Ever feel like a bad angler?

[TimTheGearNerd]

I got my pride handed to me on Sunday and it hurt bad. I was out there on my yak for a few hours throwing a senko, a jig, and a jerk bait (and later a Ned rig). It’s like clear sky’s on a river system, a slight breeze between 11am and 4pm. It’s a beautiful Texas weather 70 degrees and water temp was 55. Got skunked. 
 

Meanwhile, I got a buddy that throws nothing but Ned rig all day. He fished 30 minutes behind me, same spots. This guy catches 5 fish in 30 minutes. I run back, throw the same stuff, nothin. Well, actually I got my Ned rig stuck on some weedfish and broke my lure off. 
 

Days like these, I wonder, am I that bad at fishing? I packed it up and I think I need a break for my ego to recover. 
 

Who’s got some stories for a guy feeling down in the dumps? 

[DitchPanda]

Do I ever feel like a bad angler? Nope...I'm the best fisherman I know and I always catch em.

In all seriousness everybody gets skunked...anybody who claims it never happens to them is either fishing in a hatchery pond or lying. Ive been out fished by my girlfriend before and I'm the one who taught her how to fish.

Sounds to me like you gained experience and got to be outside on a beautiful day with a good friend. Fish or not I'd call that a victory. I was at work for 12hrs and would gladly trade that in for a day of fishing and not catching.

[Bluebasser86]

Yeah, it happens. I fished a tournament once where my buddy and I struggled for 3 days, saw 3 bass in those 3 days. I broke off a 3.5lber early the day of tournament (thanks Vanish). I honestly felt like that fish could have gotten us some money as tough as it was. The winners had 26 and change and said they were constantly shaking fish off during prefishing and had to cull through a bunch of 4's to get their fish they brought in ?‍♂️ We saw them several times during prefishing too.

[Trox]

All. The. Dang. Time... But I am also my own biggest critic... Like even when I catch fish, I should have caught bigger fish kind of thing... Also, your friend is a punk for only throwing the Ned rig all day in Texas lol.

I get skunked. My buddies who consistenly win money fishing from their kayaks get skunked. There are hammers here in central and south Texas that consistently win AOY's during trails that I've seen get skunked in tournaments with two people in the boat... 

The worst thing you can do is get your head down...  Some of my best tournments finishes have come after being skunked while prefishing for them... Heck, there was a tournment one time at a lake that I had to drive 3 hours to, made that drive 3 times in a month, then prefished during official hours after off-limits, and GOT SKUNKED ON THE BIG DAY!!! lol... geez, that still hurts a bit. But that's the game we play. 

[DogBone_384]

Yes, I’m not a very good fisherman. I catch one or two fish per outing where others I fish with catch more, and larger fish most of the time.  Fishing Rhino and Mr. Aquarium come to mind, they’re very good.
 

There’s a ‘disconnect’ I can’t figure out that would get me to their level of success.  Yes, it stinks, and there are times I want to quit take up another hobby.

 

Some people have a ‘touch’ and some don’t. I can fix/build almost anything car related and my fishing friends can’t. I have ‘the touch’ for that stuff and they don’t.

 

As the Mandalorian say, "this is the way".

[Hammer 4]

I've had the ole skunk jump on me more than a few times, kinda makes ya wonder If your really any good at catching fish. But on the flip side, I've won small club tourney's and have caught good sized bass when no one around me did, so that makes up for the crummy days.

When the skunk hits, and I go home, I try to figure out why I didn't catch any fish, what could have I done differently that might have made a difference, and that's about all a person can do. Oh yeah, and learn from the bad days.

[Big Hands]

The day I caught my PB (12 lbs 13 oz), it was the only bite I got that day.

 

In fact, the second biggest bass I ever caught (12 lbs 4 oz) was the only bite I got that day as well.

 

Two days that I was one cast away from a skunk gave me the two biggest bass I have ever caught. I was a bad angler both of those days. . . . until I wasn't.

[bulldog1935]

bring a camera and change definition of the day's success

after all, this isn't supposed to be stressful

 

 

[The Bassman]

48 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

bring a camera and change definition of the day's success

after all, this isn't supposed to be stressful

 

 

 

 

I really envy your philosophy on this. I'm frequently guilty of letting frustration ruin my day.

[bulldog1935]

On 1/19/2021 at 4:27 AM, The Bassman said:

I really envy your philosophy on this. I'm frequently guilty of letting frustration ruin my day.

kinda learned it from my dad - he must have planted his boat on every sand bar from Port Aransas to Port Isabel (he always let my mom do all the stressing).  Fish here, the tide will be back.  

This was his 90th birthday trip last year

Have to admit, he looks 10 years younger holding his overnight stringer.  

(Mom was there, too)

 

[MGF]

1 hour ago, bulldog1935 said:

bring a camera and change definition of the day's success

after all, this isn't supposed to be stressful

 

 

I guess that's why my wife and I fish the river so much...the shores of most of our lakes are too developed. Not much to look at unless your into peeking in windows. LOL

[MGF]

I guess I can't spend anywhere near the time fishing as I spend doing the things that I really am good at.

 

My wife and I do try to keep it fun which means avoiding crowds, bad weather and developed waters. I'm pretty sure that I miss out on a lot of fish that way but.

 

I do try to study and hone skills that help me make the most of my time on the water.

[BrianMDTX]

I lost a Ned rig yesterday as well. And two Neko rigs. So far I’m batting 0.000 on the Ned rig. Just doesn’t seem to be my cup o’ tea. Caught a 3.5 lb’er on a Neko the day before so losing two hurt. 

 

As far as your Ned rig woes, when you say you threw the same stuff, was it exactly the same? Same weight head, same bait and color, same line (weight and color), same rod action? All those things can make a difference. 

 

In the end, the hardest critic is ourselves. But fishing should be a pleasure. Sometimes my best days are with little or no catches. Gives me a chance to try a lot of new baits! 

[galyonj]

1 hour ago, BrianMDTX said:

As far as your Ned rig woes, when you say you threw the same stuff, was it exactly the same? Same weight head, same bait and color, same line (weight and color), same rod action? All those things can make a difference. 

 

All things being equal, it's probably difficult-to-impossible that he'd fish a given presentation exactly the same way his buddy that was smashing on that presentation did/does.

 

I think everybody has a natural pace for a given presentation – how fast they reel when they're not thinking about it, etc. And I dunno about other people, but it takes some effort for me to change that pace.

[BrianMDTX]

7 minutes ago, galyonj said:

I think everybody has a natural pace for a given presentation – how fast they reel when they're not thinking about it, etc. And I dunno about other people, but it takes some effort for me to change that pace.

I think you are spot on. Some anglers really know how to work a specific presentation better than others. I’m seeing that with the Ned rig lol. 

[MGF]

My NED experience is 98% small rivers where the primary target is brown bass. The lakes I've fished the last couple of years were mostly shallow and weedy and "mucky" in some cases. 

 

It's been great in the river and ZERO in the lakes. Of course I realize that it's probably great in a different sort of lake.

 

In any case, small baits tend to do well in these small shallow rivers and light weights are usually the ticket. My most used NED jig is 1/20 OZ. I do go heavier when wind and/or current force me. The trick has been to get the jig bouncing down the river just barely bumping the bottom. It's usually better to go too light and not feel bottom than too heavy and get bogged down.

 

2 years ago my wife and I got into a spot on the river where for 1 1/2 hours I caught a nice brown bass almost every cast. My wife was throwing the same NED rig but didn't catch anything but snags while trying to duplicate the same cast.

 

I have more experience and I may be better at feeling the bottom and working the bait off snags without getting stuck but she got lazy and tied on a mono leader rather than the fc leader I was using. I wonder if my jig wasn't traveling more head down/hook up and therefor getting hung up less? Food for thought.

 

It was an unbelievable day except that I couldn't get my wife to catch a fish. I even tried to get her to just use my rod. I like catching 2# SMB (some were smaller) but I'd have more fun watching her catch them.

[galyonj]

3 minutes ago, MGF said:

It's been great in the river and ZERO in the lakes. Of course I realize that it's probably great in a different sort of lake.

 

I cannot catch fish on a ned rig in still water. Doesn't matter how I fish it. Little bit of current and it's a whole different story.

[J Francho]

Blanking in a club tournament on Oneida Lake after spending almost every weekend there for two months was rough.  What made it rougher, was the winning weight was almost 20 lbs. of green fish.  I took second the next two years with brown fish, so I'm not sure I learned my lesson.

[Captain Phil]

Many anglers believe success in bass fishing is about finding fish.  I have been fishing the Harris Chain since 1972.  If you put a map in front of me and asked me to check off spots where I have caught bass, the map would be covered up with marks.  Putting a bait in front of a fish does not mean it will take the bait.   There may be very slight differences in how a successful angler works the bait over the average fisherman.   This difference may be in speed, cadence, lure size, color, pattern, vibration or any number of  variations.  Years ago, I fished with an excellent rattle trap fisherman.  He caught fish after fish from the front of my boat while I watched.  He handed me his rod and told me to give it a try.  I caught nothing.  I gave it back to him and he caught fish.   What was I doing wrong?  What was he doing right?   I eventually learned to "trigger" strikes. Watch a video of KVD catching bass on a spinnerbait.  You won't see him chunking and winding like 99% of the fisherman on the lake.  You will see him "work" the bait. Fish are everywhere.  It's up to you to make them bite.

[MGF]

4 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

Many anglers believe success in bass fishing is about finding fish.  I have been fishing the Harris Chain since 1972.  If you put a map in front of me and asked me to check off spots where I have caught bass, the map would be covered up with marks.  Putting a bait in front of a fish does not mean it will take the bait.   There may be very slight differences in how a successful angler works the bait over the average fisherman.   This difference may be in speed, cadence, lure size, color, pattern, vibration or any number of  variations.  Years ago, I fished with an excellent rattle trap fisherman.  He caught fish after fish from the front of my boat while I watched.  He handed me his rod and told me to give it a try.  I caught nothing.  I gave it back to him and he caught fish.   What was I doing wrong?  What was he doing right?   I eventually learned to "trigger" strikes. Watch a video of KVD catching bass on a spinnerbait.  You won't see him chunking and winding like 99% of the fisherman on the lake.  You will see him work the bait. Fish are everywhere.  It's up to you to make them bite.

That's interesting and it isn't my intention to present this as anything other than anecdotal but there are a number of baits where I have caught way more fish when I take great pains to achieve a steady retrieve (of the right speed) and a spinner bait is one of them.

 

Sad story and remember information wasn't always so easy to come by. When I first started fishing my river I mostly used a Rapala floating minnow. I caught a lot of fish but realized there were times when you needed to get further below the surface.

 

I started using the count down...carefully because I didn't want the river to take them. Caught a lot of fish! One day my wife came home with some x-raps. We caught a million fish on them (and husky jerks)... until I learned how you're supposed to work a suspending jerk bait. I don't think I've caught a fish on one since. LOL

 

Just my experience in my little corner of the world.

[Captain Phil]

A steady retrieve catches fish when fish are active.  What I am speaking about is catching fish that are not active.  Unfortunately, this is the case more often than not.  If you could see fish, you would realize how many fish there are that don't bite.  Where we fish, bass see thousands of presentations.  Most of them don't warrant enough attention to be noticed.  To be a better fisherman, you must make your lure stand out above the rest.  

[J Francho]

Deflection is usually the key to getting bit with almost all baits, moving or not.

[Miabucman]

I know the feeling.  Try to use it as a learning experience and enjoy being outdoors.  I fish a weeknight (every other Tuesday) tournament in the eastern part of the state where I recently purchased a place on the lake.  I prefished a couple of times and slayed them.  The following Tuesday night, my partner was killing them and I couldn't buy a bite.  Same places, same conditions, same baits but I started to get frustrated.  Then I realized how I lucky I was to be out on the water and shooting the breeze with a friend.  Now, I still caught some ribbing from my buddy on not catching fish but it turned out to be a good time.

On the flip side, I fished a smaller lake that I previously had a tough go at it and changed up my technique.  Most guys were beating the banks and I went to a C-rig on a small point.  I couldn't keep the bass off of my bait and we pulled out a win.  

[TimTheGearNerd]

The worse part is the beautiful day, couldn’t even enjoy it and the day was beautiful. 
 

@galyonj I was definitely not throwing the same way. It was same color Ned right same lure. Honestly, he might have found a few and got the ones that would bite. Line, weight, retrieve might have all be subtly different. 
 

 

 

[galyonj]

7 hours ago, Tim Hu said:

The worse part is the beautiful day, couldn’t even enjoy it and the day was beautiful. 

 

Well, rest assured you aren't the first guy to've had a bad sesh ruin their day. It happens, and how to handle it is among the lessons that I never quite learn.

 

It's small solace, but we learn through failure. You grow as an angler through examining those failures.

 

Now tell your homeboy to quit stealing your fish. ?