what goes thru your head when not catching fish

[blanked]

do you think your using the wrong presentation, lure or not fishing the right area ?  what else??  

[carySE406]

Usually the first thing I think when I'm not catching fish is "Why am I fishing here?", then if I have a good reason to fish that particular spot I'll switch presentations, if not I'll simply move to another location with the same presentation.

[Skwerl]

  Quote

what goes thru your head when not catching fish?

A bit of a breeze if I turn my head just right...  

Had that experience today. Slow day on my local lake with the constant drone of weedwhackers, power blowers and train horns. For a while I was wondering why I even bothered trying to 'get away' in the middle of a densely populated urban area. I just kept changing up presentations and locations. Went through about a dozen plastics with only 2 fish landed. Tried to just relax and enjoy the solitude but finally decided to get out of the heat about 2pm.

[jb_adams]

I got up how early this morning for this???  (joke)

Being a beginner, I start changing baits thinking that will produce bites.  After doing this many times, I know better.  If they aren't biting on one to two baits, they are there or they aren't biting at all.  You could be doing something wrong too that's spooking them.

I'm still learning but when the fish aren't biting, go to the basics, slow and natural presentations like a c-rig.

[Fish Chris]

Especially for somebody like myself, who is "not catching fish" a lot more often than "he is catching them" !

So anyway, I think about all the typical things..... my fishing rout, my next stop, what are the fish doing today, might they have backed off, etc, etc......

But above all else, I'm thinking, "I really don't care how freaking active they are today..... I'm only fishing for one bite anyway ! If it's over 10, it will be a good trip" !!! :-)

.....and call me chronically optimistic, but I can throw a swimbait for 10 hours, without a hit, or even a follow, but right down to that last cast when the sunset is forcing me off the water, I still keep thinking, "I know it can happen".... and therefore, I'm still concentrating on every cast, even more intently than 10 hours ago when I started, because the way I see it, I especially don't want to miss a fish now, after putting in all the work that I already have !

I know, I know.... kind of twisted thinking.

What an addiction to live with.

Peace,

Fish

[Morrolan]

  Quote

what goes thru your head when not catching fish?

Sex. Motorcycles. Why aren't these fish cooperating? Boats. Should I switch lures? Sex. I could sure go for a club sandwich. Am I getting sunburned? Sex.  ;D

[Panamoka_Bassin]

I find that I'll start scanning the area for the next place to throw a bait, or look up in the sky (I saw the last flight of the F-14 this way!).  Unfortunately, I also start thinking about what I should be doing instead of fishing...

[KS_Bassin]

I usually go rummage through the snacks grab a candy bar or granola bar. If i'm not catching fish i ask myself what am i doing wrong if the presentation i am using has worked before i'd change it up a little maybe use a smaller worm or a bigger crainkbait, or even use scent. If i'm at a new lake and not catching anything I will go look for a different area to fish.

[Fish Chris]

You said > If i'm not catching fish i ask myself what am i doing wrong <

Did you ever stop to consider that you might not be doing anything wrong ? Sometimes the fish are just in a negative feeding mode.

Again, I can fish all day without a bump or a follow, and still feel confident the whole time, that I'm doing everything just the way I should be, but that the fish are just not quite feeding wide open. Which is perfectly okay, as it only takes one cast / bite to make it a great trip ;-)

Peace,

Fish

[Guest ouachitabassangler]

I'm usually always thinking about what I'm doing and not doing catching or not catching. If not catching more than 30 minutes at a time sometimes I completely break it all off and beach the boat. I turn over rocks looking for crayfish, wanting their colors. I'll take them to a place I can view some bottom and toss them in the lake just to see what happens. If no takers I assume the bass are not bottom feeding, which can completely change my thinking. I watch baitfish to get their colors and size. It's fun to put the smallest hook I have with a maggot on it and catch bream or baitfish to get their colors perfectly. I might tip a lure with those just to be sure to catch a bass, and once caught my whole perspective changes, the pressure to produce reduced. There's just something about catching a fish of any species in any legal way that improves my fishing day. If I run into some crappie I'll switch to those, priming myself for going back to bass. While walking the shoreline looking for clues I'll watch for washed up lures. Finding $50 worth in a day lifts my spirits. I have thousands of dollars worth of those, to be cleaned and hooks replaced someday. It would take another lifetime to fish them away. That's satisfying. Sometimes resuming fishing with lifted spirits lets the bite turn on. Of course you can't do those things tournament fishing, but that wouldn't be a problem most of the time. Almost all my fishing these days are strictly recreational with some guiding for friends.  

Or I'll beach the boat and sleep a few hours    It's the best sleep I know of.

Jim

[roadwarrior]

I'm thinkin', we're going to need more beer!

Seriously, the only time I don't catch fish is when there is something wrong with the water. Then it's time to go to the lake if we're on the river, or just go back to the house. I rarely (never) fish more than an hour or so if they aren't co-operating.

[coachjoe]

Most of the time I can figure the fish out enough to atleast be somewhat successful.  If they won't bite I think of different presentations or try new techniques that I want to work on, but most of all I enjoy being out away from the pressures of everyday life.  I appreciate it even more now that I have two small children at home and don't get to fish as much as I used to.  

[Fish Chris]

Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum.....

You said > the only time I don't catch fish is when there is something wrong  <

Where as for myself, "the only time I 'do catch fish' is when everything is lined up just right" :-)

Peace,

Fish

[roadwarrior]

Fish Chris,

I think your water is relatively stable, mine is a commercial river that varies from day to day. If the TVA does not release water, the fish don't bite...period. Current stimulates the entire food pyramid, without it, we have nothing.

I have been fishing the Tennessee River for more than six years. I use to push it when I was new. I have learned that when the water isn't moving, the dog don't hunt! We also have cold, muddy water when the flood gates are open in the winter and spring. I have fished those conditions a few times in the past. I won't be in the future.

There are times when conditions aren't right, no matter who you are. I'm a recreational fisherman and I don't have to fish those days.

[Bass Hammer]

I usually start thinking of what I might do that would make a slightly different presentation.

A similar bait that is smaller or bigger, more or less vibration or wobble, different weight etc.

[cart7t]

If I'm out on a lake close to home I'll consider heading home.  If I'm down at the lake several hours from home and that isn't an option, I'll C-rig a french fry or throw a small 4 inch worm and try and make things happen.  I'll also find the thickest cover on the lake I can and dead stick a bait right in the middle of it.  If there's standing timber I'll find some tree tops along a channel break and vertically jig a soft plastic in the middle of it varying my depth till I find the fish or give up trying.

[danger_angler]

The 1st thing I think about is color if I'm going to change something up thats usually what I try first, but often I just step back and force myself to relax not panic and make sure I cover the area I'm not having success with with good quality casts and retrieves to make sure I'm producing an effective presentation.