"Wasted Days and Wasted Nights"...

That title of an old Freddy Fender tune from 1974 is what I was reminded of yesterday. I spent about five hours chasing those little green fish around the river but only boated one, followed by another three hours last evening, trying to get my tired brain to work long enough to do a blog post but was unsuccessful at that, too...hence, the title I chose.

Talked to a fella yesterday afternoon after we both had called it a day, and he said the time he had spent in West Neck Creek that morning had been every bit as wasted as mine...with not even a sniff. He, too, made a decision to run elsewhere, but unlike me, his decision actually paid dividends. He found the topwater bite I, too, was after and put about 12 fish in the boat...his biggest around 2 pounds. He echoed my sentiments to a T when he said, "I'm OK as long as I just feel a tug on the line, and that's what I got today." Before we went our separate ways, I learned that this fella is a devoted follower of my blog, which is always nice to hear, especially after the kind of day I had.

Day before yesterday, I received an email from my friend DMac, who was sharing details of his fishing exploits over the last 11 days, seven of which he was on the water, catching what he described as "a half-ton of bass" from various stretches. Following are his results from five of those trips (see random sampling of photos right):

His first trip on May 3rd yielded a total of six bass before he had to skedaddle from the first spot at noon as the result of "a wind thing." He subsequently stopped at another spot that offered some protection and boated another seven fish there on a topwater bait.

On May 6th, DMac visited a private lake, where he caught 20-plus on a topwater bait and plastic worm.

That was followed on May 7th by a trip he referred to as "epic," which given the fact he caught 27, I would have to agree was one to write home about.

On May 9th, he put 11 bass in the boat, again using topwater baits and plastic worms.

And on May 11th, he fished two different areas, collecting a total of 14 fish, once again on topwater baits and plastic worms.

After hearing about all this success of others in recent days, I was looking for something last night to soothe my bruised ego a little bit before going to bed. Fortunately, I found it in some words from a magazine article I stumbled across online. It began as follows:

"Fishing is a complicated sport. The weather, choice of lures, areas, water clarity, seasonal habits and movements of the fish are but a few of the things that make this sport so challenging. There's no such thing as overnight success, just as there is no guarantee you'll catch them every time you hit the water. This sport is ever changing and evolving, and with the advancements in technology, it's even more so.

"The one aspect about bass fishing that hasn't changed is the mental aspect. The human mind is a complex unit, and everyone is programmed differently," explained the writer. He went on to say, "I have seen times when great fishermen are beat mentally before they ever put their boats in the water and make their first cast in tournament competition. On the other hand, I've seen average fishermen get on a roll and win back-to-back tournaments, where they seem to do no wrong, simply because they believed strongly in the technique they were using and/or the lure they were throwing. In the end, it's all about the mindset.

"As the legendary Bill Dance once said, 'Confidence, without a doubt, is the most important lure in your tacklebox.'

"Keep your mind in the game," continued the writer, who believes most tournaments are won or lost in the final two hours of the event. "It's during this time, regardless of the time of year or weather conditions, when your mental focus tends to lack the most. You haven't had a bite in a while; your back is hurting from standing up all day; you're hot, tired, hungry or whatever else may be going through your mind. And now is when you'll get the one bite that can make or break your tournament day.

"Mind games--fishermen are good at playing them. Anything that is within the rules to gain a competitive advantage is fair game, so why not try to psych out your competition? Usually, the older the fishermen, the harder it is to get under their skin. Once an angler sees he can get under your skin, the mind games will continue...and not just from other fishermen. You'll do it to yourself, too."