Hank Parker's Tough Fishing Tips!

[Glenn]

Hank Parker just posted a great article that will help you catch more fish when times are tough.

http://www.bassresource.com/hank-parker-fishing/mental-toughness-fishing.html

[new2BC4bass]

Thanks. In particular I liked this comment "Many anglers think that when the water is hot, the fish move deep. Yet in lakes with poor oxygen, they actually move shallower."

The main lake I have been fishing is very shallow. Don't know about oxygen levels, tho. No harm in trying shallow (relatively speaking) next time out.

[logan9209]

Thanks for the info, Glenn, and thanks to Hank Parker for doing the article. According to it, I have about 1/4 of my obstacle out of the way. LOL! Seriously, for starters I am always in competition with myself. I am always looking to beat last months total and then figure out why I did or didn't beat it. George, my fishing buddy, is almost always ready to give up within the first 5-15 minutes. Not me. While there have been days that I haven't caught anything, I go with the mindset that I will at least catch one and I try not to leave until I do. Now, I do live at the lake (almost literally) so Life can cut things short for me.

Patience and a positive attitude (or the lack there of) can greatly affect your fishing day. George is impatient and quick to break his rod at the least little snag or he'll just quit fishing for the day. I have even heard people like KVD talk about pitching or flipping to something that they know should hold a bass 15-20 times. I think that summertime fishing is very similar to winter or even parts of springtime fishing. Sometimes those bass just don't want to move or use any energy and you have to do things that will tick them off to get them to bite. It might take a couple of times or it might take 20 times. Also, if you go fishing with the attitude that regardless of what happens you're going to have a great day and have fun, then your confidence is going to be higher and you will produce more than if you went it with a "loser" self-doubting frustrated attitude.

Don't get me wrong. There have been days that I've come home and swore to my wife that I was retiring. Lovingly she would say that I wasn't and about 10 minutes later the fishing bug would hit me and I would either go back out fishing or I would watch fishing stuff on YouTube (we don't have any type of "cable" t.v. yet). But, you have to find ways to get over that mentality. Having supportive loved ones and people like on the website is a big part of getting past that.

[Kyle Mahaffey]

When the fish aren't biting and I'm getting discouraged, I remember one thing. The one thing is that I love fishing, and just being outside. When I tell myself that, I get refocused and actually start thinking the way I should. Start looking around and watching for things that could help me. And one more thing. Its called fishing. You would catch a bass on every cast, it would be called catching and everyone and their mothers would be out doing it. We are a select few who love this sport.