When the going gets tough...

I've attempted to tackle this subject before Here but as tough fishing has been a feature of my season I'm back to it again with a few more thoughts...

So, when the going gets tough what should you do? This season, I think, has been mind numbingly difficult at times, hour after hour of fishing near perfect conditions in extremely reliable locations has at more times for me than I care to remember produced very little or nothing. It's at times like this that the internet can become the enemy of one's sanity when reports of good fishing can be found and read off the screen at any time of the night or day. After some great fishing I love to read of others successes but after a big fat blank? Probably not! So what's the best way to deal with tough fishing? Fish more, fish less? Try new locations, new ideas or just back off? The answer to these questions is of course an entirely personal thing. For me I've tried to get through it this way...
Read internet reports of great fishing yes but don't get to carried away with the stats or lack of them, how many rod hours fished, what local knowledge was involved, information like this would help paint a true picture for the sake of comparison so I TRY not to get to taken in by these or word of mouth reports unless from the most trusted of sources. Tactically do I try everything and anything to try and hook up? No, unless its to keep it interesting and to store new ideas away in the memory bank for future reference. I go with tried and tested what's, worked before will work again, I just need to find the fish. When I have caught they've been just as aggressive as usual and willing to chase hard. As for locations it's been the same as the tactics. I haven't charged around trying to find where all the fish are hiding but again stuck with the tried and tested focusing on timings and improving the quality of everything I'm doing. I've certainly checked out new spots of my own and greatly appreciated some that others have kindly shared with me in trust, you know who you are and I thank you. I've fished more hours of darkness both after dusk and pre dawn this season than in any of my previous years put together and it can wear thin when not productive but I have certainly come to respect the pre dawn hour as a golden one.Lastly if the fishing is slow I've tried to switch off the results side of my brain and enjoy the awesome places that we go to catch Bass and the experiences we have along the way.

Oh and by the way I haven't given up on a winter Bass or two just yet...