Getting Skunked
By Alex • May 7th, 2008 • Category: Jibber JabberGetting skunked is something we’ve all experienced, probably more than we’d like to admit. I’ve got a slightly different definition of getting skunked than most guys. In my eyes, getting a fish to at least make an attempt to eat my fly is better than it being ignored all day. So whether I get the hook set or not, it counts for something.
Getting skunked to me are those days when you’d swear there was no living creature in the water you just covered. You make cast after cast, drift after drift, retrieve after retrieve, and nothing happens.
The more time I spend doing this fishing thing, the less of those days I get to experience. I guess it’s a sign I’m either getting better, or maybe, I’m just getting better at putting myself in the right place at the right time.
For some reason, irony always has to show it’s sense of humor…
The more times I can get out, the better a fisherman I’ll become. Yet at the same time, the more times I get out, the more times I’m going to experience a good skunking.
Kinda funny, isn’t it?
Some guys make excuses for why they didn’t catch fish.
“It rained in Mexico last week.”
Some guys go into denial, and just tell lies.
“I couldn’t keep em off my line!”
Some guys blame the spot
“This spot sucks! I told you we shouldn’t have come here!”
I’m one of those guys that blame my gear when the frustration gets to be more than I can handle. Not so much my rod, my line, my leader, or that kinda stuff.
It’s always my fly’s fault.
Which is probably why I spend most of my time at the vise after a good skunking. I’ll obsess over the smallest details. You know, the stuff that really doesn’t matter to the fish so much as it matters to the fisherman.
I’ve got fat hendricksons, skinny Hendricksons, different color variation Hendricksons. Hendricksons that sit low in the film, that sit on the film, and that sit high in the film. Downwings, spent wings, parachutes, catskill wings, duck wings, synthetic wings, and triple wings. Hendricksons with eyes, Hendricksons without eyes. Hennies with an egg sac, Hennies without an egg sac. Don’t even get me started on trailing shucks. And of course, they’ve all got to be tied in 4 different sizes. Once I’ve got all my bases covered, I’m pumped. No way I’m getting skunked the next time I go out- cause I’ll have the fly they want.
Somehow though, the fish know what I’ve got up my sleave.
I know this because the next time I go out, they’ve got a new favorite- the one variation I didn’t think about. The compara-sparkle-cripple-half spent-egg sac-spinner with a touch of lime green in the thorax-Hendrickson-that sits just off the film- in a size smaller than they’re supposed to exist.
Back to the vise…
Alex get's to fish for trout tomorrow
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Timing, I spent today getting “skunked” of sorts.
Not devoid of takes and fish on and off but the fish still won.
4 hours on my favourite local fishery Sharpley springs, a stocked trout fishery, and not a fish to the net but at least a dozen fish tried to commit suicide.
I have to admit its me, short of practice and reactions like grandpa Simpson on weed!!!
just rename the activity. can’t get skunked if you weren’t really fishing. just say “I was on a nature walk”….or “I just went on a fun float today”…”just doing a little R&D”…
I’d venture to guess that I’ve been skunked more in my first year than most people in their first 5 years. I fished 3 or more days a week from November until May with no fish. That includes with live bait through the ice. My first fish since September came on May 4. I had more fish today.
Given my experience with a good skunking… it really isn’t as bad as it seams. It sure does get frustrating by the end of a long stretch of no fish, but you’re not, say, in the middle of a car wreck or watching your house burn down. I mean - it’s gotta be better than something, right?
Seriously though, even without fish, you’re still fishing. Blame it on whatever - I always blame it on the Indian.
Ian,
Do you guys have to pay to fish for trout(above and beyond a regular license)?
FFC,
I hate to use a corny quote, but that’s why they call it fishing and not catching
Eric,
That’s quite a drought, but who’s the Indian?
I have the genetic ability to ‘forget’ getting skunked. It’s probably similar to the gene that makes you forget your last round of golf or night of bowling. It’s probably a necessary evil to actually staying interested in those pastimes.
-Jim
DT; Yeah we pay anything around the £20.00 mark for a day and the right to take 3 fish,less for catch and release, down south they pay up to £60.00 a day to fish stocked lakes. Most stocked lake are stocked with rainbow trout as opposed to our native browns. I suppose conveinience is the main attraction of these waters.
Most rivers require a permit over and above the licence fee but for trout only around £5.00, Salmon well that’s another story and good stretches of a river like the Tweed or Tyne can cost thousands at peak season. This can also be as little as £25.00 on lesser known waters.
A very cost effective way to access rivers can be club membership, for as little as £40.00 a year.
There are very few free access waters in England, Scotland is another matter and has no annual licence fee.
DT:
The indian, as in the old saying “Sometimes it’s not the arrow - its the indian”.
I am sure I made a lot of mistakes. I seem to be not making them anymore… as today was another good day.
Eric