I get skunked a lot. Sometimes it gets really depressing. When I tell my wife, she says, "who cares”. That's not what I call quality support. A few weeks ago, I got skunked again and tried reaching out by email to another club member foremotional help. That reply lifted my spirits so much that it started me thinking that some of you would like to hear from the experts in our club about skunkings so I sent out this little survey to my short list of experts who I have had contact with and here are the replies. I am using mostly fictitious names.

a. No Bites At All - Replies - 1 day, 0, 0, 1 day atleast, 4 days at least

b. No Fish Landed - Replies - 2 days, 3 days, 1 day, 8 days at least

Greyhawk: Early in my fly fishing experiences, I felt frustrated while getting skunked right next to someone who was pulling in fish after fish. I also felt more and more motivated as the fishless day wore on. These days, it doesn't bother me to not catch fish, as I can get as excited about my fishingpartner's success as my own.

Redtail: I start to get tired and dispirited when I'm getting skunked. I get especially pissed off if

Tanhammer: During that day it's not too bad because I fish to the last moment and don't dwell on it till it's over.

Greentooth: Fine. And curious why I'm not catching fish.

Bluesuede: Emotionally, I was pissed at the fish, however, I just love being on Eagle Lake and enjoying the anticipation of "the big one" hitting the next cast.

Jaykhaki: Excited at the beginning about how well I am going to do, then about one o'clock I start to get desperate and try some different stuff, then feel really tired and depressed at the close of the day.

Greyhawk: If I conclude that there were no fish that were catchable (either not present [because the run was over] or not feeding [because the water was muddy or the water was too hot]), I don't really feel disappointed in the experience. I might feel disappointed in my choice of fishing destination. Because I view fishing, in part, as an intellectual challenge, I might feel disappointed that I got at least some aspect of it wrong.

Redtail: Dispirited. I wonder whether other people caught – or would have caught -- fish under those conditions. I lament the fact that it got dark or that I need to be home for another commitment and I can't keep flogging the water until success arrives. I think about getting out there again the next time. I wonder whether that particular stretch of water is even worth fishing again....or whether perhaps I need to fish it another time of the year or another time of the day.

Tanhammer: Drained, very long day.

Greentooth: Slightly frustrated that I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong.

Bluesuede: After a skunked day, I think, Well, that was fun, wish I had caught something but I didn't. Sure was fun trying.

Jaykhaki: I am in a real funk for about an hour and then start to emerge in an OK mood.

Greyhawk: Usually it's moving along the river more quickly, being more stealthy, or fishing my nymph rig at a deeper level.

Redtail: They mainly center around what I haven't tried and what kind of unconventional tactics I can try or, alternatively, other tactics I'm not good at and don't have a lot of confidence in. I sometimes lament the fact that I don't have any more of my favorite [fill in the blank...flies, indicators, etc.] I start turning over more rocks and trying to observe more closely what's under the rock, in the drift, and in the air.

Tanhammer: I most time don't have time to feel very badly as long as I am still fishing. Always believing there is still a way of hooking one.

Greentooth: What the hell are these fishing biting?

Jaykhaki: Mostly searching for fish at different depths or structure and trying different flies.

Greyhawk: I should remember to write down what didn't work in my fishing journal, so that I try something different on my next outing to the same location (provided the time of year, water level/clarity, and temperature are about the same.

Redtail: I re-play the day in my mind, over and over. I usually think about what I could have done differently. I specifically think about specific techniques I'm not good at and need to get better at, or I think about how I might have caught some fish if I weren't so darn lazy -- for example, if I had changed to a longer leader or tied on extra tippet material or if I had fished a streamer or if I had fished some different kind of water or I had tried some really small flies.

Tanhammer: Most times that I should have covered more water. I also believe that the fish may not be feeding at that time of day. Never do I think it was not a good day on the water. I had a fish day to learn something.

Greentooth: What do I need to change in my system/flies to prevent this horrid incident from happening again?

Jaykhaki: What variables will I change for the next experiment. Usually I think about the fly, like a more wiggly action or a different color. Lately I am in a brown phase. I have found solace in fishing suggestions from the Internet and from books, especially nymphing books lately, even if I am not nymphing. Nymphing authors somehow capture my soul. I flip through their books and read a random passage for guidance like some folks read the I Ching. Like this passage from Active Nymphing page 89 verse 31, "...I usually strip rather than pump."

Greyhawk: Fishing should be more about the experience in the outdoors with friends, and less about numbers of fish caught.

Redtail: Even when I do poorly, I usually consider it a day well spent.

Tanhammer: They wouldn't call it fishing if they jump in your net. The more time I spend on the water, the more I enjoy being there even when I get skunked.

Greentooth: Getting skunked happens to everyone, no matter how good. Its part of fishing, with more experience the days you get skunked decrease, but probably never entirely go away if you fish lots.

Bluesuede: After a skunked day, I think, well, that was fun, wish I had caught something but I didn't. Sure was fun trying. To me, there are no bad days fishing. I always think that even though if I caught nothing, I was in beautiful country doing something I love to do and even without a fish it sure beats chopping cotton in (an anonymous location not necessarily in the Cotton Belt, to protect Bluesuede's identity - JC) during the hot summer!

Jaykhaki: I just am resolved to keep going. I can't let skunkings stop me from learning how to fly fish better. I got skunked at Pyramid Lake I think my first 6 days there spread out over 31 years until I started to catch fish in "05. I just kept going until it happened. Actually I was on the borderline of never going again. I have gone back around 10 days since then and have always caught fish. When I started at Pyramid in 1974, the lake was stocked with cutbows and lately they are pure Lahontan cutthroats. I never did catch a cutbow. Putah is another place where I got skunked maybe 3 times before I started to catch fish. These places became like nymphing and streamer academies for me in 2005. I am still facing some personal fly fishing challenges, but am staying determined to make breakthroughs in my weak areas. I wonder if there is no such thing as total mastery of fly fishing and that keeps it interesting.