What do you THINK???? - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

Fish_Eye · 08-03-2009, 06:18 AM

When you are fishing a favorite spot hard and get skunked what's your thought process?

There were no fish there.

The tide was wrong.

I should have gotten there earlier.

The full moon killed the action.

There was no bait in the area therefore no fish.

I didn't have the right color lure.

I suck.

Seriously, we've all had occasion to fish a trusted spot with lures or bait we are very confident with and despite the stars and moon being in the right place we don't catch...are they there and have lockjaw or do you chalk it up to fishing over barren water?

JohnR · 08-03-2009, 06:37 AM

Sometimes it is just not my night. Go in with the right attitude, right conditions and go empty handed.

Sometimes it is one of those excuses/reasons (including the occasional "I Suck"

).

Sometimes, the fish are simply not there...

Hi Mike

The Dad Fisherman · 08-03-2009, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish_Eye

When you are fishing a favorite spot hard and get skunked what's your thought process?

There were no fish there.

The tide was wrong.

I should have gotten there earlier.

The full moon killed the action.

There was no bait in the area therefore no fish.

I didn't have the right color lure.

I suck.

Seriously, we've all had occasion to fish a trusted spot with lures or bait we are very confident with and despite the stars and moon being in the right place we don't catch...are they there and have lockjaw or do you chalk it up to fishing over barren water?

Yes.

Crafty Angler · 08-03-2009, 07:43 AM

Well, what I didn't see was:

- I'm too old

- I'm too tired

- Ya know, I might not be as sharp as I used to think I was, or

- Dammit, I can't believe I have to take a squirt again...

I dunno, sometimes I think it's just theory overload

Who was it that said an expert is someone who can tell you all the reasons why you're not catching fish

And some nights you're just plain snake-bit and couldn't hit a cow in the ass with a bullrake no matter how hard you try...

Back Beach · 08-03-2009, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish_Eye

When you are fishing a favorite spot hard and get skunked what's your thought process?

There were no fish there.

The tide was wrong.

I should have gotten there earlier.

The full moon killed the action.

There was no bait in the area therefore no fish.

I didn't have the right color lure.

I suck.

Seriously, we've all had occasion to fish a trusted spot with lures or bait we are very confident with and despite the stars and moon being in the right place we don't catch...are they there and have lockjaw or do you chalk it up to fishing over barren water?

Last night was slam zany for 45 minutes (10:30-11:15) until the moon popped through the clouds. Everything was absolutely perfect too...wind, tide, etc. We were also in a spot where we've taken a lot of real large fish....here's what happened..

1. We got there a little late.

2. Moon killed it.

3. Wrong hue on my eel.

4. I just suck.

5. Summer doldrums...

Slipknot · 08-03-2009, 08:00 AM

I try not to think anymore
it hurts my head

Fish_Eye · 08-03-2009, 08:46 AM

Over the last month I've been hitting Block Island HARD...diving, fishing, filming, video, and even a little spearfishing. The place is filthy with fish beyond belief.

On many occasions I'm seeing thousands of fish and NO bait...which always warrants the question, why are they here?

More than once I've dropped in the water and have found dozens of nice stripers swirling around yet the anglers fishing live eels can't buy a fish. The fact is, they are there, they just won't eat...at least eels, at least right at that time. Other times, like last Saturday they wouldn't stop eating for five hours. We caught over 50 stripers with three over 40 (weighed) and another one suspected of being as large, 10 in the upper 30-pound range and the remainder of the fish in the mid to upper 20s. Epic fishing trip.

I will say that I think we outperformed almost every boat that was out there (30 to 50) because of one or two little maneuvers we were implementing. I'm certainly going to be highlighting these tips in techniques in the new DVD I'm working on.

Here's a shot of one of the fish from the weekend. It's hard to make a big fish look large next to the father and son team of Captain Wayne Wood and Travis...BIG BOYS!

Back Beach · 08-03-2009, 09:10 AM

I think lots of times the fish are present and you just don't/can't catch them, no doubt about it.

DZ · 08-03-2009, 09:16 AM

Here is a “surf fishing perspective” to your question. Not knowing the answer to your query is what surf fishing is all about – it’s the aspect that keeps me at this game. I’ve been at it for a long time and I’m smart enough to know that sometimes “they just don’t bite”. We surf fishermen don’t have the luxury of using electronics to prove fish are actually there. I always chuckle to myself when another fisherman tells me that there’s nothing around because he can’t possibly know that for sure. Even though I’m “above water” I’ve observed bass swimming with various bait fish in relative harmony – the bait sensing that the bass were not actively feeding. I’m sure you’ve seen it underwater. Just last fall I was casting one night in what I would call perfect conditions – I fished for 2 hours and it was dead and I couldn’t believe there were no fish around. My curiosity got the best of me so I did something I don’t often do – I shined my neck-light on the live eel I was casting when it was close to my perch. To my amazement the eel was being followed by multiple bass into the 20 lb class on every cast as if they were curious but not interested in feeding. They never even bumped the eel. A novice angler that night would have thought nothing was around.
Not knowing all the answers gives me more incentive to keep learning.
DZ

MarshCappa · 08-03-2009, 09:16 AM

Very impressive

ProfessorM · 08-03-2009, 09:20 AM

I can't tell you how many times I trolled a tube and worm thru big schools of fish last summer during comm. season to not catch a fish. I marked the most fish I have ever marked as far as tight knit schools last year with the least amount of fish caught from them. It was depressing to know they were there but not interested in the same bait and presentation they were all over the previous years and even earlier in the same season. I would rather have marked barren bottom.

Sea Dangles · 08-03-2009, 09:43 AM

Next time try dropping a pogie down.....

ProfessorM · 08-03-2009, 09:48 AM

Yeah, probably right but I usually don't use them and I usually don't find the fish in such concentrated schools in my fishing area. But after a few times out and seeing that behavior I should have used my head and done that. I can be pretty stubborn sometimes and was probably figuring they would eat the the usual sooner than later. I guess they showed me.

Bocephus · 08-03-2009, 11:21 AM

ive seen since it mid june, fish are in the area but wont hit anything. More swirls behind my lure than strikes, and tailslaps rather than solid takes. i even did the unthinkable one evening after casting for a while....I threw a big rock into the flat calm sea and watched about 50 fish screw, the water swirled everywhere with fish I went home

Raven · 08-03-2009, 12:15 PM

i think there's times when the bite just turns off.... period....

that's typically when i downsize...

or decide to go spend time
doing something else.

vanstaal · 08-03-2009, 12:36 PM

if we had all the answers

we be rich writing books

Back Beach · 08-03-2009, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sea Dangles

Next time try dropping a pogie down.....

Or in your case a fresh croissant.

ThrowingTimber · 08-03-2009, 12:56 PM

tough the 2 conventional schools of thought would be 1. match the hatch, now your sand eel weather it be a fly or a red gill has to compete with 3 metric tons of actual sand eels to get bit. 2. predator vs prey and bust a HUGE plug that gives the appearence that its looking for the same forage..

I usually sit and watch for a few when they wont take my stuff and hopefully learn something. usually though I think that when i turn around to leave.. one comes to the surface rolls on its side.. and gives me the "fin".

Sea Dangles · 08-03-2009, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Back Beach

Or in your case a fresh croissant.

Last week;4:00 am

Piping hot Linguica as well as chocolate.

JACKPOT!!!!!

soon?

numbskull · 08-03-2009, 01:17 PM

If you quit using eels and just fished plugs you'd know why you weren't catching anything........you needed more plugs.....and everything would be great.

Backbeach Jake · 08-03-2009, 04:52 PM

Have won again. I hope that they have enjoyed themselves. Who said it was right, really. It's not fish that I'm after....

striperman36 · 08-03-2009, 06:46 PM

If we knew why, they're wouldn't be any and everybody would only fish with Banjo minnows

nightfighter · 08-03-2009, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sea Dangles

Next time try dropping a pogie down.....

Just got in from netting some pogies for dawn patrol.....

tattoobob · 08-03-2009, 08:21 PM

Ross they stay alive all night?

nightfighter · 08-03-2009, 08:46 PM

Yup. I use a bait pen tied to the mooring.

tattoobob · 08-03-2009, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nightfighter

Yup. I use a bait pen tied to the mooring.

Gotcha

Fish_Eye · 08-03-2009, 09:36 PM

So many of you have said what I've always felt -- the fact that there are no definitive rules, or guaranteed formulas keeps the game fresh and alive. However, trying to figure out some of the subtle nuances that turns on the cows can often lead to the difference between a poor day and a great day.

6 hours spent in the water two weeks ago verified that the big cows were holding in the dirty water and a week later we made sure we fished all the roiled water and we caught large.

A week later when five foot surf was slamming the beaches we made sure we pushed into the milky water and again we were blessed with big feeding stripers.

Massive schools of sand eels are responsible for the large concentrations of bass and in many cases smaller eels are producing big stripers while large eels get eaten by bluefish.

I would love to hear some other examples of when making a small change proved to be the key to success.

Back Beach · 08-04-2009, 05:46 AM

Remember where we use to fish the cape, Mike? Fish used to pile in there mid/late June and just swim around for a couple weeks before we could actually catch them. You'd be drifting along when a school of super large fish would suddenly surround the boat without warning. Never figured out how to catch them, but at some point there would always be a trigger which would put them into a frenzy. Usually happened around 7/10-7/15 or so every year.

cow tamer · 08-04-2009, 05:11 PM

warmer temps = lethargy

jonnyfish · 08-04-2009, 06:12 PM

do you guys eat every minute of the hour or every second of the minute? i guess thats why it is fishing and not catching. fished this morning off block island in pea soup. had a friend took three bass and two blues before the rest of 5 guys even get a bump. now what were we doing wrong? then 20 minutes later we had a 35 weighed and two 20s at the same time in same spot we have been fishing. so whats the deal???my two cents to this mystery is luck...being there and having your offering in front of them, not on top,side,or bottom and oh yeah they must really want what u are offering to them.....wow the mystique of fishing can drive a person crazy.