Ok so I have been absent from writing for.... too long. I have tried to write a number of times but it felt forced, uncomfortable. The same feeling I have had on the water lately. This spring I was in the groove on the striped bass scene. I took one weekend off and my results since then have been dismal at best. The worst part is that I have been fishing, a lot. Multiple all night-ers without a bump or two to three fish days in eight to ten hours of fishing. The worstest part, yes worstest is a word because I just made it up.... the worstest part is this is the time frame when I should be into fish, a lot of fish, and good sized fish. So I am pressing the PAUSE button to review what I have done wrong.
I have entered a tournament and although it is fun and I do enjoy the competition, I think it has been working against my normal way of fishing. I have been fishing every lure too fast, have become impatient and have moved from productive waters much too soon. Another error, taking work to the water. Work stress does not belong in anyone's fishing plans, if possible leave it at the desk. Sometimes it is not possible to leave it behind and it must follow you because that is likely more important than catching a fish. After all our world is dependent on services and work to be done. Money has to be made, bills have to be paid, and food needs to hit the table. This has been the case for me, however I also utilize fishing as a release from the work related stress. Therefore I will call part of it a wash.
Returning to mistakes made while fishing. At the onset of the year I had decided to fish a minimal amount of types of lures. Have I practiced this decision? Not in the slightest, this past weekend I had about 14 different types of lures and always thought I had left behind the right one! Then after leaving a spot that was holding fish, the day after I knew I had the correct lure in my bag but did not throw it. The way I should be thinking about lures is that there are roughly 5 or 6 types of lures, but more conservatively only 3. Surface/near surface, subsurface, and bottom lures. This selection might change based on each fishing location, but the idea is the same, each spot should be fished with each especially if there are fish present to establish a pattern. This past weekend for example I caught a striped bass on a lure, and three casts later I changed that lure because I had already lost confidence in it. Then I allowed the weather to dictate my comfort level because the wind was strong. The wind was nearly knocking me over, however the fish were directly in front of me, but I left because my confidence was so low. To end this story, 5 more hours passed at frequent changes in location without a bite. The conditions from the night before continued and ruined the bite for everyone in the subsequent days.
Yet another mistake, I prepared my tackle bag with all of those lures. So many different types, lures that have worked in the past, lures that have worked in other locations hundreds of miles away, new "hot" lures that have not gained my confidence, yet I did not bring live or rigged eels on my outing. As it turns out the water I fished was absolutely perfect for eeling, slack current, just past sunset, new moon, prime spot with fish present in clean water with a storm overhead. Bottom line here is do not leave home without eels (or some form of eels) while fishing for striped bass, it just doesn't make sense.
Now that I have reflected on my errors, I will hit the RESET button to slow down, bring only what I need, and fish areas more thoroughly. The Lake Champlain International Father's Day Tournament is this weekend and it will mark my 18th consecutive year of fishing it. It is my confidence water and my hope is to shake the skunk off my back and climb back into the saddle.
