A chapter in my book is dedicated to celebrating the pure joy of experiencing a day on the water solo, with no worries other than which lure to tie to my line and where to make my next cast.

Solo fishing days are cathartic. In “The Common Angler,” I wrote, “Fact is I return from a solo fishing trip feeling recharged. It’s like my body’s battery absorbed more energy than it expended.”

But I am not a creepy loner fisherman. While solo trips are good, I really do enjoy sharing the water with friends. In a chapter entitled “Fishing with friends,” I wrote, “Fishing and friends go together like peanut butter and jelly. Both are good by themselves, but when you put them together, it’s a pretty special treat.”

My boat has ample deck space for a couple of anglers and their fishing gear. So when I’m looking for company, I am pleased to welcome buddies to share the experience.

I also welcome the opportunity to watch and learn. Everyone who boards the Bass Cat brings fresh ideas, a variety of approaches and tactical execution that provides clues about lure choice, cast locations and retrieve speed.

Since May, I’ve had the good fortune to fish with Tyler Woak, John Breedlove, Jim Ellashek, Phil Dennison, Ted Suffolk and Ray Halter. Over the years, I have teamed up with nearly 100 anglers, ranging from good friends and golf buddies to some of the nation’s best professional anglers.

I’ve learned that it pays to watch what they are doing. They all have something to share — whether they’ve been fishing a year or a lifetime. The lures they chose, the techniques they employ and the effort they exert all contribute to the day’s learnings.

Sometimes it is the simplest of tips that turn the tables.

Longtime fishing friend Steve Zarbaugh and I teamed up regularly in bass tournaments where every decision and every cast can spell the difference between earning a nice check or going home dejected.

Steve was the guy who introduced me to the lure that over the past 20 years has accounted for the majority of the largemouth bass I have boated. It’s the four-inch Sweet Beaver, a paddletail soft plastic bait by Reaction Innovations. The confidence with which Steve and I fished the Beaver energized my enthusiasm for the bassing tactic known as flipping.

Another lure lesson was delivered by Tom Rolland during the King of the River tournament on the Ohio River several years ago. I’ve enjoyed good topwater fishing on the Ohio with the venerable Pop-R, but Tom showed that when you’re looking for a more aggressive lure to generate a reaction from the smallmouth bass, the Storm Chug Bug is a great choice that helped us win that tournament.

When you get the opportunity to fish with one of the deans of Ohio bass fishing, you jump at it. And so it was when Ray Halter invited me to fish with him at Mosquito Lake. Our day on the water revealed the firepower of a stick worm in a color so subtle, I would have never selected it for the dingy water that day. Aptly called “dirt,” the worm color produced most of the bass we boated.

Ted Suffolk, a regular member of my Bass Cat crew, often shows up with several lures that are outside my own tackle assortment. So I wasn’t surprised this spring when he rigged up his five-inch swimbait on an underspin jig. Ted’s set-up accounted for a number of quality bass.

Yes, I do still enjoy solo fishing trips, but the fact is I learn a lot when someone’s casting with me.

Jack Wollitz’s book, “The Common Angler,” is a collection of stories that explain why anglers are passionate about fishing. Send a note to jackbbaass@gmail.com.