Little Fish Or Skunked?

[roadwarrior]

Okay, this is NOT about tournament fishing, fun fishing only.

On another thread a member wrote that he would rather catch little fish than none at all.

I'm wondering what you think about that statement? My take is to always target bigger fish,

I don't mind being skunked. As a matter-of-fact, if I never catch another fish under 3 lbs,

that is fine with me.

[kylek]

I will take a bunch of dinks over being skunked any day. I just love to catch fish, size does not matter to me one bit.

[Jake P]

I'm with you RW. I don't get the satisfaction I want unless I'm catching fish atleast at the 3 lbs mark.

[QUIENYO]

I'm with you RW, although my cut off would be about two pounds. Of course that is because a two pound bass in southern Arizona is still decent. To me, half the enjoyment of going fishing is the outing itself. If I get skunked, I can fall back on "a bad day fishing always beats a good day at the office".

[Dwight Hottle]

A good skunking motivates me. I'll fish all day for one big fish.

[Siebert Outdoors]

Fishing for fun. I'd take the 15" bass over nothing. Especially when the Boss is with me. If she isnt catching fish it makes for a long day. I like to enjoy my time and catch fish when I go. If it means dinks, dinks it is.

[ClackerBuzz]

I agree RW and I stick to my guns 90% of the time. Big fish hunting is where its at for me. However I admit I still have moments of weakness where a 12" dink puts a smile on my face after 3+hrs of Pepe le Pew. I think its all relative to the skill level of an angler and/or their goals

[Tuckahoe Joe]

I think its all relative to the skill level of an angler and/or their goals

That could very well be. Im still new to this and I'd much rather catch something small than nothing. Maybe my oppinion will change when I start to catch fish more consistenly.

[BassinLou]

Catching dinks gives me hope that there is something bigger around vs fishing for hours at at a time with no signs of life. When top water fishing those 2lbs still get my juices flowing because sometimes you would have sworn that something bigger hit.

[tjwhite1]

I like to catch fish every time I am out obviously so some dinks do not bother me. However, if I become plagued with little dinksters after about an hour I will get tired of it and do things more suited to catch a big fish. Also for some reason it seems more times than not the days when I catch bigger fish I seem to catch less fish.

[MarkH024]

As a matter-of-fact, if I never catch another fish under 3 lbs,

that is fine with me.

Really? Man, 3 lbers here are decent fish. I need to move South. I would like to be able to say, I'll pass on 3 lb bass.

As for the topic, I'd like to catch dinks over being skunked. I don't mind being skunked but I go giant hunting when I musky fish. I don't expect to catch musky every time out. When I fish bass, I better at least catch one! lol

[Shane J]

I feel like I failed to do what I set out to do if I don't catch quality fish. I'm only after the bigger fish, so getting skunked and only catching dinks feels the same.

[deep]

Depends if I'm fun-fishing or not. Sometimes a "follow" will make my day when I'm not fun-fishing. When I am, I start getting bored if I don't get a bite every fifteen minutes.

fun-fishing = when I'm not targeting the biggest bass in the reservoir.

[HeavyDluxe]

In general, I'll take the tight line - no matter the species/size. But, if I'm having a run of nothing but runts, then I will very, very intentionally pick lures and presentation to try to 'select' for bigger fish.

But, I figure I can't really control what bites my line. So, I'm pretty happy so long as something is bitin' and pullin'.

[A-Jay]

Without putting a pound / size on what qualifies a bass as a dink in any particular body of water / area of the country,

I prefer to fish for what ever is the better than average or trophy size fish in that impoundment.

I am not interested in sore lipping several Juvenal bass in the process.

A skunking is a bit humbling when trying to catch smaller fish but is just part of the process when targeting larger fish.

A day or a couple of completely skunked trips, indicates that I am definitely doing something wrong - so I'm learning.

It doesn't mean however, that I have to actually like it.

A-Jay

[bleedingshrimp]

I'd rather catch dinks than nothing at all...at the same time a single big girl is much preferred over twenty shrimps.

[tomustang]

I always fish for fun, anything is always better than nothing.

But if I was in a place where I bought rods and reels retailing $400-500, boats specifically to target bigger bass, then I would probably grow a mentally to where I'd only want 3lb and up

[GeorgiaBassBros]

I like catching bigger fish but I'd rather catch a few dinks than nothing at all.

[SirSnookalot]

I'm going to try and be tactful. Firstly all of my fishing is for fun, not that I'm not serious about it. My prime targets are way bigger and stronger than bass, I get plenty of that kind of action almost everyday.

When I do go bass fishing, which is most afternoons, I'm happy to catch any size. This is my relaxing time to fish, it can be as much fun as a 15# snook which is as common as a 3# bass, I really enjoy bass fishing. When I see PB of 4-5-6 or even 10# that means 1 fish and most are way smaller, hard for me to understand scoffing at a 3 pounder. If I'm looking to have fun, 3 pounds is great I'd just be downsizing my gear, which is how I fish for them. If 3 pounds is a dink, maybe some should forget bass fishing and only target larger more powerful species, I'll stick with my dinks and have a ton of fun.

[Bankbeater]

I was skunked plenty of times while I was learning how to bass fish. IMO, if I only catch one dink in an afternoon that means that I have successfully started to put together a pattern and given enough time I will be able to find the larger fish in that body of water.

[Highhawk1948]

Most of the fish I catch are 12 to 14 inches. I know that if I am catching fish I will hit some good ones sooner or later.

[Bob C]

Really? Man, 3 lbers here are decent fish. I need to move South. I would like to be able to say, I'll pass on 3 lb bass.

As for the topic, I'd like to catch dinks over being skunked. I don't mind being skunked but I go giant hunting when I musky fish. I don't expect to catch musky every time out. When I fish bass, I better at least catch one! lol

Same here. 3# is a big fish, 5# is a monster. A couple weeks ago I was in the shallow weeds and caught 8 in less than an hour. The largest was 12".

Bob

[flyfisher]

Tough question really. I am not a big fan of catching dinks ( a relative term to each body of water) but they do break up an otherwise slow day.

I just recently got back into bass fishing about 3 years ago and after the first year newness wore off where i was happy to catch anything i have definitely started tailoring my fishing to try and find the biggest bass in the lake. Haven't been real successful this year but i did get my PB earlier in the year that measured a shade under 26" so needless to say i was pretty pleased I think that is what keeps you going, the chance of catching the big one that didn't get away.

[Tuckahoe Joe]

Most of the fish I catch are 12 to 14 inches.

X2. Started fishing in July and my biggest ones only been 18 or so.

[SGT Rico]

Big, or nothing for me. I have purged all my "small bass" tackle out of my tackle bags. I don't throw worms under 10", and my jigs are all 3/8 once and bigger. Dinks still manage to bite my big worms, crankbaits, and big jigs. I mainly fish solo, so I can stand to go hours without a bite.