Trying to figure it out
Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 11:08AM As I sit down at my computer today I realize I have no fish stories, pictures, or videos to share. I have to ask myself why is that?! I blame it on a few different things. It has been unusually cold here in GA, it has been very wet (rained 4" on Sunday), and last but not least I have not been catching fish! To be honest it strictly comes down to being successful and productive on the water....as of late I have not done either of those two things.
My updates for the past 5 years have been about all the fish I am catching, the success I am having on the water, and the killer photos to accompany. Example below...
This post is different. I am going to talk for a minute about what it is like to not catch fish, to struggle on the water. The trials and tribulations. The fish are not always flying in the boat....hard to believe i know?!
Last week I hit the water 3 days and never boated a fish, yes that is correct, I never caught a bass on Lake Lanier 3 trips in a row. I think I can tie it to a few different factors. Water temps....the water temps last week hovered in the low to mid 40's! Bass are lethargic when the water gets that cold. The fellow MN boys/girls can relate, they do not catch many bass when the lakes are frozen. They simply do not feed and go dormant. So I tried to adjust and fish slower to get bites, but to no avail.
Water temps played a role. Also the amount of rain. It seems to rain an inch plus here every 2 days. The water levels were going down and the fish were biting, now they are on there way up and the fish shut down. The water also gets stained with the rain and makes them tough to catch.
The last thing I have to point to is ME. I am the only one with control over where I fish, what bait I use, when I fish, and how hard I fish. I think last week marked an all time low for me. When things aren't going right and nothing seems to be working I start to break down mentally. Adjustments needed to be made in order to captilize and I was not able to do that. To be succesful at a high level, you have to be able to adjust on the fly......
I know what you are thinking right now...."it is fishing, how hard can it be?" "It's not like you are at work!?" Well I am here to tell you just the opposite. When you pursue anything at a high level, I don't care what it is. If you are not able to achieve success it wears on you mentally. I started second guessing everything I was doing. Don't mistaken this for complaining, I would never complain about getting to fish for a living. I am simply putting on paper what I felt last week. I felt defeated and beat down. I found myself getting to the lake late, and leaving early. That is not like me. I found myself abandon everything I have learned in the past and going scatter brain. I had a case of serious discontent.
So here I sit with a fresh outlook and a fresh start to the upcoming fishing adventures. I did have to take a few days off the water, reflect, and get refocused. I went back to the drawing board and am going to have a different approach. For me to get back to being successful I have to put the trolling motor down and go!!! That is my key to success. If I am driving around at 60 mph I will never catch any bass. I have to fish longer, fish smarter, and fish harder than ever before. The FLW Red River tournament is fast approaching and I do not want to start my season off with a bad showing. I think this past 2 weeks was the best thing that could have happened to me; gave me a better understanding of how to adjust and react the next time things get tough. It is best that I have it out of the way, and can go forward being successful when it counts the most. But I also understand that rough times are still ahead, I just know I need to handle them differently.
As I stated earlier I will be heading to the Red River in Shrevport LA for an FLW tour event. I will update every day while I am there with pictures and stories. Stay tuned.
I am headed to the lake this afternoon and will be back with photos and stories. Until next time, FISH ON! Time to get back to the Crush!
Lake Waconia
Reader Comments (4)
This is a very bold article and I commend you for it. Fishing for a living is harder than most could imagine. You battle forces that are out of your control. Issues arise and it throws you off your game. Like anything in life, you will get out of it what you put in. I know you too darn well to see this put a damper on your style. You will find those fish, and you will figure out how to catch them. That's who you are and that's what you do. If anything, this will help you in the long run and make you a better fisherman. Good luck and Fish on buddy!