Lost fish therapy

Is there any other species?
Polkfish1
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Lost fish therapy

Post by Polkfish1 » Fri Jan 18, 2019 5:01 pm

What do you do after whiffing? I don’t mean losing a one pounder after getting your PB on the same day or losing a nice one while fun fishing after you did everything right. I mean when you need that big bite and miraculously you get it and then just whiff. How do you get your head back in after that? I see guys just start casting like it was nothing. I on the other hand usually need to talk myself out of eating my gear. Any suggestions other than not to whiff in that situation?

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Re: Lost fish therapy

Post by Hobie-Wan Kenobi » Fri Jan 18, 2019 5:14 pm

When I lose a nice one, I usually reflect on what I could have done differently (more drag, softer/harder hookset...). After that, I go back to fishing.

I have had days when flipping, id get bites but couldnt get a hook in them. I get frustrated to a point where I find every missed fish funny. I always try to think what I can be doing differently when driving home. Was it the weather? Was it the wind....
IG @hobie_wan_kenobi_fishing

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Re: Lost fish therapy

Post by hoohoorjoo » Fri Jan 18, 2019 8:46 pm

I take a just a minute, breath deep and then start back casting. If there was one big fish there, then another will be close by, for the same reason that one was hanging there. I used to get mad and freak out like Ike, but that didnt get me positive results, especially in a tourney situation. It takes practice, but keeping a positive frame of mind can be done. I actually try to think about my 2 healthy kids, a good job, no debt to speak of and a lot of other blessings in my life. That usually does the trick. In perspective, that fish wasnt meant to come to the net, so you would have lost it anyway, no matter what. Can't win 'em all.
Try not to let your mind wander. It is much too small to be outside unsupervised.

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Re: Lost fish therapy

Post by Polkfish1 » Sat Jan 19, 2019 7:01 am

Good stuff gents. I do versions of both suggestions. Try to learn as much as possible from it and put it in perspective relative to blessings in life. Just fishing...My wife knows something went south whe she asks how it go and I answer, well, I learned something...

Still, I usually have to fight the urge to eat the reel and am prone to making bad decisions for a while after. It’s not until I get back out the next day that I can fish truly clear headed again.

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Re: Lost fish therapy

Post by DirtyD64 » Sat Jan 19, 2019 8:14 am

Don't get many bites where I fish so it really hurts to lose a big one. One of the many reasons I quit smoking. Got bored one day (smoking) not paying attention, hooked a big one on a Keitech FB jig, drag was probably +75% and I didn't know it. Fought a potential personal best to the boat, even let her run back out. Never saw her again, drag was too high and the jig hook bent open. Was just over confident and not paying attention to equipment. Still remember I was using 16lb Sunline too.

I don't feel so bad if I couldn't prevent it, but if it was my fault it stays with me a while. The one I lost was a little over 2 years ago. Lost another big bass that jumped and threw a small swimbait, but I really couldn't have done much different with that situation.

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Re: Lost fish therapy

Post by Polkfish1 » Sat Jan 19, 2019 9:43 am

Yeah; who am I kidding. It sticks with me. I fish better the day after; but it sticks at least until I have a great day to get my confidence back

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Re: Lost fish therapy

Post by hoohoorjoo » Sat Jan 19, 2019 9:53 am

Polkfish1 wrote:Yeah; who am I kidding. It sticks with me. I fish better the day after; but it sticks at least until I have a great day to get my confidence back
I never said it doesn't stick with me. But what I try to do is make the conscious choice to not let it affect me in a negative way. Emotions can help or hurt, depending on what mental direction you go from that point. Its not an easy task, but can be easier each time you do it. Practice makes progress, regardless of what it is. In other words, that time frame can get shorter each time a negative event occurs, if you handle it "on purpose".
Try not to let your mind wander. It is much too small to be outside unsupervised.

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Re: Lost fish therapy

Post by toddmc » Sat Jan 19, 2019 10:10 am

I have more trouble with no bites at all. I would much rather know that they are biting. A lost big fish often doesn't bother me that much because it tells me that they are biting. It makes me fish harder, especially in a tournament. I've had enough days with multiple big fish that have taught me to get back in the game as quick as possible to make the most of my opportunities. Big bites often come back to back.
Sometimes we are just outmatched in terms of tackle for the fish that bites. Those situations don't bother me much if I don't make a mistake. I get more upset when I have all of the right tackle, and a fish close to the boat comes off because of a mistake that I make.

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Re: Lost fish therapy

Post by smallies » Wed Jan 30, 2019 6:10 pm

In a tournament ill fire another cast out and look calm on the surface, but it wont leave my mind for the rest of the day

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Re: Lost fish therapy

Post by barrys » Mon Apr 01, 2019 7:10 pm

After losing a big fish I always look up and thank the Father for the opportunity.....check my gear and hook closely, retie in most cases and make another cast. Always in that order and usually it pays off with a bigger opportunity later on. Maybe not that same day but most assuredly I’m afforded anther one.

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Re: Lost fish therapy

Post by Hogsticker2 » Mon Apr 01, 2019 7:44 pm

Really depends on whether or not I see the fish. If I hook up with a biggin, and it shakes loose before I can see it, I just keep on keeping on. If I see it, especially if I lose it at arms reach, recovery takes some time. I lost a seven and a half plus pound smaliie last year. My finger tips were touching it. I've longed and longed for a 7 for forever. I'm still recovering, but what can you do.

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Re: Lost fish therapy

Post by TroutMcghee » Mon May 06, 2019 3:37 am

I don’t lose fish. I am the Chuck Norris of fishing. I eat toast and jellyfish for breakfast. The fish feel my presence on the bank and will commit fish harakiri before seeing my lure. When I want to ice fish, I fish in the desert. When I do have a fish come off my hook, it’s only because it thought I was pointing to the turtle to take my lure.

This is the part when I wake from my nap and curse myself for bringing a noodle to the grass infested pond and cannot set a hook to save my life. It’s a part of fishing...I have lost so many fish over the years that it doesn’t get to me anymore. I used to let it bother me, but now just view it as a lesson and will be back to fish that lost fish another day. If I caught every fish I wanted to, I would tell my wife I was going catching instead of fishing. The time on the water is my therapy. The fish is the icing.

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Re: Lost fish therapy

Post by Houndfish » Mon May 06, 2019 8:51 am

It happened to me twice this last Saturday.

A buddy and I were fishing Mattawoman Creek, a tributary of the Potomac in Maryland. It's a few hundred acres of shallow pads, grass, and wood. It's full of big bass and bigger snakeheads. It's the most "fishy" looking spot I have ever seen.

The fist heartbreak was a snakehead. I was throwing a 5" paddletail rigged on a large sled head and got a bone-jarring hit right as the lure passed a grass/pad transition. It started running and I knew it was a snake. I had weight on for a good 10 seconds before she jumped and spit the lure. The thing was a sea serpent, my current PB is 6lbs and this one dwarfed it. The crazy thing was that the lure still had the hook point buried in the plastic, the teeth marks seemed to show that she grabbed it by the middle and just held on for the fight until the jump. Snakeheads are hard to get on t-rigged plastics so the sting was not too bad. I was bummed but it was a thrill just to see on that big.

The second was a bass right at the end of the day. Another paddle tail, but this time a big Optimum BoomBoom. We were in a big flat with mostly open water and small but dense patches of grass. Right as the lure came past one of the grass clumps I got a hell of a hit. We were moving at a fast walk at the time and I was at a bad angle but I set the hook and started the fight. The rod was a Hyuga 72H and I have never seen it bent like that, I had to clamp down on the butt with my arm far harder then I ever have before, this was by far the most weight I have ever felt on a rod. The bass came up and shook her head, I could have gotten both my fists in her mouth with room to spare. I survived the shake but seconds later she ran into one of the grass patches and the lure popped out. I should have reset the second after the jump but I was so flustered I didn't think to. This one was a lot harder to take as it was my game to loose. I will admit that a unintelligible cry of anguish may have occurred. I generally talk to the fish as I am fighting them in, but rarely am I moved to holler like an animal, but that bass really broke my heart.

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Re: Lost fish therapy

Post by rt dak » Mon May 06, 2019 3:19 pm

I throw the bait back in the water as fast as I can hoping it'll bite again even though I know it's not going to happen, all the while cursing at myself. I've lost 2 PB smallies, one 2 years ago ice fishing and the other probably 4 years ago. I still think about them, especially when I hit the same spot again or when a thread like this pops up :lol: . The worst part about it is that both of them were within reach, one of them was even halfway out of the water.

The first one I got on a wacky rigged senko. Got her near me about halfway out of the water, bent down to lip her, the hook popped out and off she went.

The second one hit a tip-up with a live shiner in about 40' of water while ice fishing. I got so excited once I saw her under the ice I pulled a rookie move and tried to rush her up the hole while she was still sideways. The leader rubbed the underside of the hole and snapped and off she went too. My dad was there for that one and tells me I need to get over it every time I bring it up.

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Re: Lost fish therapy

Post by scrapiron » Fri Jun 21, 2019 7:06 am

I reflect (okay, maybe a quick and hushed curse) on what could've been. Then I cast back out since I assume that fish liked the bait the first time and he/she's near by. I'm an optimist!

I've learned we all lose fish and no one really cares when i'm back home. Not that big of a deal to me, it's family. :)

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