fighting through a slump!!!

[bassnman30]

OK, here goes, I have practiced on a lake for two-three weeks. Caught alot of descent keepers. Yesterday it was cool (55) degrees and getting cooler as the day went on. Then came the rain, then came the wind. My pattern failed and I didn't catch a keeper all day.
Theres your results, no fish, no points, and wet cold feet.

[Fish2win]

Mugs raised to Zook. To H.... with fishing. He had a new girl friend at the place every weekend for 3 months. Now that what I call culling a limit! A huge part of Tournament fishing is in the head not the bait.Someone used a 20 lb bag as an example and someone else 5 bites. You dont need either. You just need one more than everyone else. I fished a 20 boat tournamnet at Douglas once in Jan. I won with a 2 lb fish. 2nd was 1 1.5 lb fish and the other 18 boats blanked. That was the only bite I had all day. I have won many tournaments over the years the last 1 or 2 hours of the tournament. Maybe I hadnt caught a single fish until the last hour and then just lucked up and pulled up on some active fish. In that circumstance the only thing I did that made me win was not let the slow bite take my head out of the contest before the end of the tourney. Like when Ike won with no real time left and coined the phrase "Never Give UP"
Dont let outside influences take your head out of the game . Focus
Fish2win

[Bob Smith]

Maybe I hadnt caught a single fish until the last hour and then just lucked up and pulled up on some active fish. In that circumstance the only thing I did that made me win was not let the slow bite take my head out of the contest before the end of the tourney. Like when Ike won with no real time left and coined the phrase "Never Give UP"
Dont let outside influences take your head out of the game . Focus
Fish2win[/quote]

Great advice, I cannot tell you the number of times that I have used the old adage, "It ain't over till the fat lady sings"!? I have won club tournaments in the last thirty minutes within site of the weigh-in just simply because I would not give up. Just this year, on our March club tournament (first Sunday in March). My draw partner and I did not have a keeper in the livewell. 30 minutes until weigh in I drop the T-motor in the launch cove and told my partner to pull out his favorite rattletrap and get ready to go to work. We put the T- motor on about 50% and started slinging those traps. In the last 15 minutes we boated enough to get us a fourth place check out of 12 boats.

Grab your confidence (or "11th hour go to baits") and concentrate on your efforts. Sometimes you also just have to go back to the basics to break that slump.

[Buzzking]

I have been getting my butt whooped for a couple of years now and I have lucked up and won a couple and placed in a few. But I started out just like you, Scratched my first 2 and did'nt know how to feel about it. I just kept fishing, practiced hard and took 3rd in it next one, and did'nt scratch again that year. Theirs nothing that builds more confidence than being out there catching fish, so get out on the lake practicing and get you some. And somtimes bad luck will happen, For instance I was on some winning fish for well over a week before a tourny and the night before it rained so bad that I thought they were going to cancel, my great spot turned into a mudhole and I zeroed, it hurt bad to work that hard and just have it takin away from you, so I know what your feeling, but the month after I came back with a 2nd and big bass, it will get better. Just keep fishing.

[surfman]

Well C Rig, I'll never be a good enough fisherman to try a tournament, but I did fish that TableRock on Cricket Creek in 1971,under the same conditions you experienced.
6 guys, 3 boats. Rained every day!
2 boats went fishless each day. Tried every kind of bait, but here is the fun part. We had all made a deal that the first day, a man could only eat what he caught.
One boat hired a local guide and limited out!!
They invited the rest of us over to watch them eat fried bass, while we dined on coon cheese, sardines, and beany weenies !!
That's the kind of stuff that makes memories. Anyway I have no advice for you except enjoy the company of good friends, and keep pitching !!

[bamabassman]

i agree with surf. keep pitching man. go back to the basics if you have to. old is new again, right? keep on keeping on.

[carolina-rig-01]

thanks guys, i have just kinda stepped back and took a big breath and relaxed. the slump isn't over but the more i look at it the less it looks like a slump. the one thing that all these tournaments during this slump have in common is the weather and water conditions were horrible. in these touneys i have had either a huge snow, cold front, or rain storms blow in and wash away my patterns just prior to game day and there is nothing i can do about that.....it just makes things tough. now that is no excuse because to be as consistant as i want to be, i need to be able to catch fish in any conditions i am facing even if that means grinding out a few fish that just keep. i have come to the conclusion that i am my own worst enemy right now, i am not getting beat by the fish but rather i am mentally beating myself and more times than not i am doing this before the tournament even starts. it's like my old high school baseball coach used to say "you have to play to win, instead of playing to not lose". i have kinda been back on my heels and in a panic latley and you can't have any degree of success in this sport with that mindset. anyways enough rambling just wanted to let you guys know that i appreciate all your confidence building!

[bamabassman]

dead on man, dead on. never give up big c.

[clipper]

keep it up! check out "fishing fools" thread titled very insperational.
don"t get down on yourself, your on the right track!!

[clipper]

keep it up! check out "fishing fools" thread titled very insperational.
don"t get down on yourself, your on the right track!!

[clipper]

sorry about posting 2x, trigger happy i guess!