Tough fishing

[Benjamin New]

I do alot of fishing. At least five days a week and I generally know where I can definitely catch em. lately though, I have been fishing spots I know are tough. like they can be caught  but it takes a little extra if you know what I mean. I have enjoyed it alot. Every fish comes with excitement and a feeling of accomplishment. Am I the only guy who purposely fishes tough spots or does anyone else practice such behavior.

 

[Scott F]

I am the very opposite. I will very seldom even leave the house to fish if I think fishing is going to be tough. I do a lot of road trips to fish so I plan my trips to be on the water during "prime time". During the summer, I fish rivers almost exclusively because I know the fishing will be much easier than lakes would be. I fish because I like catching. I spent a lot of money on boats and tackle to catch bass. Not catching isn't nearly as much fun.

[Mike L]

I do, especially when I want to try something new. I have spots in a few local canals and ponds that are close by that I know where, when and how to catch a fish or two. But when I buy something new I will go to places Ive  never been to just to see what happens and then follow that up to those places I know and throw the same thing to see if they'll bite and make a mental note of the results.

I've eliminated a lot of second guessing and saved money on baits doin it this way. 

 

Mike

[everythingthatswims]

Oh definitely, I like proving people wrong.

"Too cold/rainy/windy"

"They aren't supposed to do that this time of year"

[Turtle135]

The progression of the angler (any fish, many fish, big fish, hard fish). Nothing better to me personally than pulling a lunker out of pressured water.

[TnRiver46]

8 hours ago, everythingthatswims said:

Oh definitely, I like proving people wrong.

"Too cold/rainy/windy"

"They aren't supposed to do that this time of year"

I think the bass sometimes forget to read the books written about bass hahahah 

[MassYak85]

I like fishing tough weather, but I'm also not going to purposely fish spots I know will not be as productive. I get enough satisfaction out of finding a pattern and finding the productive spots. 

[Raul]

High winds will keep me home, you don't want to be in my everyday lake in a 12 ft jonboat with high winds.

[scaleface]

Not me . I try to  pick  my days and spots to catch the maximum amount of fish .

[OCdockskipper]

For weather, I want want easy - overcast days with occasional sprinkles.  Not only does it tend to make the fish more active, it keeps a majority of people off the water.

For location, I will pass up an easier, high pressured lake for a slightly tougher one with less folks around.  I'm not looking for a challenge, just the opportunity to fish someplace without rubbing elbows with other anglers.

I know it sounds like I am anti-social, but I live in a county that is 948 square miles with a population over 3.1 million people.  Do the math, that is over 3000 people per square mile.  I interact with people all the time, part of my fishing enjoyment is having at least a little solitude.  

[CybrSlydr]

Personally, I've not been at this long enough or consider myself experienced or "good" enough to purposely make catching fish difficult.

You can see all my posts in the fishing report forums and 95% of them I came up empty. 

Once I can consistently go out and catch fish then perhaps - but for now, I just want to catch something and to make it purposely more difficult might just kill it for me entirely.

[Bluebasser86]

I like trying to find them in overlooked places, which often leads to tough fishing until the fish are located. Finding tough fish is one of my preferred tournament strategies also because I know most guys won't bother with them. As long as I feel like I can get enough bites each day, I'm good. 

[davecon]

Easy choice for me. I just go whenever I can. Choose location based on water conditions and tides. That doesn't guarantee success but I see no sense in beating my head against the wall. I'm only interested in snook and LM over 5 so that changes things.

[Yakalong]

5 hours ago, davecon said:

Easy choice for me. I just go whenever I can. Choose location based on water conditions and tides. That doesn't guarantee success but I see no sense in beating my head against the wall. I'm only interested in snook and LM over 5 so that changes things.

This is like me, I go when I can. Depending on the weather will usually dictate where and how I fish. 

[frogflogger]

For years I just wanted to catch a bunch of fish - I now enjoy "difficult lakes and times" the challenge to figure something out has its rewards - or as my old mentor  said "When the fishing is easy anyone can catch fish, and that isn't a bad thing but it's more fun to catch when it's tough"

["hamma"]

  Tough for me to fish? weatherwise or fishwise doesnt really matter to me. Weather never really deterred me unless the winds are whipping to hard to launch,(love my deep-v hull) or lightning is about. As for fishing tougher fish to catch? Thats just another challenge, I do my best to overcome. I dont really seek those fish out, but if thats whats presented, thats what I attack with even more vigor. BUT,........

  If Im fishing a known lake, the fish are agreeable, and Im on track for a 100 fish day, I will seek out a tougher area or situations/presentations that are more of a challenge. I dont want to "slay" them, I respect my quarry, and would prefer to learn a "new" tactic, or technique, than to beat up one I already am experienced in.

 Hence why I bought a dropshot setup this last spring, was out 6 times this year but didnt get to use it successfully yet.,...lol,... the old heinz ketchup add,.."ANNNN-TI-CI--PA-AAA-TION,... is making me wait",.."keeping me waa-ait-ing". So,.next year? Im seeking that day to break it in on some deeper, fat, healthy, smallies to rival A-Jays late season pics.,...yeah, they were some beauties! 

[Deleted account]

I don't mind fishing when the fishing is tough, but I'm not seeking it out. I go fishing to catch fish, not to feel fuzzy between the ears. To each his own, but I think arbitrarily setting boundaries or limits is silly.

[Ratherbfishing]

Tough fishing occurs often enough for me that I never have to look for it.

[Benjamin New]

I live in Central Florida my home lake is west lake toho. I've been fishing it my entire life and rarely go home dissapointed. Hell I fish the bank during sun down almost daily and catch 2-3 in an hour depending on the technique. Lately though I've been hiking through alot of woods to fish the back of a shallow creek. The fishing is tough back there but when I catch em it feels nice.

[Catt]

Why certainly

I purposely fish areas not known for big bass just to see if I can catch the biggest bass around!

Some areas I hold the record & one area my grandson does.

The picture below is from a pond that many believed hold nothing over 6#.

[WRB]

My goal is to catch big bass wherever they maybe located and legal to fish at. The location overlooked most is in plain sight.

Tom

[scaleface]

If I could fish a lot more, I would entertain the idea of purposefully making it tough . I dont get to fish as much as I like so I'm not gong to make it anymore difficult . That doesnt mean that I'm stuck in a rut , I do  try new things and places  .

If I wanted tough fishing I'd visit the Mississippi river under flood conditions .

[Team9nine]

For 25 years I paid good money (entry fees) to get the opportunity to fish in tourneys where I had NO control over the quality of the fishery, the status of the water conditions, or the state of the weather. As such, I've had more than my fair share of time on crappy fisheries, at bad times, during major floods and droughts, fishing in both frigid cold temps and snow, as well as thunderstorms and tornados, along with blazing hot heat and no wind in the back of some Ohio River creek with the smell of paper factories filling the air all day....and everything in between.

So now days, I don't go looking for tough fishing - I fish when I want, where I want

-T9  

[TyF]

I fish whenever I have free time whether it is an hour or 6 hours doesn't matter. The only weather that can stop me is high winds and lightning. For me, I fish smaller ponds most of the time and know what ponds are best for what times of year. I also know where I have caught fish in each pond on what for each time of year. If I have a long time to fish I will generally go somewhere where I know I can catch fish if conditions are just right but it isn't guaranteed and then if that doesn't work I head to my honey holes where I know exactly what they are biting and where. I like to start out with a challenge to see if I can find something different knowing that I have a back up plan if that doesn't work out.

[gulfcaptain]

I have to say, anywhere close to where I'm at is tough fishing.  But then those tough places let you learn how to fish pressured fish and let you try new things as well.  So when you head out and fish a great fishery and the bite is tough you make the changes to have good days on the water and move to more productive areas or patterns.  Tough fish and tough fishing conditions lend themselves to making someone a better fisherman then someone that has it easy most of the time.  When fishing gets tough, the better fisherman will shine when the average fisherman struggles and wines.