What's the best way to maintain your mental edge when you're not getting bites in practice or during competition? Spro pro John Crews of Virginia has a simple mantra that he repeats to himself.
"My philosophy is that on any given lake and at any given time, the fish are biting on something, somewhere," he said. "With that being said, it's a matter of changing your presentation, changing baits or changing locations until you find what or where that is."
He understands that's a lot easier said than done, and that even after you've come up with a solution to the puzzle, things can change quickly and put you right back at square 1. But that credo keeps him motivated to keep looking for answers even when it seems like all possible avenues have been exhausted.
"If you go a couple hours without a bite, you can go into a funk. You have to keep telling yourself that they're biting on something, somewhere.
"A lot of times you'll hear people say they were fishing by the seat of their pants, but there's more to it than that. To me, that's a slang term for fishing in the moment – they figured out what the fish were biting at a specific time."
Nobody's Immune
Crews said his worst finishes usually occur when he fails to heed his philosophy and tries to force the fish to bite what he wants them to bite – or what he thinks they should be biting.
"Looking back in the past, those were usually the times I didn't do too well," he said. "I was too hard-headed and I didn't fish in the moment. That happened at Smith Mountain Lake (at the recent Bassmaster Northern Tour event, where he finished 66th). I had a pattern going in practice, but then the fish changed and I didn't."
He said that while it's important to be adaptable, you should also stay within your comfort zone. For instance, if your career haul on a dropshot rig consists of 3 fish, don't go out and try to master that technique during the 2 days just prior to the start of a tournament.
"Go out and fish your strengths," he advised. "If you're a power fisherman, then casting a jig might be something you can do to catch those dropshot fish, or maybe try a Texas-rigged worm. A lot of times there's more than one way to catch those same fish."
No Substitute for Tenacity
Every angler experiences periods where he can't seem to get a bite no matter what he does, but if you're fishing a tournament or preparing for one, it's critical to maintain a positive outlook and keep trying.
"A lot of people aren't tenacious enough on the water," Crews said. "You have to be relentless in trying to figure out the fish. If you've fished for 8 hours and you've tried everything, you just have to dig a little deeper and go start over in a different area.
"You have to go as hard as you can the whole time. If you don't, then there'll be somebody else out there practicing and figuring them out while you're not."
