Same as anything else in life, do better next time. Skunking makes me want to go fishing again really bad. 

I still enjoy the day and I learn something new every time to employ tomorrow. I tell my buds .. they’re going to pay tomorrow.

22 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

Anyone who claims they never get skunked when fishing is the same person who claims they always win at the casino.  ?

 

I was fortunate this past year, fished 110 days with only 2 skunks. One of which was a new spot that receives a lot of pressure so I went into it figuring I wasn't going to figure them out that quickly, but the second was at one of my favorite spots so the skunk was a bit more frustrating.

 

I look at a skunk as a learning opportunity. What piece of the puzzle did I miss? It can be frustrating when the bite isn't what I expected, but I just try my best to reframe it in a positive light. It helps to not get angry about it.

 

What hurts is losing a big fish. Had a couple over the past year that I just had to sit down after they came off. Gotta have a second to grieve lol. Happened a few weeks ago, lost a biiig girl on the jerkbait but I was trying to get a hang of the technique and must've flubbed something and she came unpinned. Those are a little harder to let go of than the skunks IMO. But I don't throw a tantrum or throw my rod, just a quick little heartbreak and then back to casting. At least I know I'm fishing the right areas and triggering big bites, gotta keep that positive spin in mind.

 

Not saying I don't feel angry sometimes, I just try my best to manage it quickly.

46 minutes ago, Aaron_H said:

What hurts is losing a big fish. Had a couple over the past year that I just had to sit down after they came off. Gotta have a second to grieve lol. Happened a few weeks ago, lost a biiig girl on the jerkbait but I was trying to get a hang of the technique and must've flubbed something and she came unpinned. Those are a little harder to let go of than the skunks IMO. But I don't throw a tantrum or throw my rod, just a quick little heartbreak and then back to casting. At least I know I'm fishing the right areas and triggering big bites, gotta keep that positive spin in mind.

I'm with ya 100%. Broke two PB LM off in two years on 20# invisx. That put an end to flouro for me. Had two 30"+ saugeye shake off at boatside. All four fish woulda been on the wall had I landed them. Deflated is the best I can describe the feeling. Nothin you can do. Set down a couple minutes, get your head right again, and get back after it. No point getting mad.

I’m not great with a skunk.  But my sour mood magnitude is directly proportional to the number of fish my friends gets.  
 

it’s a bad feeling gooseegging a day when friends are giddy and hauling them in.  That means I suck, and i can’t blame the fish. 
 

But it lights the fire in me to get back after them. 

When I get skunked( yes it does happen in Mexico)  I buy more tackle and ice cream.  If I get skunked and loose a giant bass on the same day, I buy more tackle, and Vodka.

I used to hate it. Then it started to happen less and less. Now I'm down to about twice a year. There are lots of tough days in there also. A lot of people also don't put enough hours in. You may fish for 3 hours and not get a bite because the fish aren't feeding. 15 minutes after you leave it may turn on. I fish 8 to 10 hours in a rowboat when I go . You have to be dedicated. So as I grow older I deal with it better by trying to learn from it.

Not well. Just ask @Mr. Aquarium and @Saltysmalljaws…

 

They’re great @ listening to my rants.

2 hours ago, dodgeguy said:

I used to hate it. Then it started to happen less and less. Now I'm down to about twice a year. There are lots of tough days in there also. A lot of people also don't put enough hours in. You may fish for 3 hours and not get a bite because the fish aren't feeding. 15 minutes after you leave it may turn on. I fish 8 to 10 hours in a rowboat when I go . You have to be dedicated. So as I grow older I deal with it better by trying to learn from it.

I like that. If you spend 8 hours in a row boat, your hook stays in the water more often than most people with a bass boat 

It depends on how well the trip went as a whole.  Sometimes I can look back and say I still had a pretty good trip, and other times I say why did I even go fishing that day.

To begin with, I skunk very seldom, not to say I'm landing monster fish every outing, but it's honestly an unusual event that I don't catch a few fish, next because skunks are uncommon, I tend to be very susceptible to the event, it doesn't make me a poor angler, but it does have a brutal way of telling me "you don't know what you think you do" so I tend to look at them as moments worth serious examination, it's not often kind or gentle, but I almost always learn more from getting skunked that from being successful 

Just being out on a nice day its a win, I would take it over being here at the office and the freezing temps outside. 

I allow myself to not be perfect in fishing. I am playing.  Good mental health requirement.

Done

18 hours ago, scaleface said:

Not catching a keeper is getting skunked on keepers . Not catching anything at all is a true skunking . We counting  keepers or bass ? 

Good point.   There are different species of skunk...I'm not a fan of any of them.

1.  No fish.  At all.  Even if you just spend 20 minutes on the bank.

2.  No bass...but maybe 4 crappie, one pike, and a 20# catfish.

3.   A couple of hookups...both lost at the boat.

4.  Tournament day: six 11 inch bass when the minimum is 12.

I might refer to all of those as a skunk

I hate it!

I hate it with a passion!!

 

Yeah I know it happens, it happens to everyone one time or another, It happens to the best of us. 
 

Did I say I hate it!!

 

 

 

 

Mike

The  best way to avoid skunkings is to go to good waters under good conditions . We all know the places bass like to hang out .

4 minutes ago, scaleface said:

The  best way to avoid skunkings is to go to good waters under good conditions . We all know the places bass like to hang out .

I can’t think of any places they don’t hang out. Catching them far trickier than locating them 

It’s fishin, it happens to everyone. I usually get mad if it’s some badass fish and I’m on a charter. Or something like that. Like tuna fishing fishing for 12 hours straight no fish. I HATE THAT I HAVENT CAUGHT A d**n TUNA YET!!!!! Or I get invited to fish on someone’s badass boat for some speices I don’t get a chance to chase often.  Then get skunked! 
or when I’ve been up since 1 am, bustin ass and get skunked. 
 

but bass fishin, it happens. Roll with the punches and learn from each time your on the water, fish or no fish 

It depends. If there's an obvious reason why the bite is off, it's no sweat. Just makes me eager for better weather. On nice days that should be good days but aren't or if I lose fish without catching one, I tend to get a bit salty. It always just makes me want to get lines back in the water

On 2/7/2022 at 7:11 PM, Way north bass guy said:

Same here. Not saying it hasn’t happened, cause it certainly has, but not in a long time that I can remember. Now I’ve had days where I didn’t get too many at all, or it was a grind to catch one good one, but it’s been quite a while since a truly stinky day. 

 

On 2/7/2022 at 4:02 PM, Captain Phil said:

Anyone who claims they never get skunked when fishing is the same person who claims they always win at the casino.  ?

Gentlemen, Gentlemen.....when I say I can't remember the last time I got skunked, I AM telling the truth but that doesn't mean I'm an expert fisherman or all my days are great...lol.  It does mean I know my lake VERY well and I know a couple honey holes where there's always at least ONE dink or 2 hiding.

I’ve never been skunked either. 

On 2/8/2022 at 7:32 PM, dodgeguy said:

You may fish for 3 hours and not get a bite because the fish aren't feeding. 15 minutes after you leave it may turn on.

Correct. That's usually all the time I can grab after work, dinner, listening to a story or ten from my wife, then walking the dog. When I leave is often based on a gut feeling, or might depend on how it went the previous trip, or favorable changes in the weather. I can't tell you how many times I dug in for a little bit more than my friends could manage to stay then went on a run. When my buddy Pete taps out he'll always laugh and say "send pics". I usually do. A hot wolfpack bite usually lasts about 40 minutes, then poof. We're on them, then they're gone.

Schooling ANIMALS.  Deer or fish only eat so much of a area up in 1 feeding.  They can eat enough to make it to the next stop for a munching.  I have a lot of roving schools of all types doing that.

I guess I handle skunking pretty well or I'd have quit long ago.

 

So far this year I've fished 4 times (all in the past week) without a bite. From the bank, local lakes in the south bay (which sucks). Of course it's winter still.

 

I've had extended periods with no catches. It can be a downer - seriously bad one year - but so far I'm still here.

On 2/7/2022 at 5:01 PM, BayouSlide said:

Back when I was working, I had a saying: "I don't pay $ (costs of hunting, fishing, shooting competition, etc.) to be miserable, people pay my hourly rate of $$$ for the opportunity to make me miserable." ?

This. I play golf as well and have played with some people that you would’ve thought they were sitting in the dentist chair. Like Mr. Slide said, I don’t pay money to be miserable.