Fishing with Confidence...

[Eric J]

That word "confidence" gets thrown around here in regards to many aspects of fishing. I gotta say there's a lot of truth to approaching the water with that "confidence".

 

I fish a high pressure lake pretty frequently as its 10 minutes from my front door and has a nice bank. Tough lake and I never get a high fish count but I can usually pull out a couple biguns... I do better than many bank fisherman do there. But...

 

As it was this morning I was skittish about what I was throwing and moved to 3 different spots and couldn't settle on a lure. Could be that it was just an off morning but I find that my attitude and "confidence" can definitely help my catch...

 

Eric J

[geo g]

You will have off mornings that is not unusual.  But I will always have baits I will experiment with, but 3 or 4 I have confidence in anywhere, anytime.  These I will return too as soon as the fun of a new bait wares off.  Senko’s, flukes, trickworms, craws, will catch fish on any body of water almost any day.

[WRB]

I am the opposite with new lures and presentations and try them during a active bite to determine if it works.

When you don't have confidence it affects how you fish and consentrate on potential strikes and you start thinking a different lure may work when it's not a lure issue, it's more then likely a location and timing issue.

Tom

[Eric J]

2 hours ago, geo g said:

You will have off mornings that is not unusual.  But I will always have baits I will experiment with, but 3 or 4 I have confidence in anywhere, anytime.  These I will return too as soon as the fun of a new bait wares off.  Senko’s, flukes, trickworms, craws, will catch fish on any body of water almost any day.

I have had several off mornings in a row on this God forsaken lane ... lol... I am probably one of the better bank anglers on this lake.

 

As much as I can hate this body of water I love it. It is a challenge. But lime this morning, I feel I moved to other spots prematurely....

[A-Jay]

While confidence & attitude can & does play a role in fishing & in Life, so does Knowledge & Experience.

Best attitude in the world will do little to overcome doing the wrong thing in the wrong place and at the wrong time.

BUT - having fun while we're 'fishing' and acknowledging that we don't catch them all day everyday, can help an attitude out quite a bit as well.

Perhaps cut yourself some slack

A-Jay

 

btw - " I am probably one of the better bank anglers on this lake."  This attitude is probably holding you back.  Definitely not improving your success

 

[NHBull]

This is a tough one, and I am probably in the minority, but I believe we make our confidence/luck.   I believe the more you practice, the luckier you become  This is true with many baits.  Experience helps dictates the choice in situations. When rewarded, I prefer to think it was my choice, not that a particular bait was on the business end of the line. There is no doubt that some techniques catch more fish and others tend to catch bigger fish.....but it who can catch fish when the bite falls off. Just one guys opinion.

 

On a side note, I have committed to using techniques that I have struggled with......I have a few more " confidence baits" ?

[Deleted account]

55 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

While confidence & attitude can & does play a role in fishing & in Life, so does Knowledge & Experience.

Best attitude in the world will do little to overcome doing the wrong thing in the wrong place and at the wrong time.

 

We have a word for folks with confidence and attitude that lack experience and knowledge, delusional. Their entry fee checks cash just as good though, in fact, even better....

 

 

[Bankbeater]

Most of the baits that I use have caught fish before.  It's more of a gut feeling than having confidence.  I might try several confidence baits before one feels right.

[Eric J]

39 minutes ago, reason said:

We have a word for folks with confidence and attitude that lack experience and knowledge, delusional. Their entry fee checks cash just as good though, in fact, even better....

 

 

Confidence cometh before a fall? ?

[Sean McGurn - mobasser]

I think I only have confidence in around three lures. I tend to use them the most. When my confidence level is low, I never catch as many fish

[Catt]

"Success is on the same road as failure; success is just a little further down the road." Jack Hyles

[Deleted account]

15 hours ago, Catt said:

"Success is on the same road as failure; success is just a little further down the road." Jack Hyles

Yup.

 

"If you can keep your head when all about you   

    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,   

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

    But make allowance for their doubting too;   

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

    Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

 

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   

    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

    And treat those two impostors just the same;   

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

 

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

    And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

    To serve your turn long after they are gone,   

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

 

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,   

    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

    If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,   

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,   

    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!"

 

                                   R. Kipling