Struggling!

[Catt]

I have recently received text messages & personal messages stating how they couldn't believe I posted on my Toledo Bend trend that I only caught 1 bass last week & Tuesday I was skunked.

 

Why yeah 😉

 

Why would I not?

 

We learn more in the valleys than we do on the mountaintops!

[rgasr63]

I agree . The lessons that you learn on the struggle bus are the ones that bring insight and personal growth. People today just want to see the flowers but they don't see the gardener.

[GRiver]

7 minutes ago, Catt said:

We learn more in the valleys than we do on the mountaintops!

Yep I always figure what they’re not biting before I find out what they are biting. 
 

[Susky River Rat]

Some days just aren’t the days. You aren’t on the right pattern. Weren’t there at the right time etc. 

 

In my opinion stating you struggle makes everything more believable than someone who only posts about the “ups”.  Is there days I don’t catch anything? Yes! Is there days I struggle to get one? Yes! Is there days I kill it? Yes! 
 

if bragging is all people get into the sport of fishing for than they are in it for the wrong reasons. 
 

I do it because I am always learning, it’s a challenge and when I do break the code it makes me feel accomplished. I genuinely enjoy fishing and being out on the water. I do not do it for likes, wows, pats on the back. I do it for me.
 

I applaud you on being real.  

[greentrout]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

I have recently received text messages & personal messages stating how they couldn't believe I posted on my Toledo Bend trend that I only caught 1 bass last week & Tuesday I was skunked.

 

Why yeah 😉

 

Why would I not?

 

We learn more in the valleys than we do on the mountaintops!

realistic fishing ...

[T-Billy]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

We learn more in the valleys than we do on the mountaintops!

Absolutely. This applies to everything in life.

[FishTax]

Thanks for sharing when you get skunked. Makes me feel better that it's not just me! 

 

When I get skunked, I spend days mulling it over in my mind thinking of what I could have done differently. I definitely grow more from that than from a hot bite. If they're on a strong pattern, there isn't much to learn, just catch as many as possible as fast as possible  

[jbmaine]

Some days you can't catch fish no matter what you do. Wife and I just take it as a lesson on what didn't work, sit back, look around, and enjoy the day. We see every day on the water as a great day.

[Mobasser]

My grandfather would say" some days are diamonds, some days are stone". I have struggled many times, especially in the early season. I've learned what didn't work, in the prevailing conditions. Sometimes, the bass just don't hit. But, there's always another day.

[RipzLipz]

What fun would there be in fishing if all you did was buy your lure of choice, drive to a lake, cast off the bank, dock or boat ramp & catch any number or size of bass and go home? The vast majority of the fun & excitement is in the hunt, figuring them out & the anticipation of catching whatever is considered to be that of bacon by products (hawgs) for the areas in which we fish, not to mention hanging around with our great friend, the Bait Monkey.

 

We’d miss all the little things - sights, sounds, feelings. The sound of the line stretching through the guides on a solid hookset, the feel of a good ‘un’s head shake, watching a tail dancing beauty breach the surface & cha cha cha across the water, creeping up on a pair of spawning bass & just observing, watching a school of baitfish getting annihilated on the surface or better yet, just below the boat & notice how the bass resemble tuna streaking through a school of sardines, that sound of a topwater lure being absolutely struck to be killed, the trees & all their colors, the calls of the loons or sights of eagles catching fish, the panfish or peacocks wearing their coats of color during spawning time, letting that wall hanger swim off to fight another day, the tear welling up in the eye afterwards because of the time & effort spent to feel that tug & rush of emotion & excitement. Those are memories which can define a lifetime.

 

An angler who has enough sack to post their struggles in addition to their successes probably is more human than those just interested in chest pounding like a silverback. We’re human & far from perfect. Not every tournament angler wins every tournament in which they fish & certainly not every angler that fishes catches on every outing. That’s just life & not everyone wins, contrary to what modern sports is teaching those entitled spoilt snowflakes where everyone gets participation trophies & pros make more than educators, law enforcement or engineers.

 

They call it fishin’ for a reason, otherwise it would just be called catchin’! If you can’t enjoy the rollercoaster, get in another line.

[Functional]

I typically notice that I get in to a lull of 1-2 fish on my outings for a bit but then a resurge comes in hard and I'll catch some good quality fish. Sometimes I change up what I'm doing that trigger it, sometimes its just a string of bad timing / weather. 

[FishTank]

Fishing is very humbling to say the least.  I can recall qualifying for a bigger tournament. We were allowed to practice two days before, same day as the sign up.

 

I caught a bunch of keepers in practice. For 5 fish, I would have been around 18-20lbs.  I left that day feeling pretty confident.  Two days later, I fished the same spots I was catching them during practice and nothing.  I got totally skunked but 10+ teams had 5 fish. It's crazy how it works out that way.

[Fishing_Rod]

Greetings All,

Yup, right there with you all as there are times when you hit and then when you miss. The winter time blues, new locations, or even just off day vibes. It is all there to contribute or detract from angling success.

 

Backup a bit for the moment and take a grand view of not just the particular angling adventure. Consider how things have gone for you in the past month, year, decade which may improve your overall perspective on the situation. Using that grand view helps me with perspective on many issues. You may find you are doing rather well and simply experiencing those timely influences mentioned earlier.

 

Keep on keeping on! Be well, and Cheers!

[Bankc]

On social media, you can be anything you want... except honest.  Nobody wants to see that.   

[TOXIC]

Because it becomes apparent to anyone who fishes that if all of your posts were nothing but stellar, you are probably not being 100% honest.  I used to tell my guide clients, “ I can take you to the fish but I can’t catch them for you”. 

[Skunkmaster-k]

People are shocked when I catch a fish, not when I don’t. 

[Bird]

If you haven't taken a skunk you're not fishing enough.

 

[WRB]

We tend to take it for granite that the pre spawn bite coincides with our calendar but it coincides with the Bass Calendar. The transition from cold winter water to slightly warmer pre Spawn is a crap shoot at best.

It’s the old adage time on the water and some days are pearls others are stones to quote an Ole Cajon😎

Tom 

[riverat]

My Dad used to say that just because we were going bass "fishing" that did not necessarily mean we were going bass "catching".

 

I don't care how many years you may have been fishing for bass, there are days when you just can't buy a strike to save your life.

 

You can either get down about it or you can learn from it.

 

 

[Pat Brown]

If the fish was doing what we thought and biting what we cast in the places we are casting every single time, wouldn't be much fun?

 

🎣🎣🎣🎣🎣

 

I love a good skunk.

 

Tells me I'm that much closer to my next PB.

 

A lot of times, a day with no bites means you're on the big fish pattern and they're tight lipped.

[king fisher]

I get skunked fishing unpressured bass in remote Mexican lakes.  It can happen to anyone anywhere.  Buying more tackle wont kill the skunk, but it sure takes away some of the smell.

[thediscochef]

Been blanked the last two days. It's just part of winter fishing from the bank for me. The weather was great but they just weren't where I was. Sometimes that's an indictment on my skills, sometimes it's not. Thinking I'm there at the wrong time of day probably. This warmer weather might have just opened the morning bite and killed the nooner. I'm not taking it personally just yet 😂

[OHBuckets]

When I returned to the US and got into bass fishing (as an adult), I kept a journal to keep track of what I was doing, location, lures, conditions, etc. Bank fishing. 

 

I logged 63 hours at 5 locations before I caught my first fish - a bullhead

 

 

[Catt]

2 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

A lot of times, a day with no bites means you're on the big fish pattern and they're tight lipped.

 

It's the middle of February in South East Texas!

 

It's 60 degrees as I type this, the over night low is predicted to be 58 degrees. Water temperatures are anywhere from the low 50s to the low 60s. The full moon is next Saturday.

 

I know Nadine is around the corner!

[Zcoker]

Being skunked in no way defines anyone's abilities or fishing skills, plain and simple, because it happens to every fishermen. It's part of the discipline. It can be expected. It can be tolerated. And it can eventually be overcome. I've seen lotta guys in some of these big tournaments coming back to the weigh-in empty handed. They all have the skills, the equipment, and the tech yet they still can't buy a bite. Many factors contribute to that, most of which we already know about, location, time of year, water temp...many factors. In my neck of the woods, for instance, it's just the opposite. It's hard not to catch fish. But that's just the area, the favorable conditions that promote that. We have a saying for surf fishing for big sharks: time on the sand. The time spent can be many moons without the slightest tick from the reel. But one night, one night out of all those empty nights, the one makes her run for it and all those empty nights with nothing finally become what they were meant to be: victory!