is so important and I want to make sure every single person understands this. You have to be able to accept, accept, A-C-C-E-P-T, you have to be able to accept the word no. You have to be able to take that into your brain, digest it and be able to move on and not be discouraged. That's all I can tell you guys. Do not be discouraged. People are going to tell you no.

Brad:
All right, guys. Comment below, is this helpful to you? Do you think I should do another video on this? Would it help you for me to dive into parts of this conversation more? Just drop a comment below, go utilize these tactics, learn to develop a system that works for you. Obviously, this system works very well for me. Make sure you check out Monster Bass website, check out Shield Outdoors on YouTube, Instagram, Tik Tok, and Facebook and Twitter. Thank you so much for being here, guys. I'm getting blinded by the light, literally. Catch you on the next one. Peace.