How Do You Get through The Tough Times On The Water?

Stizzla said:
Most of us know the smell of Pepé le Pew.
Sometimes it just a time or two, sometimes it’s 5,6,7 or even more times in a row.

I have had some confidence battles with my fishing Lack of success, including right now. The shining light here is that I love fishing even when I’m not into them. But come one, they sure are fun to catch.

I’m telling myself: I know I WILL CATCH FISH AGAIN! ...Even big ones... Even many in a day. I will high five my net guy and be high fived when I am doing the netting!

Does anyone else have any tips or motivating words to help pick up a buddy when he or she is feeling down on their game?!

Thanks :)
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Unless the other boats are getting them all around you i wouldn’t stress too much about it.... enjoy that we are able to get out there and try our luck!
 
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A fly fishing story, but applicable here. John Gierach (popular writer in the fly fishing world) wrote about telling a friend about a trip to a technical fishery where he hooked only small fish before spotting a very large fish that he hooks, only to realize he’s still using the very light leader he had on for the small fry and inevitably breaks it off. His friend says “sounds like a bad day fishing” to which John replied “no, it was fantastic!”. He then goes on to write about another friend who falls and breaks his ankle hiking into a remote lake. The friend, after crawling for over a mile, is found by some hikers and rescued. Ultimately the friend didn’t get to fish the lake and ends up in a cast and on crutches for the rest of the summer ... now that’s a bad day fishing, concludes Mr. Gierach!!

As others advise above - just enjoy the process: at worst you’ll spend time out on the beautiful waters of British Columbia with your family and friends, at best you’ll gradually learn the patterns and seasons of your local fishery and thus have many great days ahead of you!

Cheers!

Ukee
 
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Just stay Positive !!! and switch from Decaff sanka , to baileys and cofffee right off the bat and you will be fine lol !!!! plus just enjoy being on the water !!
 
Thanks guys. I do love floating around!

You know how they call steelhead, “the fish of 1,000 casts?”
These days I call Chinook, “the fish of 1,000 hours of trolling!”

Okay, it’s been like 12. Any minute now.
 
Finally, I’d like to say thanks guys!!! Great responses here!
 
First and foremost, you can’t catch fish that aren’t there no matter how good you are or what you throw at them. I spend a lot of time on the water chasing many different species of fish and I have found this one is a given that never changes. Second, sometimes they just don’t like to eat not so much with saltwater species as with fresh water but still at times they are sluggish.

So first thing you want to do is make sure there are fish where you are at, read the reports, find out where the fish are hanging, most fish hang out in certain areas and structure. Think about what’s going on down there, why are those fish there, what’s holding them there, watch your sonar don’t just look at it, watch it, study it, don’t only look for fish look at the structure so when you see a fish try and find out why it’s there, is the bait there, if so why is the bait there whats holding that bait there. Watch the currents, how do they react to the terrain think about what that’s doing to the bait and fish below.

As important as the lure itself is how it’s presented. Certain lures have to be ran a certain way. Watch that bait beside the boat is it doing what it’s supposed to do at the speed you are traveling. Don’t just plop junk in the water, think about what it’s supposed to be imatating, is it representing that food. Some lures are imitators some lures are instinctive baits run them accordingly.

Always be thinking always be working at it, there should never be a boring moment on a boat if your fishing, work, work and think.
Any man that gives up or thinks he knows it all when it comes to fishing is a poor fisherman at the very best. Anyone can catch fish when the water is full of them and they are on a feeding frenzy it’s the fisherman that sticks it out and learns from his failures and seeks knowledge from those failures in the end will be rewarded.

And remember it’s not called catching it’s called fishing.
 
Some days I really work at watching my tides , currents, structure you name it And some days I throw lines in the water and just see what happens. Just want to enjoy it all.
 
Rayvon gave you great advice for Sidney. 90% of the fish there are caught on the current changes. If you are going to invest 12 hours of your time to getting your confidence back....go out for 2 hours for 6 different current changes...an hour before until an hour after slack. At least you know if there are fish in the area they will be feeding.
 
tinboatrobb said:
Stizzla. This was the 5th year that we owned our boat. In the first 4 years we probably put 10 or 12 springs in the boat in total. My wife was really starting to get discouraged. This past season I made a few changes and we ended the season with 20 springs on my license and 11, I believe on my wifes. I kept telling her that it would all click and our patience would be rewarded and it was. We love to be on the water. Not really words to pick domeons up but we paid our dues and karma paid us back. Never get discouraged, it is fishing, often with your best friend.
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The wife and I eat fish 2-3 days a week and have a hard time getting trough the 4 springs each we put on our licence. How do you eat 31 springs in a year
 
Time on the water is huge, the more your out there the more you know the areas that hold bait and fish. Find the bait and you’ll usually find the fish. If you see bait mark it on your sounder, troll through it a few times and if no bites move on. Also try raising or lowering your downrigger a few feet when trolling through bait, or speed up or slow down a bit, or turn slightly one way or the other. Sometimes just that little change in how the lure is acting will trigger a bite. If you get a hit, turn around and troll back through that same spot. If you look at my trails on my sounder some days I’m just going in big loops hitting the same spot over and over for hours because every time I hit that spot I get a bite. Don’t just troll away from where you got a hit like most do, try that same spot a few more times before moving on. Buckethead is right, Stick and stay with proven tackle and it will pay.
 
Stizzla said:
Finally, I’d like to say thanks guys!!! Great responses here!
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Does that mean the skunks off stiz.
Or u just got an offer u couldn't refuse.?
I ve gotta small boat as well and if u ever want to buddies up and fly tandom
Across to thrasher just say the word.
 
No Fish yet, but I have been invited by a guy here who I respect, and he has a very nice boat!
I hope to get to thrasher a bunch this spring as I recall the reports were awesome there about a year ago. It would be great join up with you too!
Take care guys, and capt Ed, I didn’t mean to be a “D” there, I just didn’t agree with that one.
 
tinboatrobb said:
Capt Ed. We smoke most of them. We eat fish at least once a week and out neighbors love us when we give them fresh fish. It is really quite simple to consume them.
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Stizzla, I've heard giving fish to neighbors is the key. Creates a vacuum, nature abhors a vacuum.
 
Stizzla said:
!
I hope to get to thrasher a bunch this spring as I recall the reports were awesome there about a year ago. It would be great join up with you too!
.
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Those Thrasher fish in my opinion are amongst the best table fare.....if you get into some, call your friends and serve them up fresh. So, so good.

We have had whites, marbled, normal coloured springs and some that are almost crimson in colour but all are great eating.
 
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