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Posts: 152
| haven a real problem with putting fish in the bag like i used to. I know im a good musky fisherman because i have been very successful in the past at doing so. It seems that in the previous two seasons i have hit a invisible road block and the fishing for me has become impossibly hard. I fish with a good group of guys who know how to fish and when i fish with them they always catch fish while i am stuck taking the pictures. I used to stand toe to toe with anyone locally but now i seem to be on the suck side more then ever before. Dont get me wrong i love it when my buddies are catching fish and i dont want them to catch less fish. I really know everything they know. Hell ive taught them a lot and its getting to a point where im losing it a little. I fish with the best stuff, I try and absorb any and all information regarding the hunt but its flat out not working. I fish were i know their are fish because when i fish these spots with others they catch fish but i dont. I put tons of time on the water more then anyone i know who isnt a full-time guide. I dont even get follows very often anymore. I went over two and a half months without boating or seeing a musky last year while my boat partners boated countless fish with me. It didnt used to be this way and i cant figure out whats different. I need help because i cant take another season like that this year. Something has to give because i am to stubborn to give it up and when things are going this bad it effects my life outside of fishing in a negative way. What am i doing wrong? |
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| hmmm just the way the cookie crumbles id say... but if you go out and the guy with you catches several is it the lure that the fish likes that day or the way hes using it? i try and decide a few good lures that i really think will produce and stick with them im starting to learn that using 100 lures a day and switching constintly doesnt seem to be helping... if you go out thinking your not going to do good thats not going to help!
good luck ... |
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Posts: 1168
| I'm going to be blunt....you need to get over yourself. If your lack of success is having an impact on how miserable you are outside of a hobby then you really need to take a close look at how hard you might be pressing. There are other things to get worked up about, putting fish in the boat is not one of them.
Take a step back and relax. Next time you are out on the water take a moment to appreciate the experience. There is much, much more to this than catching fish. Yesterday morning I had multiple fish in my boat before 7am but that wasn't the be all end all. I came across a partially submerged tree that was loaded with turtles sunning themselves, a bald eagle followed me around for close to half an hour and kept checking out the bait I was throwing, there were an ungodly number of geese flying overhead, I fished with a guy I never fished with before and had a good time but not because of the fish...it was because of good conversation.
What you describe has nothing to do with your technical approach, it has more to do with attitude. You've begun beating yourself before you hit the water. Life is too short not to appreciate the small stuff and when you begin to turn negative in regards to a hobby you love or once loved it's a sign that some self assessment and awareness is needed. |
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Location: Pigeon Forge TN. | ulbian,
Well said. I always enjoy the time on the water fish or not. |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | Try some solo fishing, that way your not competing and comparing your results to the other end of the boat. It will allow you to slow down and enjoy your self.
I live very close to the water I fish and often just go out for an hour or so If the fish are active good if not I go home. When I was younger I would fish 12 hour days because I refused to go back skunked. I don't enjoy the fishing any less now and I am happiest when I can put a newcommer on a good fish and demonstrate propper handling |
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Posts: 395
Location: NW WI | musky chimes - 5/28/2011 11:07 PM
when things are going this bad it effects my life outside of fishing in a negative way.
WOW - would you like to trade lives? Let's go chuck baits for a day and I'll share with you the details of the last 6 years of MY life. I think you'll appreciate what you have a whole bunch more.
I'm sure there's others here that would say essentially the same thing. |
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Posts: 32958
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Take each day a a blessing, and each day fishing as a MEGA blessing. Don't pressure yourself any more than thinking out a strategy and making sure your lures are wet. The rest will come, sometimes inexplicable stretches of no muskies in the net just happen. The fact your boat partners are producing proves it out.
Enjoy every day on the water for friendship, leisure time, and take the pressure out of it. |
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Posts: 541
| I understand what you are saying and how you feel but ulbian hit it on the head, I think you need to assess the situation and think about it as a whole. Sounds like you have let this take over your life and someone is trying to reach you maybe! |
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Posts: 717
Location: Grand Rapids, MI | I have run into the same problem in the past. It seemed that the more knowledge I had, the less fish I caught. Granted, my average size of fish went up by 10", but my numbers went way down. One problem that I always found myself doing was not paying attention to what my lure was doing. I was just pounding water. Power fishing. Instead of concentrating on making the lure do what it should be doing, all I was focused on was that next cast and where I was going to make it. When I started muskie fishing, I would constantly try to visualize what my lure was doing with each twitch, pause, rip. Where it was in relation to a log, a weed edge, or a dropoff. Take the time to focus on the cast at hand, and not on the next one. Key words -- Slow Down/Visualize. |
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Posts: 39
| sworrall - 5/29/2011 9:25 AM
Take each day a a blessing, and each day fishing as a MEGA blessing. Don't pressure yourself any more than thinking out a strategy and making sure your lures are wet. The rest will come, sometimes inexplicable stretches of no muskies in the net just happen. The fact your boat partners are producing proves it out.
Enjoy every day on the water for friendship, leisure time, and take the pressure out of it.
^^This!^^
I wouldn't say I'm a bad fisherman but I don't consider myself to be a good one either, I'm just there and if the fish decide to eat one of my baits then sweet! I go out and enjoy spending time with my buddies, most of the time I'm also the one who is usually taking pictures, it used to bug me when I first started now, I'm more than happy to take pictures for them.
I've got a lot more in life to worry about and I know most people here do, than to worry about why I'm not catching fish or why they are catching fish and I'm not, I know I'll never make money on this hobby (although I probably should look into it with as much money I have wrapped up into it, as I'm sure most of you also do and exponentially more $$$ than I do) but it's just that, a hobby, something I enjoy to go out and do, I enjoy being out on the water and in nature, seeing fish is just a bonus for me. I will say though, tomorrow for one day, I will be a pro muskie fisherman, gotta love holiday pay!
In short, just go out and have fun! Like they have said, it's a hobby |
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Posts: 22
| It has been real interesting reading the initial post and then the subsequent responses. First off, I commend Muskie Chimes for his candor and "lay it all out there" approach. I can understand why others are taking the approach of "You should focus on bigger or "real" issues". Not sure that's fair to take that stance, but I guess that's ok. I however am going to focus on a solution hoping that someone else can leverage my experience.
I have had a very similiar situation in the past and it seemed like the harder I tried and the more money I spent - the worse I was. Last year I took an approach that was reflected by another respondant on this thread. I went back to the basics. I found that I was changing so much stuff that I couldn't hone any of the skills/approaches. I've narrowed my baits from 100's to 10. They are confidence baits. Baits that have caught fish in the past. All my buddies harrass me about how "he only throws one bait". All my buddies who I outfished by a large margin last year... Again, I'm not attempting to plagerize the other post, but I feel strongly that this can be a good strategy to get things back together. And as one person said - slow down. Fish the actual cast, not the next one you are thinking about. That really helped me as well.
Good luck man! I know how much that sucks.
Kiedro
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Posts: 458
| It is just a fish. Enjoy the water. Enjoy your friends and family. Life can change in an instant. |
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Posts: 58
| The musky slump is not a fun situation to be in, and I can say this from experience. I can remember having some really good seasons when all I had was 1 rod and a handful of baits fishing out of a 12' tin boat. For a while it seemed like the better prepared I was to chase these fish, the worse I did. The problem that I was having was the problem that I created. It's too easy to take the fun out of this sport by emphasizing on putting fish in the net. Most of us want results for the time that we put in on the water, but like others have stated it's not the only thing that can be enjoyed. The method that I have used to climb out of the slump, was and still is, to get back to having fun. My wife is quick to let me know when I start to slide down the hill, because it can affect me negatively in other areas of my life as well. During a really bad year I will sometimes take a break from musky fishing and get out the bass rods, it's tough to beat a quiet morning on still water. |
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Posts: 152
| i can bring myself to go fishing for bait fish unfortunately. I would rather watch re runs of Bonanza and eat ju ju fish but its a very good idea never the less. Every single time i try fishing bait fish i end up finding the biggest bait in the boat and plugging with it. I guess im weird. Your right though i took mental notes of what im doing and back in the day i used to pay more attention to the line and lure now a seem to pound the water with a scowl on my face and though im looking at the water its different than it used to be. I have lost the fun and i dont know where to find it. I know when you call musky fishing a hobby that might be the case for you but its my entire world i make my living from it by making lures, leaders, harnesses, and in the past I guided a little for extra money. Since my fishing success has been poor ive stopped the guiding for fear my luck could carry over to them and no one wants to pay for that. Im going to school for business so i can open my own custom shop. Musky fishing is my life and way more than a hobby. I too saw the biggest snappers on a log two days ago one was at least fifty pounds and it had four painted turtles on his back. Amazing! I lost my life long fishing partner about three years ago when he moved away and the guys i fish with now are different and not as good. They treat musky fishing as a competition and their isnt a team feeling with them. They dont have the respect for the sport like i grew up with. They say they love it but its more a love for status then it is for the fish and the hunt. They really are opinionated and lucky but they have no respect for the magic that comes from doing it the proper way with the proper attitude. I think that has a lot to do with it. Im fishing solo more this year to try and find what i lost. |
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Posts: 1663
Location: Kodiak, AK | musky chimes - 5/29/2011 12:07 AM What am i doing wrong? You're getting hung up on how good you think you are. If you really taught your friends so much had so much success and fish so much, you should be able to pull yourself out of a slump after two years. Slumps happen, but if you're getting bent out of shape because you've sunk to the levels of a mere mortal muskie fisherman, you need to get over yourself and get back to basics. And quite honestly, I don't want to hear it. This is why- edalz - 5/29/2011 12:26 PM It is just a fish. Enjoy the water. Enjoy your friends and family. Life can change in an instant. Life can and does change in an instant. My instant was this morning at 7:00 when I was pulling my boat out of the garage, slipped and fell and brok my fib, shattered my ankle and destroyed some tendons along the way. I need surgery and may not fish this year. My season was supposed to open next Saturday, and now I'll be on the couch while you're out fishing with your new friends that aren't up to your standards of fishing excellence and appreciating the sport and the resource. You have my sympathies. I can only hope someday you're able to find someone good enough to fish with you. And news flash, for most of the guys here, muskie fishing is more than a hobby. I got myself stationed here SOLELY for the purpose of muskie fishing LSC. So you could say I based my entire residency around muskies. So I've long since passed the hobby stage. So at this point, seeing as you supposedly fish as much as most guides, you're 110% ahead fo where I am because I can't even launch my #*^@ boat. I don't want to start a fight with you, and I'm sorry to be brash and it's nothing personal, but you need to get over yourself and realize you're fortunate to even get on the water. There's alot of people who can't physically, financially, or geographically get on the water. If muskie fishing is such a torment to you then quit. Sorry Steve if I was out of line. But this is not the day I needed to read this. Here's my muskie season ending before it even starts in the back of an ambulance 12 hrs ago...
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Posts: 1663
Location: Kodiak, AK | And despite my rant, I do wish you luck figuring out your slump. Back to basics, leave your ego at the dock, and don't be afraid to try new things and come on here and ask for "specific" help like bait size or speed....instead of just "what am I doing wrong that I can't catch fish like I used to." There is no answer for that.
Good luck this season. |
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| Not going down this "get a grip road" Something's wrong and you want to fix it. I would too.
Maybe you have made some subtle changes that have messed up your game. You might have lost your "go to" bait, Your reels have a slightly different retrieve speed. You use a sunscreen that imparts a negative scent on the bait. Who knows, but some aspect of your fishing has gone south. Think back to when things worked for you, and then try to duplicate what you were doing exactly. Good luck. |
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Posts: 152
| Boy their sure are a wild amount of hostility out their. Im just trying to find whats going on. Im not trying to pick a fight though it seems some of you see it that way. I do fish hard and long and when you fish for six to seven days a week and you see nothing it wears on you. Then when a fish does show up you seem less prepared to deal with that situation. Things are bad enough for me to ask for suggestions. I am doing anything i can to keep that from happening in this young season. Slumps dont usually last for years for the average Joe fisherman and if they did more people would never fish musky again. Im still at it thats gotta count for something. Chill out, relax im just trying to fix the problem thats all. |
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Posts: 2865
Location: Brookfield, WI | Take some time off. Play some golf. That's what I've been doing. Since '08. I wonder if my slump is over?
Kevin |
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Posts: 1663
Location: Kodiak, AK | musky chimes - 5/29/2011 9:54 PM Boy their sure are a wild amount of hostility out their. Im just trying to find whats going on. Im not trying to pick a fight though it seems some of you see it that way. I do fish hard and long and when you fish for six to seven days a week and you see nothing it wears on you. Then when a fish does show up you seem less prepared to deal with that situation. Things are bad enough for me to ask for suggestions. I am doing anything i can to keep that from happening in this young season. Slumps dont usually last for years for the average Joe fisherman and if they did more people would never fish musky again. Im still at it thats gotta count for something. Chill out, relax im just trying to fix the problem thats all. Nah man, no hostility. I just replied to your PM about this whole thing. Like I said, don't want to fight, and it's not a personal attack. I'm just replying to what you're saying, which I honestly read as having some contradictions, some "I fish too hard and too much to have this happen to me" and some "woe is me" tone to it. You want to trade? I'll trade you right now a broken leg for a slump. Like I also said, sorry it was brash, but you could say you caught me on a bad day. LOL |
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Posts: 152
| if you can figure out how to make the trade work ill work out how to prop myself up in the boat |
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Posts: 1663
Location: Kodiak, AK | Ha, don't think I haven't been sitting here brain storming all day long on how to get on the water. But right now I'm still working on peeing while on crutches, so one baby step at a time! |
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Posts: 152
| ive been looking at the small changes in my game theory and i think it may carry some weight. I switched from slow to fast reels about the time the slump hit. This year i switched back to 5:1 and only have one high speed reel in the boat for large baits . I was using much shorter rods back in the day too but when i first switched to 8'6" fishing got better so i think rod length isnt the problem, although i think it does effect the jerk baits in a negative way. Back when i used a 7 foot rod with a luna i had to fight to keep the jerk bait from popping out of the water. Now after the first pull it goes far deeper down and i think that struggling action triggered the fish. Im trying to slow these baits down now to re create the short rod technique. Also my glide baits are a little different with longer rods. I love the longer rod to much to go short again but it may have something to do with it |
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Posts: 152
| Ok lets clarify some things here. I am not blaming anyone thing for my slump. The people i fish with are good fisherman their just very new to the sport and they do it for different reasons than others i have known. I dont feel i have to catch fish every single time i fish nor do i think its even possible. I used the i fish a lot statements to show that it is not a lack of effort on my part. I dont think im better than anyone at anything because im not that kinda guy. I fish musky because i love the chase and the being on the water. I used to catch fish with a regularity now that isnt the case and im baffled. Im looking for good ideas from good people so i dont have to deal with failure on a regular basis anymore. Anything i have said is just so you guys get an idea of some of the things that have changed since the cold streak began. I thank you for the tips and advice from those of you who may have some perspective on what i can do to change the bad luck to good luck. I am getting that from some of you and i thank you for that advice. As for peeing on crutches....you might have to bite the bullet and sit down when you pee. I know its not manly but its better then falling down mid stream |
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Posts: 1663
Location: Kodiak, AK | musky chimes - 5/30/2011 2:43 AM As for peeing on crutches....you might have to bite the bullet and sit down when you pee. I know its not manly but its better then falling down mid stream LOL, tried that, but standing back up is a pain and not worth it. I'm taking advantage of the nice weather and I'm just going outside now off the deck where I don't have to aim! |
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Posts: 458
| Maybe hire an experienced guide and fish a day with him but in your boat. Ask him to watch your boat control, figure 8's and give you some honest feedback. |
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| Going to go out on a limb here and guess it's your attitude. If you go out thinking you aren't going to catch fish, you probably aren't going to catch fish. You don't work your baits as well, don't pay attention to what you are doing, miss opportunities, miss fish. I have gone over a year without getting a fish casting. My last one was in the fall of '09. It's not for a lack of trying though. I have enjoyed the waters of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa since then. Had opportunities and the fish just haven't hit the net. Stayed positive though, heck I had one run right into my bait yesterday and forgot to open it's mouth. Yeah you read that right, fish swam right up behind the bait and ran right into it..... mouth closed. Had a couple others up that seemed interested, but decided they didn't want what I had. Next weekend I am headed to MN for a long opener weekend with some really good friends. I keep concentrating on what I am doing and eventually it will all come back together. You need to learn to enjoy the ride, and realize it's not about the destination. |
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Posts: 2384
Location: On the X that marks the mucky spot | It's in your head dude. I've been through this and it totally sucks.
Cure:
-Bring 3-6 of your most chewed up baits and only them.
-Assuming you're of age, bring an "attitude adjustment" and consume it when you're getting down and frustrated.
-Fish your confidence lakes and fish them hard. Don't go looking for gold at the end of the rainbow. If you have a slump buster lake fish it! |
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Posts: 86
Location: north metro, MN | like some have said, its all in your head. muskies dont just choose whos lure they bite, your not cursed, and the musky gods are not mad at you (or what ever other thing you might think it is) go pay jason from musky breath guide service and go chase around some fish with him. you will be put on fish and hopefully seeing or boating one will make you remember what musky fishing is all about and bring you back down to the reality that is musky fishing. |
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| Put your buddies in the front of the boat and you fish the back. The reason they are having luck and not you is because you are waking the fish up and they are getting the fish to react. I bet that you had some real go to baits, I also bet you focus to much on working them perfectly. Erratic is good and it doesnt have to be a perfect cadence to trigger fish. Fish fewer lures. Figure 8 after every cast. I'm sure the fish are there you're just not seeing them. It might help just going to a body of water you've never fished. You will tend to pay more attention to what you are seeing since everything is new than telling yourself I always saw fish on this spot now why don't i? |
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Posts: 1023
| Go easy on the guy - he is just sharing his frustrations (and yes they are trivial)
Everyone is right - it is just fishing but man can we get intense about it eh? (can you tell I am Canadian).
My buddy almost always outfishes me - from the back of the boat:)
It never bugs me - I consider musky fishing a team sport and if he gets one then I feel as though my boat control... played a part in his success. My time will come.
Don't get me wrong - I love catchin' them and last fall was a slow one for me.
I tend to be a streaky fisherman anyways. Couple seasons ago, I was on fire. I just seemed to pick the right days to go fishing and it all came together. Last year - seemed to pick the wrong days to fish and made the wrong choices I guess, but it was still an enjoyable year. I am pretty hardcore so I have been forcing myself to actually relax, stop and eat (before I am ill) and enjoy how lucky I am to own a boat and live in Ontario.
Having said that - I do believe confidence plays a big role in fishing success.
And on a side note - people who groan or curse under their breath when I get another one on a good day DON'T get invited out again. I despise that and have had it happen a few times.
Landry
Edited by Landry 5/30/2011 7:12 PM
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Location: St. Lawrence River | edalz - 5/30/2011 10:01 AM
Maybe hire an experienced guide and fish a day with him but in your boat. Ask him to watch your boat control, figure 8's and give you some honest feedback.
pretty good idea. To be completely honest i didn't realize there were so many Dr. Phil's on muskiefirst lol.....
Edited by JakeStCroixSkis 5/30/2011 7:38 PM
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Location: APPLETON, WI | I feel your pain and can completely empathize. Unfortunately, I don't even have the privilege of owning a boat so it sounds like you've already got 1-up on me. It's musky fishing... it ain't musky catching. I try and value each and everyday I get out on the water. Take the entire experience in and let it humble you. Appreciate everything you see before you and just enjoy yourself. I know it sounds hokey but I think a lot of us get cabin fever (at least here in Wisconsin) over the winter... so February comes around and the musky shows start up and we all think we're gonna go out there and pound the water with our new fancy lures and gear. And it's almost like we EXPECT to have musky jumpin' in the boat. I think a lot of us get out on the water and take for granted everything else. Went trolling with a buddy of mine today and didn't even get a fish in the net... but we had bluebird skies and darn near 90 degree weather and quite frankly, I still had a blast. Been a while since I've felt the sun on my face like that and hey, it isn't too often the words "zombie apocalypse" comes up on a musky fishing trip... so another bonus! Don't ask. In a nutshell, don't put so much friggin' pressure on yourself. It ain't worth it and there's no reason for it. Chill, relax, chuck some big baits and get your confidence back up. Have confidence in what you're doing. |
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Location: Southeast Wisconsin | Tough year for everyone, everywhere for the most part. It all depends on the weather and this spring has been nothing short of twisted in that department.
keep your head up! If you stay focused on the bad your going to miss out on the good when its your turn again.
#1, HAVE FUN! if your not having fun than do something different with your time. Dont forget, Its not a job, its your hobby!! |
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| sounds like muskie fishing to me... everybody wants to catch big darm fish but nobody wants to put 100s of hours in to get one
maybe u should switch to bass fishing lol lil more action there |
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Posts: 797
Location: North Central IL USA | Guest - 5/30/2011 11:22 PM
maybe u should switch to bass fishing lol lil more action there
For sure!! I do both. Definitely more fish per casts! |
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Posts: 152
| good advice today boys and ill use it . If you were to pick just 10 baits what would they be ? I had a major hit in my collection as of recently so this wont be so hard. Heres my 10 tell me what you think
1 808 crane in green perch
2. mag dawg/ rubber harry
3 Hellhound
4 suick
5 bob
6 double 10 musky chime marabou
7 double 8 musky chime hair
8 double 10 tinsel
9 spinner bait safety pin
10 triple d |
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Posts: 395
Location: NW WI | musky chimes - 5/31/2011 3:44 AM
good advice today boys and ill use it . If you were to pick just 10 baits what would they be ? I had a major hit in my collection as of recently so this wont be so hard. Heres my 10 tell me what you think
1 808 crane in green perch
2. mag dawg/ rubber harry
3 Hellhound
4 suick
5 bob
6 double 10 musky chime marabou
7 double 8 musky chime hair
8 double 10 tinsel
9 spinner bait safety pin
10 triple d
No surface bait? (I've heard of a Hellhound but not sure what it is) |
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Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | chimes,
Another issue you may need to look closely to is cast placement. Not sure if you are number 1,2,or3 to cast to clean water.
Definitely add a surface bait to the mix. |
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Posts: 1906
Location: Oconto Falls, WI | So I read your first post, and now your top 10. Have you thought about what you have done different the last few years compared to when you were successful? Did you throw double tails several years ago when you were putting fish in the boat? Is your top 10 baits bow the same as before?
Sometimes we over analyze things and get out of what we were good at. No need to change what you were doing just because it is the new hot craze going. Perhaps you just need to go back to your basics, and keep your confidence up. Nothing worse in this game than when you second guess everything you are doing which just adds to the lack of success in my opinion.
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Posts: 278
Location: WV | I'm in a musky slump myself. Like others said, I believe its in my head. I have been treating my fishing as a business and not enjoying being out there. I was talking to a buddy yesterday and we discussed getting back to basics so I am going to forget the lakes for a while and start hitting the small streams again. These are often a great confidence builders. The fish may be small but but 3 or 4 27"ers sure sound like fun when you havn't caught a musky in a while.
Another way I have been looking at it as that the good Lord is keeping those 35"ers away for a while so I will really appreciate the 50 that I am about to catch!!
Good luck |
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Posts: 209
| When I get in a rut, I go to a action lake to get a little stink on my hands... It holds me over while I stuggle after the bigger fish. The weather this year has the fish acting VERY odd. If you don't just enjoy being out there - take a break.
Jeff
Edited by Trollindad 5/31/2011 9:48 AM
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Posts: 899
| Start bringing a few beers in the boat with you! Two years ago I went 0 for 11 in June on fish I had hooked...started bringing beer in the boat to relax a bit and fish started getting in the net. |
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Posts: 183
Location: Grand Forks ND | Telling someone to "relax" and "enjoy the experience" does not help matters at all. Sure there are other things to worry about, but what bothers you bothers you. I know a lot of people who have their day ruined from a bad round of golf too....thats just the way it is. Sure there are other people with worse issues...but those "issues" are not my nor his issues and really of little importance to anyone else. So, for those who have the attitude of "you should walk in my shoes"....get over YOURSELVES as well!
Now to the real question (can you believe a question about muskys on a musky forum), their is no doubt confidence plays an important role...not that the fish can tell, but to give you the confidence to fish a certain way, spot or bait and to have the confidence and awareness of what is happening. You expect a fish and you are ready for it at any moment. I also think this super large bait transformation has also contributed to some of the problems. You may catch bigger fish on larger bait (or may not), but your smaller fish percentages probably go down a lot. Perhaps get back to some smaller stuff and try to just catch some smaller fish to get your mojo back, and you will likely catch a monster in the process.
Good luck. |
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Posts: 393
Location: Hopefully on the water | After reading all the posts and your here is a couple of thoughts that i may see. I have been in the slump before and was just flat out overthinking everything. go back to the simple things that worked for you in the past. Stick with your hand full of baits that you have confidence in. Try not to get ung up what on what the other person in the boat is doing. I would suggest finding a different partner that shares the same passion as you do. You mentioned the guys you fish with take it as a competition and ego status. Switch partners to someone that enjoys the TEAM aspect of it. That is why I backed way off of tourney's. I tried to compare my results with everyone else that placed. We swtiched our mentality to having fun and what ever happens with the fish happens. We got out of the slump a lot quicker. My one buddy said if I let him talk during the day it goes much faster and more enjoyable. One other thing that has helped me not care as much as my results is taking my sons out and putting more effort on the kids getting fish. To me I have more excitement when they have a follow or catch one. overall my suggestion would be to over think things. Keep it simple and enjoyable. Take time to talk with your partners and see what they think of why or what you are doing. Putting a plan together from your fishing partners is much easier if you both agree on spot, style, location versus we are fishing here and this is how we are going to fish it. It also can be for razing them later out of fun if you fish a spot they want to and it doens't produce (visa versa also). But you may also learn a new spot or technique along the way. Good luck on getting out of the slump and rember it is only a slump. Majority of all slumps come to a end. |
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Posts: 1202
Location: Money, PA | These are the realities of fishing. Accepting what you cannot control and taking care of the things you know you can control are key. Have Faith and confidence in what you know to be true to you and what you put into the sport. Also keep a positive attitude....remember that the odds are in your favor at this point, so go out and hit 'er hard this year. With all this said....HAVE FUN! If you are no loner having fun muskie fishing, try fishing for some other species as well to take some of the pressure off. This is what I had to do years back when I was putting WAY too much pressure on myself....especially with the #s thing....I got too caught up in making sure I outdid myself or other guys in our club to try to get ahead....It became an obsession that went beyond enjoying what I loved and it was not enjoyable to me as much anymore. Now I take the kids out and newbies and educate....catching fish is just a bonus for because I'm back to having fun with muskie fishing.
"I dont think im better than anyone at anything because im not that kinda guy. I fish musky because i love the chase and the being on the water."
You may want to re-think what you're doing, because this statement cannot possibly hold true with the effect this slump seems to have on you. Just sayin'
Edited by ShutUpNFish 5/31/2011 11:36 AM
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Posts: 1030
Location: APPLETON, WI | One other thing I forgot to mention... are your buddies the competitive kind of one-uppers who make everything into a competition? If you call up your fishing buddy and tell them about the 43" you just hooked on Lake X... does he say "Oh yeah? I bet it wasn't as big as the 44 I pulled outta there last month!"
If so, these are the kind of people you DON'T want to have in the boat with you. A little friendly competition is one thing... but to have the constant one-upper looming over you like a black cloud is enough to get anyone stirred up. |
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Posts: 4342
Location: Smith Creek | I agree with Whynot... ease off the energy drinks, pick up a sixer of High Life, leave your ego at the landing and go out and have fun. I think a lot of people will agree that the more you get hung up on numbers and size the harder it is to have a good time. If you're not having fun you won't catch as many, and you'll be harder on yourself. |
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Posts: 7115
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | Another idea: take some time off from fishing. Do the "honey dos", play with the kids, clean out the garage....basically give it a little time so that you miss the things other than the catching part. I learned long ago that if you cant enjoy the being out there fishing part of it, you wont be happy with the little bits of catching we do with muskie fishing.
And, it's just a fish. If going out and doing something that is supposed to be fun and it becomes that furstrating, it might be time to reassess. |
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Posts: 726
Location: Eau Claire, WI | Stop over thinking it. Forget about the past. Get back to basics. Cast, retrieve, repeat.
Your top 10 list of lures have a lot of secondary lures for the water around here. Heavy on jerk baits. Heavy on larger sized lures. They all have their place and I've caught fish around here on nearly all that you mention but I don't think even 25% of what you have on your list are what I'd consider my "go to" baits in this area. I'll have to keep that in mind this year, I must be missing something.
In other words, I wouldn't try to bust my slump with a cowgirl and a bull dawg on the local lakes I fish. You must fish different lakes than me around here.
What would I do? Get a bucktail, and a top raider. go to my best "action" lake. cast only those lures, leave all others behind.
Bucktails and top waters are probably the most consistently productive lures this time of year. add a suick, reef hawg, or glider to the mix. You can go a long ways through an entire season and do well with this very short list.
Many moons ago, I decided that I was going to fish the way I wanted to fish so I was off throwing goofy things in goofy places on lakes that didn't support the locations and presentations I decided I was going to throw. Somewhere along the line I went from experimenting to "by god, this is the way I'm going to do it". My numbers suffered for it.
Luckily I didn't totally lose my mind. I recognized the issue, I went back to the basics and things got better. Sounds like you may be in a similar situation because you are forcing your will on the lake "I always fish this way" vs. changing it up and letting the lake tell you. Being a good muskie fisherman includes adaptation, you are learning that now. Ahh the zen of muskie fishing.
Sounds like you are a hard charger so taking time off may not be a good option for your addiction. In my opinion your best option is more time on the water but strip it down to the basics and rebuild from there. Fish the lakes you know well and only fish the "prime" spots. Avoid any experimentation in new lakes, locations, lures. Get out on your own too so you don't feel the need to prove yourself to everyone including you! Reading between your lines...there is a lot of pride in there. Pride can hurt you, get it out of the way.
And above all else just remember somedays these fish are hateful. LOL.
Good luck.
Jono
Edited by Jono 5/31/2011 3:09 PM
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Posts: 1169
Location: New Hope MN | Let your buddies captain and you cast off the back. Less to think about. I prefer that when the guys knows what he is doing. |
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Posts: 225
Location: Nordeast Minneapolis | Just by the sheer # of responses to this, it's obvious you're not alone. I went through a pretty good slump two years ago... to the point where it was absolutely not fun fishing, but I went out again and again, trying to FORCE one into the boat. As I was sitting by myself in the boat on a cold, dark, rainy October night, with nothing to show for it, I said to myself "WTF?!?! This is so far beyond not fun it's stupid!". And I went home. It was pride, messing with me. Not love of the outdoors, or fishing, or anything noble. I was out for pride, and I think I ended up getting the stink of desperation all over my lures.
It looks like you make your own bucktails... I'd suggest putting together a #8 colorado single-blade bucktail. Or a few of them in your favorite colors; just make sure one of 'em's black. There's a really good article in the new In-Fisherman about some of the advantages of smaller lures, and my avatar photo will attest to it (ie: suggestion of that particular lure- worked for me!).
Edited by gus_webb 5/31/2011 4:19 PM
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Posts: 433
Location: Cedarburg, Wisconsin | The best way to not catch fish is think you won't. Works darn near every time. If you can't be positive about musky fishing, don't.
Are you tossing the same lures as your boat partners? If you are, switch to something else, smaller or bigger or different somehow. If you are continually not using the hot lure, use it! Get up in the front of the boat and run it so you can fish your lure exactly the way you want to. Don't get trapped in a situation where the boat is going the right speed for the lures you aren't using.
I usually experiment with my lures, staying away from the obvious hot stuff, at least for a while, so I can see if there is something else that works better or as good. When I do this I usually am on the netting end of a catch. I expect this to happen. No problems. But I can also put on the hot lure and vacuum off every fish from a structure before anyone else has a chance if I want to. It's not hard to do physically, just hard to justify morally, so I don't. If you are on the short end of the stick presentationwise too often maybe you need to just get a bit more greedy and get the hot lure in the good spot first a few more times.
Maybe it is your casting. Are you presenting the lure tight enough to cover? You can get to the point where you just wing casts out there as fast as you can with most of them missing the good spots by many feet, which is most often not close enough. Are you getting your speed matched to the fish? Burning a lure works, sometimes, but just as many times not. Are you too slow and meticulous? Trying finesse when you should be cranking harder? Are you forgetting to put triggers in your retrieve? Just a straight boring retrieve often won't get any response where one with a few triggers can be beneficial. There are a lot of things to think about. |
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Posts: 152
| I have just looked through all your thoughts here and i realize things im doing different the biggest thing ive done is try anything but use my favorite bait. For those of you who dont own a hellhound or two your missing out on just a wonderful glide bait that is so much more then a typical side to side glider. They do everything from fast search bait fishing to slow cold front teasing. This bait has been the most productive bait ive ever seen on the water for everyone i know who uses them on a regular basis they just catch fish. The first year they came out they were the only bait to throw on lake Wissota and it made life easy. For some reason i stopped using them always trying to find a lure that worked as well and i guess im still looking. I will use a bait for entire weeks to force the thing to catch fish and yet it never works. These new baits look great in the water and i throw um till i can make them tap dance. Besides Shad-zilla they have all been flops. I dont know why but when i go back to my confidence bait i have no confidence in it so i start the cycle all over again. Like my brains gotta been their done that mentality with them and i rarley ever use it anymore. I spend more time than ever before throwing bucktails and i did not use bucktails like this in the past . Double ten bucktails have ruined my life i here about how great they are yet ive not seen them super hot but only a handful of times in real life. |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | Captain has a good point. It is often times the second person who casts that catches the fish. The first simply wakes the fish up and gets it agitated.
We have all had a few slumps and here are a few things that have plagued me at times:
- Slowing down the lure as it gets close to the boat. Much better to keep the retrieve constant or speed it up.
- Improper figure-8s. Not wide enough, wrong speed, etc, etc.
- Not adding triggers to the retrive. Simply swinging the rod back and forth once during a retrieve will induce sudden a stop and go and/or direction changes that can induce strikes.
- Sticking with a favorite, but unproductive lure. If one thing isn't working, try something else.
- Sticking with a lake where I had little luck. I can't explain why, but I almost never catch Muskies on one metro lake, but almost everyone who fishes with me does. My "boat" averages over a Muskie an outing there, but I have only caught one small Muskie on that lake in my life. My friends love that lake, but I don't.
Muskies can be strange fish though. I once went fishless over an entire year and then caught two nice fish on the opener the next year. No idea why either.
Good luck. |
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Posts: 176
Location: Alexandria, MN | I love this thread. And judging by the number of responses, I would suffice to say that muskie fishing, by nature, IS a slump, interrupted only by brief periods of fish-catching. I have heard it said that Muskies are a lot like women in that they can smell desperation a mile away. You want their attention? Act like you don't need it. Then they show up when you're not really paying attention - and all is good. Case in point:
After one long, fishless summer, I was fishing a lake in northern MN in early october - once again without much success - not even a follow for 5 or 6 hours. I noticed a yearling loon hanging around the boat - following my buddy and I along as we fished. Bored, I stopped the trolling motor and began firing my Bulldawg out and burning it back to the boat as fast I could. The loon would chase, stop right next to the boat, and wait for me to do it again. I did this for about ten minutes in the same spot, mildly amused at the stupid loon's persistence. On about the 15th or so cast, I nearly had the rod knocked out of my hands by a 42" Muskie. Not the biggest fish I've ever caught by any stretch, but maybe the most important. I boated a couple more fish that fall, and the slump ended. So, MuskyChimes, take heart. The slump will end. And about when you least expect it. |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | Lets not forgot what while there are slumps, there are also times when one gets on a roll. Last summer, I spent an entire week on the big V and didn't catch a single Muskie. That was the first time my boat had ever gone fishless on a week of Muskie fishing. I had a couple on, but nothing in the net. But then I came back, went to my favorite lake, and caught at least one Muskie an outing until late September. Then October hit and I went on another slump. The year before I caught 20 Muskies in November, but last year not a single one in November. Go figure.
Muskie fishing is unpredictable. One has to be happy just to be on the water. Its a bonus if you catch one.
I'll be fishing the MN opener tomorrow and I might catch a couple of good fish in the first hour. It has happened before. And then I might not catch a Muskie until July or August or maybe even September. That has also happened before. Either way I'm going to have fun.
Good luck tomorrow to all.  |
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Posts: 152
| i love musky fishing ! The only thing on earth that can tick you off more than a woman can yet ya cant get away from it. |
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Posts: 556
| I have to agree with the response about the more you learn the sometimes HARDER it is to catch fish---fish might be larger but you just sometimes have less action. when this has happened to me OR when I am in a slump of sorts I go back to the basics. Sometimes fishing shallow water which I know will probably most likely hold some smaller fish. Kinda get some action back just to let me know I am still doing some things right---Kinda brings back some fun days of fishing like when I started out. Enjoy all time on the water--give thanks for what you have--The fish will come back your way if you know you are doing things right. You will really enjoy it when it happens. Its funny--when I fish with my kids -- who are now in their 20's-- I still put them in the best situations as far as lures and presentations because I WANT THEM to catch the fish like I did when they were young--I still enjoy seeing them have the success rather than me. Enjoy your friends action and know that they are pulling for you also. GOOD LUCK !! |
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