How do you overcome a slump?

[Chris]

What are some things you do to overcome a slump in you fishing?

[John Cullum]

I always go back to basics. Like flippin' a jig or cranking blow-downs or brush. I try to stay away from c-rigging or drop-shotting when I'm in a "slump" I'm not a very good deep water fisherman so I avoid doing that. I like to fish my strengths which are crankin, skipping docks and jig fishing all in shallow water for greenies.

Control what you can control and don't sweat the stuff you can't control like weather or what your buddy in another boat just landed. Check your equiment and knot, line, hooks, etc. This can make a good day or the water turn very sour. A missed fish due to a bad knot or nick in the line or your drag set to loose can usually be avoided. Double check your gear and line etc to eliminate possible break downs before they happen. Anyone of these can send your day down hill quickly.

You also have to stay in the right mind seat. You can do everything right and still not get a bite. If my mechanics are good and I'm putting the bait where I want it, its up to the fish to bite. Your gonna have your bad days where you struggle to get a good bite all day. Your also gonna bomb out from time to time, it happens, to everyone. What you do on those days are what will make or break you in my opinion. Do you give up or get frustrated to the point where you lose your consentration or do you remain focused so you land your next bite? A few years back I would lose my cool from time to time and it always made matters worse then what there already were. If I start to get frustrated now I'll take a few minutes to gather myself. The few minutes of not fishing while I calm myself down and get my head right usually pays off by landing my next bite.

[Chris]

Hey i am glad someone answered that i figured it would be a good topic

[JT Bagwell]

When I am in a slump the best cure that I have found is going back to my "confidence" lures.

A month ago I went up North for a tournament on the Mississippi River. During practice I tried all kinds of different tactics that I "thought" would work. I ended up with one fish that was maybe 11"-12".

The night before the tourney I was telling the guy I was sharing a room with that since my practice was so horrible I was just going to do what I do best, go Flipping.

During the first two hours of the tournament I still went back and tried to do the stuff that should have worked and it still wasn't producing. Finally I put all of my rods away and then took 4 flippin sticks out of my rod locker. I went to an area that had tons of laydowns and a slight current. I dropped my trolling motor and spent the whole time flippin' Jigs, Senkos and Kreatures. It didn't take very long until I figured out that I had made the right decision. I caught tons of fish and ended up taking 2nd in the touranment. I was 1 pound and a few ounces out of 1st. I was pretty satisfied with 2nd simply for the fact that I had a horrible practice and I wasted a couple of hours in the morning.

JT Bagwell

[Fatdaddy150]

The SLUMP Everybody gets the slump jinx!!! I will usually try to go some place where I know I can catch fish. Just putting fish in the boat of any size will help get your confidence level back up.  Stick to your confidence baits and techniques and fight thru it the fish are bound to hit EVENTUALLY.

Tight Lines,

Fatdaddy151

[Chris]

Last year for me was a slump year. I am mainly a crankbait fishermen and when its a crankbait year i am kinda hard to beat. Well last year wasn't a crankbait year.lol I could not get a keeper all year on a crankbait. I caught all of my fish on either a jig or a spinnerbait. Finally at my classic I caught and lost all but one on a crankbait. Does it make you feel like I lost my touch.. sure. Will I stop throwing a crankbait...never! Why was the classic the only time it worked?..kinda? no idea. I think for me I didn't put in 100%. I didn't make sure the cast was perfect or didn't make the right decisions when i needed to. I still caught fish but never caught the fish i know i could catch with the crankbait. I had to change even if i didn't want to. Now i am catching bigger fish more often. I basically went back to the basics and dumped out most of my tackle box. I now take 10 rods but use 2 maybe 3. I took the time to get really good at two or three techniques and gave up on wasted time on new ones.

[Stickling]

When i had just got into bass fishing i went with my cousin on his pond. I was in a slump. I didnt catch anything all day. Or the next day.. Or that week. Or part of the  next week. Anyway, that day my cousin was reeling in fish as fast as he could and as you know just getting into fishing and somthing like that happening tends to discourage you a little bit. But i kept at it and just the other day i was on his pond again with him and, I put him in a slump. I cought all the fish that day i think it was a total of 4 and he cought nothing.   which is a surprise.

[D.Taylor]

The best way for me to cure a slump, is to go fishing. Technique/equiptment usually arent the cause for a slump unless you changed something. I just fish myway threw it.

I have years where my tournament performances flat out stink. But in my prefishing and fun fishing im a world beater.

Just the nature of the game.

As my buddy JT puts it, "Don't hate the player hate the game"

[JHall]

I must concur with D. Taylor.  When faced with a slump of any sort; keep going.  Unless, of course, it is sky diving.  I digress.  Even as a professional photographer, I go through slumps.  I feel as though I am doing the same exact thing over and over again.  What do I do?  I shoot more.  Inspiration comes, or, in you case (and mine) the fish'll bite when they are hungry.  

[Big_Bass_Rich]

I've been in a slump since mid-december.. it's called WINTER.  :'(   How do I get out of it? Patience.

[Snag]

When you have a bad day fishing the best thing to do is go fishing.  ;D

Snag

[njbassin]

I've been in a slump since mid-december.. it's called WINTER. How do I get out of it?

It's called moving, I heard Florida 8) has the second best bass fishing in the US. Take a guess which one is #1 ???

[Fl._Flippin_Fool]

;D ya dont have to move, just slow everything down. Them bass will still bite.

[crankbait]

Change....tatic, lure, location, and attitude...!

[bowjunkie35]

This is a good topic that I thought needed revived.

I have not placed very well in the last few tourneys I have fished, so this topic was particularly interesting to me.

[Matt Fly]

What is a slump?  Not locating fish, weather changed,  or hooking up on a few and not getting the job done (fish in the boat), bunch of hits and no hooksets?  Not feeling the softer bites?   Not catching them in the ole honey hole like normal.  Sometime the answer is not above water(you) but what is going on under the water! (Raul can help you on that)  I don't believe for one moment that we all go out ever day and kill'em.  We all have bad days.   A few days in a roll might make us fish out of our comfort zone the next time we are out.  My jig bite is not well for this time of the year.  Am I slumping? I thought i was,  my friend told me that the grass line i fished last few years didn't come back like it has been,  the fish aren't as piled up in that area as in the past.  When you put pressure upon your self, you don't have as much fun,  and thats what its about.  I'd rather be in a fishing slump than slumped down in my easy-chair!!!!  

[bowjunkie35]

Good response Matt - I think a slump is all that you mentioned. And you are right about putting pressure on ourselves. As a tournament fisherman, that is the ultimate pressure. It sure can make you second guess your ability when you fish poorly in a tournament. I will admit, while I LOVE the competition, there have been days when I have not had fun on the water.

My wife asks me after every tourney, but you had fun right! Well, there are times I have to lie!

[bassackwards]

I am in a constant slump.  when I catch one, its a great thing.  when I catch two or three, I had a good day.  not havin a boat is a major player, because I can't get to places where I am more comfortable when I want to get out of a slump.  locating fish is a major dilema.  quite alot I see myself saying, "I'd eat that if I were a fish!"...  when I say that, I think the presentation is excellent.  

maybe the bass don't think so.

when I'm in a slump, I get restless.  moments in a spot are short lived.  I'm more careless, makin noise, bad casts, etc.

to get out of it.  I throw crankbaits or spinnerbaits more often.  to get out the restlessness.  then I stay in spots a bit longer.  I try to become more aware of what I'm doing so I'm not as careless about the noise I make, usually a reminder helps me accomplish that.

I needa start flippin.  I have alot of confidence in that, even though I rarely have ever been flippin.

[Shad_Master]

I guess you would say I stay in a perpetual slump, if by slump you mean fishing without catching fish.  But the reason is because I keep experimenting with different baits, techniques, etc.  Some times I can learn more in a day when I don't get bit than I can on a day when I'm loading the boat.  I fish just about every day (some times only for 1/2 hour or so) but what I am doing is learning.  This morning I spent a 1/2 hour in a spot where I have been skunked the last several times out.  I changed up my bait selection and caught a 2#er, a 3#er and a 4#er all within 50 yards of each other.  I just got back from my lunch "hour" and didn't catch a thing in a spot where I have caught fish every day for the last two weeks.  

Now when tournament time rolls around, I will be able to replicate what worked, but also have some other tricks up my sleeve if it doesn't.  A slump for me is when I can't go fishing -- and that is usually corrected by digging into the "honey-do" list for a while

[Matt Fly]

Shad Master has part of the equation correct,  Keep mamas honey-do-list current.   GIT'ER DONE!!!!!

[FlyRod]

What are some things you do to overcome a slump in you fishing?

I sit up straight!

Actually, Dear Old Canyon Lake, my usual haunt, has been less than generous since '05 began. I've had several one-three fish days and the odd 20+ day or three, with only one quality fish worthy of mention. I suppose that constitutes a "slump". Fair be it to say, however, that Canyon is not a big fish lake, notwithstanding the 6+ one of my partners managed to catch in late April (released after interrogation.)

This is in marked contrast to previous years wherein 60-100 fish (per two bassers) days were common.

We will attack again, renewed in spirit and determination, as Fall peeks in.

I'd say that, (other than by good posture  ;D,) simply assessing and refining one's lure selection and presentation will do much to improve things, but this must be coupled with patience, a positive belief in success, and thorough fishing of a specific area before moving on. Begin the process by trying to identify whatever may have been "different" from more successful times. In other words..."Is the lake, weather, etc, to blame or is it ME?"

F.Rod

[Keepin_It_Reel]

When i have a bad day or even a bad week i just use the lures i love to use like buzzbaits and more buzzbaits. Or fish for something that is easy to catch like panfish. You just got to work the slump off.

[Nick.Culver]

One of the biggest mistakes is people (Myself included) tend to get ansy when they aren't catching fish. Which makes them get out of fucus or speed up or not fish the area as productively as one should. I'm a naturally confident person. So it's hard to get me down and I believe it helps me out alot when tournament fishing. Because I believe every cast holds a 5lber. It like last weekend at a tournament. A lot of what a slump is all mental. If your focused your not in a slump the fish have lock jaw. Nothing you can do about that. It's like Rick Clunn says take out all of the little so you don't have to worry about the things you can control. One thing many people need to work on is CASTING ability. It is one that you can control from the presence of your own home. You don't need to be on a lake to do it. Yet every year I see guys struggling with this. If you can place that bait where it needs to be as much as possible then chances start going into your favor. Another way to get out of a slump is to stubborn. A lot of people believe cranks work best when fish are active or feeding. I use a crank if they aren't. I force feed them. Some days I'll only get 6 or 7 bites but I know on those days chances are they'll be big. The biggest thing I've personally learned is persistance and patience.

[bassackwards]

nice post culver...

I found out today, go to a farm pond and fish if ever leaving a lake in a 'slump'.  

I know the bass do bite again, so tomorrow will be better.