Demoralized fellow angler in dire need of help...

[SoCalMike5657]

So Laddies and Gents I seem to be need of some guidance I'll try to keep this short. I usually fish from Hermosa Beach up to MDR and I'm very successful in those areas. But for the past year or so I have been really wanting to explore new locations so I have gone up to new beaches in the VC Malibu areas Leo Carillo, SM, PV, Laguna areas, San Clemente, San Onofre and I just strike out every time I know my gear rigs baits etc are all dead on I use LC KM C rig etc. The locations also look like they would be good too I hit kelp patties rock piles trenches and I get no luck. I been feeling really beat that I just can't seem to beat this slump. Any light you guys can shine on me would be so much appreciated. Have a good one all and remember Strength In Knots.

Mike

[skunked4life]

A little more info is necessary for a proper response. In general, you seem to be fishing all of the right areas and using the right gear. I hate to say persistence is key if you are truly on a year long slump.

1. What times are you fishing?
2. What are the conditions (ie swells, tide heights, etc)?
3. What species are you targeting?
4. How long are your sessions?
5. Are you moving about in those ao's?

Answer these questions in detail and I will give you my two cents for what they are worth. I would pay particular attention to sp dan's reports. Look at the times/conditions and try to see if you can see the pattern. Look at my reports, especially the skunk reports and see if you can spot a trend. It isn't an exact science. I can tell you one thing, even though there is no scientific evidence on this point, it works a lot of the times: fish with confidence, hope for the best and expect the worst.

Skunked4life

[SoCalMike5657]

Thank you for the reply. And to answer those questions. I'll fish from about 6am till anywhere from 12- 3pm. Conditions are good to fair small swells no wind to very low wind both incoming and out going tides and honestly I target anything and everything just to try to beat the strip

[skunked4life]

Ugh...SoCalMike...

You are killing me. Your answers are so broad and general.

Ok. This is what I would do for the next couple of sessions (remember, I am a novice):

Try to get in at least three sessions for the next three weeks. Try and go on the same days from each previous week.

On the first day, go out at grey light (6 am ish these days). Take a note pad with you and write down the following minimum observations: time, swell sizes, tide direction (in or out) and tide heights. The more you record, the better. Fish for 2 to 4 hours.
When you get home, check whether your corresponding fishing times were at, before, or after high or low tide. Check how rough the swells were. Check water temp. Make sense so far? Do this for three weeks. you should catch something during that time. When you do, look for the pattern within your personal notes. If you skunk during those times, the STOP going when you see those conditions. The objective is to go when you are confident and stay home when you are not. PERSONALLY, I go even if I think I may skunk because it beats sitting at home wasting my life away.

I would do this for a single AO and not try and radio fish (I think that's the term). Meaning, don't chase reports. I do often and it ends up badly.

For me personally, I fish when I can. BUT--even if I can fish, if the conditions are not in my favor, I stay home and take care of my personal stuff. In my experience, if my time slot for fishing corresponds with peak high tide, I tend to target perch in my perch AO's. For me, the BSP tend to get aggressive and bite well in the high tide and rough surf. If the conditions are flatter, then I target halibut at AO's that I know will tend to hold them.

Others have their own system, this is just some of the stuff that I do. Look at SP Dan, he documents EVERYTHING! If you are reading his reports and not paying attention to the info/intel, you are doing yourself a disservice.

Last bit of advice that I have is what I mentioned before: HAVE CONFIDENCE!

Skunked4life

"Do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. . ." - Hebrew 10:35

[SoCalMike5657]

Hey guys it seems like I need to be a lil more specific with my situation so here I go.

Gear
Rod: Phenix 808
Reel: Abu Garcia Revo NaCl
Line: 65lb power pro(dark green) with a top shot of floro 10-20lb
Jigs/baits: LC, KM, SB, Kroc, C-Rig with Sc or Muscle

Conditions I fish
Hours of operation: 6am-3pm more or less
Tide: both incoming and out going tides
Surf: fair to good
Water: mostly clear with some green shade
Wind: none to very lil wind

Locations: I choose locations by finding areas that may be holding fish trenches/ holes, floating kelp patties, rock piles.

On the sand: I fan cast and if no bites I keep walking ill walk a few miles doing this.

I know some of you guys are thinking and saying the key is persistence but how much is needed? Because I don't go just once to these locations.

Again any help, tips, etc is very much appreciated. Thanks guys.

Strength In Knots
Mike

[SoCalMike5657]

I'm sorry for being general lol but I actually do do that stuff I can get very detailed but I'm trying to keep it a bit general seeing how I'm talking about more than one beach in different areas here are some of the websites I use to gather my intel before deciding to head out.

http://www.tides4fishing.com/us/california

http://www.swellinfo.com/


http://www.noaa.gov/wx.html

[skunked4life]

Well, I am not sure what I can do at this point to get you onto fish. You seem to be doing everything right then.

For me, I have gone a stretch of 5 months of skunk fishing only the weekends. It happens. I know how it feels. It really sucks sometimes. However, things don't always appear as they seem. For instance, last stretch of skunk I went on was about 3 weeks during the summer. I was feeling a bit down. Nothing seemed to be working. One morning, I stepped on the scale in my bathroom cause my kid had played around with it the day before. To my surprise, I had lost about 20 pounds (in March, I weighed 202 and end of July, I weighed about 180). In all that time I spent out on the sand doing "recon," I had lost a crap ton of weight! I felt better than before! In August, I lost an additional 10 pounds!

Look, if you are out there to fish and not realizing the incidental benefits, it's time to do so. Once that happens, and you start to think positively, things turn around. Sure, there are guys who post reports and have all the luck. Look at the frequency of my posts. I go a month to two without anything significant and then BAM! Something worthwhile occurs.

Ask the other S.W.A.T. members..I have gone out there and watched others pull in monsters or tons of fish while I skunked it up. There is no single rhyme or reason to it. Just don't give up.

I feel for you. I really do.

[SoCalMike5657]

Thanks I really mean it thank you, yeah your right I'm going to take this sunken time to help improve my women's fishing skill as she's told me she ready to move up from spinning reels to bait casters and move away from the C rig lol so this should work out great.

[bachiboy]

Hey Mike,

So, here's my 2¢...

The locations you are fishing seem fine. The structure you are finding seem right. The gear and lure selection seem right. One thing I haven't seen you or Ken touch on is technique. You can cast an LC all you want but if you aren't working it right, the odds of getting bit go down quite a bit. It's hard to say cuz we're not seeing you fish, but one thing a lot of people do is fish the LC too fast. It should be retrieved as slow as possible where you can still feel the lure vibrating. At times, when the surge is retreating, I'll even stop my retrieve and you can still feel the LC shaking. If you're dragging the bottom, there's a good chance you're going too fast...slow down. Krocs...I prefer bouncing them off the bottom, not a steady retrieve. C-rigging...need lighter line (6-8lb. tops) with a VERY slow retrieve. It's not even much of a retrieve as much as just not letting it go all slack and tangling up. When you get bit, wait for the fish to start taking off before you set the hook. Perch have a tendency to nibble at the bait first.

Where ever you fish, look for sign or structure...bait, birds, holes and trenches. Fishing flat, featureless beaches will probably be a waste of time...not always, but quite often. Look for rip currents too. Fish will congregate in spots like these. Make a mental note of what beaches fish better at certain tides. Some fish better at incoming and some better at outgoing...some better at low tides where you can reach structure with a good long cast. There's a certain beach I've fished and had success that the trench can only be reached at a very low tide. Going to spots at a very low tide may not yield results, but you can recon the area to see holes, trenches and structure. If you make a mental note of it and go back at a higher tide, you can hammer those spots and it might yield better results.

Hope that helps. Just remember, go out and have fun enjoying your time out there. If you get caught up too much on catching, it'll drive you nuts when you go through dry spells. I've gotten caught up in that too often. It's cliche, but it is called "fishing", not "catching".:Wink:

Don

[SoCalMike5657]

Thanks Don. Yeah my LC retrieve is slow but not to slow like you said not to slow where I can't feel the wobble. But I also do speed it up just a bit I have had a lot of luck getting reaction strikes. As for my C Rig I use 4-6lb leaders so I know I'm good there and yeah I also bring it in slow too. Thanks again for all the tips Don.

[skunked4life]

Ok. I thought of this last night while in bible study. Yeah, sometimes, I have to think about fishing no matter where I am at!

I used to tell newbies who wanted to catch halibut straight out of the gates to take baby steps. You know, the cliche...back to basics. I used to do this as well. When I went on long stretches of skunk, I bust out the gulp camo worms and went to spots known to at least have dink perch. Yes, you can skunk with SW but still, it helped me and maybe it can help you.

Some people catch all of the time. You know who they are. Vince Lombardi said "winning is a habit...unfortunately, so is losing." So, go out there and try the gulp SW and try and start catching again. Get used to catching dinks and build up your confidence again. It's perch season, so I cannot fathom this not working eventually. Once you form the habit of winning, then go back to the LC, KM, etc. Throw with confidence. From the responses and your replies, it seems as though you got the AO's, gear, technique, etc. So why aren't you catching? I dunno.

Try this, catch something, don't lose focus on the incidentals like I mentioned (ie: exercise, scenery, quiet time) and build your confidence.

Skunked4life