How to get out of a slump?

[digitalvoid]

I live in a small town that just happens to have a small lake. The lake is hit or miss when it comes to fishing. I often fish this lake because it's literally 5 minutes from my house. 

 

Got skunked again this evening. I'm trying a couple different techniques but don't really have a confidence lure or technique that is my go to. It's hard to keep motivated and go fishing when the fishing is like this at the local lake. I don't need to catch monsters to have a good time, but catching something is still fun, even if the bass are just a couple pounds.

 

What I'm wondering, is it even worth it to keep fishing this lake? Do I just not fish if I can't get 4-6 hours to do so? Should I just find more new bodies of water to fish, even though they might yield the same results? Should I focus more on finding a confidence lure or technique?

 

I should have mentioned earlier in the post that I am a bank fisherman. No access to any kind of boat, canoe, or kayak. 

 

Thanks and have a good one! Tight lines this weekend

 

Pete

[Yuddzy]

I have a similar situation: small town, small lake near my house with a somewhat slow bite. I think that for lakes like these, it's best to just focus on fishing it for fun. I use it to work on my casts, retrieve styles, etc. If I catch something, it's just a bonus. I fish it at night when I can find quiet spots to go pitch a few casts and be alone for a bit. 

 

You might find eventually that certain lures, colors, or times of day actually produce better results in that lake as well. 

 

 I would casually fish your local lake when you have spare time for practice, if you feel like that's beneficial to you. Some trips will be good, some will be very quiet. When you're just casually fishing, either result feels fine. If you want to do more serious fishing, find nice lakes that are out of town and more into the countryside if possible. They are likely to have more fish and a better bite as a result because they aren't likely to be overfished such as lakes near cities/towns. 

 

DEFINITELY find more lakes to visit. There's a lot more fun to be had out there. My local lake has few returns, I've caught one pike and two crappie in the last week. On a two day trip to a lake in the countryside, I hooked 4 pike and 3 bass. Your lake choices definitely make a big difference in how well you do out there. 

 

Cheers, just my 2 pennies on this as I have a similar situation to you. 

[PhishLI]

3 hours ago, digitalvoid said:

I live in a small town that just happens to have a small lake.

Describe the lake's features. Depth, weeds, pads, bottom, etc.

[gunsinger]

While nobody likes to get skunked, me especially, sometimes I have to make myself realize that it’s not always about the catching. It’s about the fishing. When it becomes all about the catching, we start to put too much pressure on ourselves and overlook the beauty of where we are. We fish too fast; too impatiently; and we fail to see what’s before us. 

[Catt]

Bank fishing in my opinion is the most difficult type of fishing. With limited access to the water & limited access to fish holding water. Depending on the body of water one can have limited techniques available.

 

All I got is keep chunking-n-reeling covering the entire water column before moving.

 

Most of my bank fishing trips are 2-4, hard to pattern anything when ya ain't getting bit!

[Mobasser]

I bank fish a small lake 2 or 3 times a week in the evenings.  What's worked for me is to fan cast from left to right and cover the water. You could also downsize your line/baits. A Zoom finesse worm or similar has been good. Fish slowly. Good luck!

[roadwarrior]

Find somewhere else to fish. I have 28 ponds locally, but only fish three on a regular basis.

[scaleface]

Does your lake have a rip rap dam ? If yes , then I can help you .

[Koz]

Try live bait and see if anything bites. If you cover most of the water with live bait and still nothing bites then find another place to fish.

[Bankc]

3 hours ago, gunsinger said:

While nobody likes to get skunked, me especially, sometimes I have to make myself realize that it’s not always about the catching. It’s about the fishing. When it becomes all about the catching, we start to put too much pressure on ourselves and overlook the beauty of where we are. We fish too fast; too impatiently; and we fail to see what’s before us. 

That's my philosophy.  I learned as a child to enjoy the act of fishing, not just catching fish.  Part of the trick to having fun is to not set expectations and just live in the moment.  

 

Each body of water is different, and some are really tough.  But even the toughest bodies of water can be cracked.  They just take a lot more time to learn.  And once you do crack it's code, you'll know how to fish other bodies of water like that one.  

 

Of course, you should definitely try out new bodies of water when you get the chance.  You'll learn a lot more that way.  

 

Just treat each fishing trip with the expectation to learn, either what to do or what not to do.  Don't go in expecting to catch fish.  Becoming a better angler is more about growth than success.  

[digitalvoid]

4 hours ago, gunsinger said:

While nobody likes to get skunked, me especially, sometimes I have to make myself realize that it’s not always about the catching. It’s about the fishing. When it becomes all about the catching, we start to put too much pressure on ourselves and overlook the beauty of where we are. We fish too fast; too impatiently; and we fail to see what’s before us. 

Very true.

4 hours ago, PhishLI said:

Describe the lake's features. Depth, weeds, pads, bottom, etc.

Max depth of 11' feet I believe. Lots of floating crap on top. No pads. Bottom is very grassy. Hard to throw a square bill. No structure really, at least the public access spots. There are a few cribs, but not sure that helps. Lots of northern in the lake. 

[PressuredFishing]

8 hours ago, digitalvoid said:

I live in a small town that just happens to have a small lake. The lake is hit or miss when it comes to fishing. I often fish this lake because it's literally 5 minutes from my house. 

 

Got skunked again this evening. I'm trying a couple different techniques but don't really have a confidence lure or technique that is my go to. It's hard to keep motivated and go fishing when the fishing is like this at the local lake. I don't need to catch monsters to have a good time, but catching something is still fun, even if the bass are just a couple pounds.

 

What I'm wondering, is it even worth it to keep fishing this lake? Do I just not fish if I can't get 4-6 hours to do so? Should I just find more new bodies of water to fish, even though they might yield the same results? Should I focus more on finding a confidence lure or technique?

 

I should have mentioned earlier in the post that I am a bank fisherman. No access to any kind of boat, canoe, or kayak. 

 

Thanks and have a good one! Tight lines this weekend

 

Pete

well what I do is try to improve on what I did wrong, Maybe I was fishing riprap and overlooked points, maybe I got distracted by fish blowing on the surface and was throwing topwater at the wrong time, Maybe I was pitching and flipping a lake where the bass like to go out deeper in the summer.  The most satisfying thing in bass fishing for me is not catching the fish, but changing what you did last time to catch more.

[WRB]

Natural lake with Smallmouth bass or Largemouth??

Tom

[geo g]

Before trying new bodies of water, I would down size, look for drop offs or culvert pipes, and slow way down.  The way I do it is go to a 4" senko texas rigged, let it settle to the bottom, and just let it sit for a couple of minutes.  Then just shake it and sit again.  Pull it 3 or 4 feet and just shake again without much forward movement.  Keep repeating the process.  If you have weed lines, where the weed line ends usually means a change in depth.  Fish that area slowly, bass sometimes sit at the bottom of the depth change.  Culvert pipes with water flow can be magical especially after heavy rains.

If that doesn't work then try new water bodies.  This technique has saved many a tough day for me.

[PhishLI]

1 hour ago, digitalvoid said:

Max depth of 11' feet I believe. Lots of floating crap on top. No pads. Bottom is very grassy. Hard to throw a square bill. No structure really, at least the public access spots. There are a few cribs, but not sure that helps. Lots of northern in the lake. 

OK, but give us more. If you're stuck on the bank, or are able to wade out a bit, what's the depth of the water within a cast's length? Is it mostly shallow, but deep in the middle, or is the 11' zone an isolated hole? Do you fish during broad daylight, or during low light periods or at night?

[scaleface]

"Lots of floating crap" , is this a fenced in lagoon ?

[GreenPig]

I'd go big and show them something like the Da Big Nasty 14.25" worm. Don't give up the bank it can surprise you. I fish my sub acre 7' deep pond 2x a week for 15 - 30 minutes.

[Luke Barnes]

Catch a fish, surefire way to get out of a slump 

[ike8120]

Don't give up, I was ready to then a miracle :) I caught a bass after weeks of trying, then some perch. So the slump has been broken.

[throttleplate]

i am in a spinnerbait and chatterbait slump for 3 weeks now. Yesterday it was gettin late and dark so i put on a lure i never use, the Storm wild eye walleye and the storm wild eye pike and caught 2 good fightin bass, one on each lure in the last 15 minutes of the day.

I will probably start using these 2 baits more now especially since i bought and used them over a year ago and caught fish with them but they kept gettin buried in the back of the box untill i needed to pull a rabbit out of my hat yesterday and said what the heck.

[schplurg]

Are there any nearby creeks or rivers? I have several lakes within half an hour of me but I usually fish the creeks because I catch fish there. Our lakes are tough, and from shore it's like playing roulette. Feels like it anyways.

 

I may hit the lake this evening but these days if I want to catch fish I hit the creek. At least I can cast the whole thing. If there's a fish around he's seeing my bait.

[DitchPanda]

18 hours ago, Luke Barnes said:

Catch a fish, surefire way to get out of a slump 

Best comment of the thread. Tired of not catching fish? Go catch one!