Expectations too high or a common trend?

[33oldtimer]

I share your frustrations. I stopped fishing for about ten years because of health problems. I restarted after Covid. I was shocked that my old fishing spots, where I could nearly always catch a fish, were overloaded with people and the bass were in hiding from constantly getting hammered with lures. I couldn't get a bite on the same lures I always caught fish on in the past. 

 

I don't have an easy answer for you. What I have done and am doing is using live bait during the worst of times and seasons. By mid-summer fishing is almost entirely with finesse lures. 

 

People aren't wanting to tell you much because they are having the same issues. Most youtube videos where they seem to catch fish left and right are after 8 hours on the water and much editing. Or even a couple days of fishing spliced together. I love Jimmy Houston, he doesn't try to fool anyone. Watched his video the other day and he said he had been sitting there for three hours without a bite before he finally caught a fish.

 

Another thing with professional fishermen is that they are often masters with just a few lures from many years of practice. My son in law is a professional fisherman and like him, one of my favorite lures is a spinnerbait. He can skip a spinnerbait around like other professionals skip wacky worms. He drops that thing in cover with the blades barely spinning and pulls out monsters. He works a spinnerbait in ways I likely never will. 

 

Find what you are good at and build on that. And give yourself a break, these are tough times to fish in. I try to enjoy just being outdoors in God's great creation. I don't always catch fish, but I have seen eagles, otters, had deer practically walk up to me, and much more just by being outside.

[Swamp Girl]

Darren, here's another video of a guy catching bass by just wading a shallow river. This would be great practice at detecting a strike: