The reason I even bothered to look into this topic in the first place is that there seems to be a heapin' bunch of people who have little, if anything, to report from their fishing trips in recent days. Had a fella just a few nights ago tell me that he thought this was the time of year to be throwing jerkbaits. He subsequently was quick to point out that he'd had three trips in a row...throwing these baits...without a single fish to show for it. And, unfortunately, he represents what I'm hearing from nearly everyone I talk to at the moment.
Ran across one fella who reportedly spent 110 days on the water this past year, with only two skunks. As he explained, one of these skunks occurred on a new spot that receives a lot of pressure, so going in, he figured he might have trouble. The second time, though, he was fishing one of his favorite spots, which he admitted made the skunk a bit more frustrating.
"I look at a skunk as a learning opportunity," said this angler. "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 not to get angry about it."
He went on to explain, though, that "what really 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. Lost a b-i-i-i-g girl on a jerkbait while I was trying to get the hang of a new technique and must've flubbed something. Anyway, 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 take a few moments for a little heartbreak, then go 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."
On the other hand, I found another guy who said he occasionally fishes with a couple of friends who don't do well with getting skunked.
"There's no yelling, screaming or throwing things," he said, "but they really wear it on their faces. You can tell it really kills them. With one, he gets really quiet and stops laughing...period!...even if you say something funny. For lack of a better way of putting it, he pouts. The other gets seriously PO'd and tries to hide it, but you can tell by watching him that he's mumbling his discontent under his breath."
As for yours truly, I many years ago used to carry an ultralight spinning rod, rigged with 6-lb. mono and a beetlespin, on every trip. If I was facing a skunk heading into the last hour of the day, I'd wear the water out with that rig. It worked more times than not, but I still incurred some skunks. Ultimately, I learned to just live with those fishless days and stowed the ultralight gear for good.
No comments:
Post a Comment