What does "skunk" mean to you?
To me, a "skunking" is not being able to catch the fish that are
probably parked right in front of you. When it's really early in the season OR really late, if I don't get any action at all, I didn't get skunked, they just weren't there
...
Given the fact that you're fishing within the season, I'm sure Fisheye will agree that there are MANY times that the fish ARE present, yet no one is hooking up.
Just the other night Angler
A was tossing live eels, angler
B was tossing artificials. Angler
A did NOT get a single take on his eel,while at the same time & in the same spot, Angler
B's 13" ledgerunner kept getting nailed. How do you explain that? Why would fish continue to "hit" the artificial, when the REAL thing was cast in the same area on the previous cast? There have been nights while baitfishing, where the fish only wanted a certain bait, didn't matter if it was fresh or not, they just knew what they wanted. Some things can't be explained, only assumed, but that's for another thread.
What have I learned from "skunkings"?
Not to pay too much attention to them. I know how to do what
I do (at least I tell myself that) so If what I've brought with me doesn't work, then it wasn't meant to happen for me on that particular outing. You can't always bring the "kitchen sink" with you, nor does life always allow you to find them by fishing 4 - 5 spots on one given night, so a LOT of times, you're limited to a certain area for a few hours. Are the fish holding up in that spot on that night?
....
I've been fishing long enough to know that when it comes to shore fishing, NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE, WHERE YOU FISH, HOW YOU FISH...YOU WON'T ALWAYS CATCH FISH. ....and, you won't be able to explain why not. You can only ASSume....
Happy Fishing!!