How often do you guys get skunked?

[StrikePrince]

Whenever I seem to be gaining confidence the fishing gods like to smite me down with a skunk day.  Not sure what happened-seemed to be good conditions, overcast day, not much wind.  Lost one frog bite early in the morning, and the rest of the day only had a follow on a bubblegum fluke.  No bites on the jig around docks.  Small bites (probably bream) on a shaky head around docks.

 

  Just wondering how often the greater-than-me fisherman of bass resource experience a skunk? 

 

I think I'm mostly looking for some reassurance that it's all gonna be OK.  Or maybe- what I could have tried differently that day instead of banging my head against the wall (or throwing the same jig/trailer to docks with the same frequency/monotony as headbanging).

 

 

[BubbaBassin’]

Well if it makes you feel better, I’ve been fishing for 6 months now for bass. Never caught one. Keep up the good fight and just enjoy your time on the water man. If your in the game to catch fish. Go to a charter. It called fishing for a reason brother. Tight lines.

[Bassin' Brad]

What's a skunk? I catch at least a couple  little 4 lbers every trip....

 

 

 

 

 

?J/K Some days It just happens....

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Wildbillb]

Days like this are learning days.  Days where they bite a bear hook not so much.

[NHBull]

It happens, but not as much when you work on the space between your ears.

I tend to see more of it when I am consciously are targeting bigger fish.

[jbmaine]

You are not alone, it happens.

[Todd2]

Between April and November, it's rare that I get skunked but has happened.

 

Jan and Feb are my skunk months, I catch very few fish in this time. 

[MikeInWyandotte]

More likely to happen if you are fishing mid day with high sun, less likely to happen if you are fishing in the morning or the evening.  But like everyone else says in this thread, it happens.  The pros struggle also... ever read "Day on the Lake" series in Bassmaster?  Where they have a pro go to and un-named random lake?  Many of these "Days on The Lake" aren't what I would call stellar by any means.

[DINK WHISPERER]

NEVER . . . . . . ?

[flyfisher]

22 minutes ago, MikeInWyandotte said:

More likely to happen if you are fishing mid day with high sun, less likely to happen if you are fishing in the morning or the evening.  But like everyone else says in this thread, it happens.  The pros struggle also... ever read "Day on the Lake" series in Bassmaster?  Where they have a pro go to and un-named random lake?  Many of these "Days on The Lake" aren't what I would call stellar by any means.

I'll disagree with the midday high sun piece myself.  I have caught a lot of my biggest fish during that time of day.  It seems to actually condense them for me as long as i am willing to make the changes needed to catch them.  

 

As far as being skunked goes, not very often.  I don't think it has happened in probably 3-4 years and that was in winter.  Now i don't always catch bass though as the lakes i frequent do have a good population of chain pickerel and i will target them in the colder months because, well nothing beats topwater on a 40 degree water temp day

[LCG]

It does happen from time to time. One thing I try to do is learn from every outing. What did I do right, what did I do wrong, was there a better spot to try, did I follow the cues of mother nature's (wind, birds, etc), right type of bait for the conditions, etc. The list goes on. I think thats what makes the greats of fishing so great. They studied, practiced and learned. Failure is just part of the learning process. Don't be too hard on yourself. 

[Lead Head]

An actual skunk is rare but definitely happens. Days with only 1 or 2 dinks are more common and usually come when I insist on trying to force-feed the bass what I want them to eat. Some days I just want to fish what I want to fish... and if it's a poor day because of that, so be it. 

[MichaelCopeland]

I'm not gonna lie, I get skunked alot. However, I consistently fish for big bass. Most of the time, when I do catch one, it's a pound or better in weight. I do catch a few real dinks at times, but sometimes I do catch that big un I'm after. Maybe next time you're at that lake try a different color jig and different trailer. Sometimes that's all it takes to get em to bite. There's times I want so bad to catch one on just a different chatterbait than the one I usually catch them on. They don't seem to want it and I'll put my 1/2oz breaking bream Project Z on and it gets smashed. Occasionally I'll have to try different trailers with it, but for the most part either a Rage Swimmer or a Rage Craw seem to always do the trick. Don't beat yourself up though, getting skunked happens to all of us at times. Some more than others, but none the less it happens. Even to the pros! ?

[FishDewd]

Last 5 outings, not a catch! I had bites, but no successful strikes! But... just enjoy the outdoors and the time for peacefulness. Half the time I drift off and daydream while fishing lol. As long as you have fun, the fish are secondary. Is what it is.

[scaleface]

The only time I get skunked on a lake that has a good  population is  under extreme conditions like , flooded  muddy water , cold muddy water .... Keep in  mind that I'm usually out there for 8  hours . I got skunked last Monday but it was so  hot that I quit after ten minutes .  

[CroakHunter]

I rarely get skunked, but I fish a lot less than a lot of these guys. If I fished a few times a week it would happen more. But i only get a few hours a week. I don't catch a lot of fish, but the ones I do are nice ones. My last tourney we only caught may be 20 fish in 12 hrs. But 6 of the 20 we're over 4lbs. And 3 of them were over 5

[ohboyitsrobby]

Like actually 0??? Not very often. Catch very few or no fish that'd measure? More often than I'd like lol 

[geo g]

Don't worry about it, it happen to everyone once in a while.  If they tell you no, they are full of it.  It happens to big time pros on the tour.  I will tell you one thing, if its tough, go with your confidence plastic and slow way down.  Let it fall through the entire water column, then slowly move it and let it sit.  It usually works for me on those painfully slow days.

[Darren.]

A zero fish outing happens to all of us. Just keep at it

and don't let it mess with your confidence. Try new 

techniques, colors, etc.

[Angry John]

The peak of the summer and dead of winter gets me a lot.  Funny that I am sure it's the same deep pattern and it just kicks my butt.  My skunk comes the most often in a tournament when I can control none of the factors like time of day, lake and stuff like that.  It happens.  Try and find people who know things you don't and learn from them.  Fish with as many people as possible.

[WCWV]

It happens to all.

Winter months are my hard time with water temps in the 30's, then I'll usually target Walleye. 

Me personally, if I just go after any bass, I usually will catch a few from April through November, but I like to target bigger bass and do my best off shore structure, generally less bites, but better quality. ?

[NittyGrittyBoy]

Went twice this pass week, caught 1 dink... It happens

[Glaucus]

Rarely. Days where I only catch 1 or 2 are more common, but those are few and far between as well. I usually fish ponds and will hop around until I find one where they're biting.

[Scott F]

When I get the skunk, it is usually in the early spring when the water is still cold. Once the water gets above 50, I can’t remember the last time I got nothing. I have to say that I plan my fishing trips to give myself the best chance for success. During the warm, summer months, I only fish rivers where bass are always shallow, not hard to locate and get little fishing pressure. If I was bank fishing on random ponds, or lake fished pressured waters,  I’d probably come up empty a lot more often. Planning and traveling longer distances to better waters always ups my chances of a good day.

[clh121787]

More than i care to admit.a few years ago I went over 100 hours of getting skunked Swimbait fishing. Probably 15 or 20 consecutive outings.