Skunkings: Lessons learned

[Back Beach]

I can't begin to recollect the number of times I've been skunked as its too painful, but skunkings do teach you a lesson. What lessons have you learned as a result of getting kicked in the pants?

[fishbones]

I've learned that even without catching, I'd rather be out on the water than doing just about anything else.

I've also learned that the thoughts that go through my mind when I'm all alone and not doing anything is pretty damn disturbing.

[DaveS]

If ya caught fish at 5 spots before, but tonite ya fished those same 5 spots and caught nothing it does'nt mean ya did anything wrong, to me it just means there were no fish around the spots I chose to fish. Go back tonite and ya could Mohawk them in the same places.

[Krispy]

Since I fish a limited number of spots, skunkings help narrow the most productive set of conditions to fish those areas. I fish them over and over again until I'm sucessful, and note when to be where.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[Bocephus]

ive learned that staying in bed is the right choice sometimes.

[Rob Rockcrawler]

Ive learned to sit at home on my puter and wait for the reports.

[RIJIMMY]

Originally Posted by Krispy

Since I fish a limited number of spots, skunkings help narrow the most productive set of conditions to fish those areas. I fish them over and over again until I'm sucessful, and note when to be where.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

right on krispy

[Adam_777]

I've learned that trying to motivate myself to go and get skunked gets harder every time.

[rickhern]

I learned what I difference a live eel and a wetsuit can make. After being schooled far to many times, I joined the ranks. This past week it paid off. I got six decent fish one night while my cousin, fishing in waders 20 yds behind me, managed one 16" fish. Had I been in waders, I would have sworn there was nothing around, when in fact they were STACKED UP just out of range.

[ProfessorM]

I learn to experiment and look elsewhere and watch others who are catching and figure out what they are doing different. I am mostly talking from a boat but getting skunked makes me think more. Just like in sports you will usually learn way more from losing than you will from winning.

[Brian L]

Good topic, Mike. A continuation of what we chatted about on our way back from our skunk two nights ago, eh?

A wise man once told me if I'm not often failing and making mistakes, I'm not trying hard enough, and I'm falling far short of my potential.

Skunks teach me that I need to be out of my comfort zone often enough to remind me that I'm a mere fraction of the fisherman I want to be. I've done more new spot fishing the last two years than in the previous 5, and as a result have had some of my most fruitless trips, and also some of my most enjoyable and productive. For the last several years I'd been in a comfy, cozy place in my boat in SoCo catching fish on 90+% of my trips with relative ease. I have noticed when I've gone elsewhere this year, I'm reminded that I'm not nearly as sharp as I can, have been, and should be. As a result, I've learned to fish the new areas better, and it's made me think back outside the box again in all the spots I've consistantly/historically caught fish in.

[MAKAI]

I am sure that fish don't feed 24 /7
So even though you got skunked, they may have been all around you.
In general I think they tend to get the munchies as a group and get lockjaw as a group.
Always exceptions like me who will always go for a slice.

[Thumper]

Originally Posted by Krispy

Since I fish a limited number of spots, skunkings help narrow the most productive set of conditions to fish those areas. I fish them over and over again until I'm sucessful, and note when to be where.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

right on. right when i think i figured a spot out bam complete opposite, and thats why i love this game. i just try to apply what i know to the situation; plugs, colors, tide moon wind and what has worked and not worked before. a lot of people always seem to get upset or lose confidents when getting skunked, i just take it as a learning experience and think of a better approach. remember a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work!!

[BassDawg]

these same thoughts were occurring to me this past week,

am i a mommaluke? how the fluke can there be no fish here, all the conditions are PERFECT?!!? i shore as hell hope it's STILL early. have i screwed around and missed it? are they simply ignoring my li'l slice of striperin' heaven?? wait a minute,,,,,,,,,,,,that's right! i was getting skunked this time last year, same place/same tides,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,AND THEN~~~~she lit up like the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree!!!

the greatest thing my recent skunkings are teaching me is,

PATIENCE~~the hardest and humblest virtue to acquire~~PATIENCE. if all goes according to me Lawgs, we should have sore arms and striper stories aplenty for the winter,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,SOON, lads, VERY soon. time to gear up, and think "supercows"!!!

[Clogston29]

mostly, skunkings have taught me when not to go to a certain spot. you fish spot x with a y wind and the tide at z hours down enough times without getting anything, and you learn not to fish there under those conditions.

sometimes it just forces you to change things up and reminds you that the things you think you "know", you only really "think". for example, after getting skunked at a spot that's been really productive for me for most of august, i said %$%$%$%$ it and headed out there 2 hours "early" one night and killed them for the first hour. the next night went out 3 hours early and killed them for two hours. now i look at that area much differently. if i was getting fish at the usual time, i never would have tried going out earlier.

[bloocrab]

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!!

[Sea Dangles]

Skunkings teach everyone that you never know. Some people think they know,but they don't. I agree with Fishbones though,fishing is good for the soul.

[Rockport24]

fishing is a lot of trial and error, skunkings are the "error" that's why no amount of knowledge can replace time on the water.... just ask any of the guys that kill them, and they are out there A LOT and they pay attention to all the factors as Clogs noted.

[Back Beach]

Sometimes the skunk is more educational than the success. My two trips this week have been skunks following four successful trips last week.

One trip this week was to fish under conditions that typically produce in spot A, but with no avail. Second trip was a bit different just to see if anything had changed in terms of fish being present in spot B, no avail there either.

I could have easily returned to the same place I'd been taking decent fish, but wanted to keep a couple other spots honest. I also wanted to take a stab at a real big fish. I've learned the bigger the target, the more failure you'll likely endure before you hit one. So far this week I'm 0 for 2, but at least I reaffirmed some things that may pay off in the coming weeks.

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by rickhern

I would have sworn there was nothing around, when in fact they were STACKED UP just out of range.

Great point. I know the situation of which you speak all too well.

[numbskull]

I just look at a skunking as a type of foreplay........what follows makes it all worth while.......unless, of course, nothing follows..... at which point I get all jumpy and irritable and start thinking about cheating.


How much did you say eels cost?

[Flaptail]

Perserverance is the hallmark of a better striper fisherman. If you got the big stink on you and you don't press on you'll never learn anything.

Like someone said before just because you are not catching doesn't mean they were not there. The onset of the stink should be the trigger to think harder before you wet the next line. As the old adage says, "fish smarter not harder".

Sometimes all it takes is a color change, a slower presentation, tide specificity and voila, fish where you thought there weren't any!

Catching the big stink is just as helpful sometimes as is bailing them one after another and most important it will humble even the biggest of heads.

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by Flaptail

Perserverance is the hallmark of a better striper fisherman. If you got the big stink on you and you don't press on you'll never learn anything.

Like someone said before just because you are not catching doesn't mean they were not there. The onset of the stink should be the trigger to think harder before you wet the next line. As the old adage says, "fish smarter not harder".

Sometimes all it takes is a color change, a slower presentation, tide specificity and voila, fish where you thought there weren't any!

Catching the big stink is just as helpful sometimes as is bailing them one after another and most important it will humble even the biggest of heads.

I'm sure you know who coined the phrase, "The first number in surf fishing is zero ."

[Crafty Angler]

God hates a quitter...

Ya gotta take your skunking like a man and soldier on...

Ya can't catch 'em from your sofa...

Ya know, I keep trying to come up with new inspirational words to live by to ease the pain...

How about "An expert is someone who can tell you all the reasons why you didn't catch any fish"

I think Lefty is the author of that gem...

[Ed B]

HOPEFULLY..... A skunking teaches you to think and that will make you better.


Catching fish makes you better at catching, but if you're taking a skunking, you can become smarter at finding them or making them eat...So long as you keep thinking.

[JohnnyD]

A skunking while looking at hundreds from the boat makes me go: Seriously?!?!

And then I curse at how our big human brains can't outsmart their small peanut sized brains.

[MAKAI]

Originally Posted by JohnnyD

A skunking while looking at hundreds from the boat makes me go: Seriously?!?!

And then I curse at how our big human brains can't outsmart their small peanut sized brains.

They will be around with their peanut brains long after we have caused our own extinction
And you know the skunk is on when you go back to the rig after a bad nite and even the beer smells like skunk

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by MAKAI

They will be around with their peanut brains long after we have caused our own extinction
And you know the skunk is on when you go back to the rig after a bad nite and even the beer smells like skunk

As long as we don't cause theirs first.

[5/0]

A skunking keeps your mind in perspective as to what you can do to catch them,there always there you just need to figure out how to get to them and give-em what they want.

[MAKAI]

Originally Posted by JohnnyD

As long as we don't cause theirs first.

We are in the middle of our demise now.