Whats a Healthy SKUNK Average?

[LUV-2-CATCH'EM]

Of all the outings where you strictly throw Swimbaits ONLY...How often do you get Skunked?

MY LAST 20 OUTINGS (I SKUNKED 11 TIMES)

So that's 9 successful outings out of 20... I'm happy with that!

I know SKUNK% will vary Person to Person due to Location, Experience, Time spent Etc... Heck some dudes are ICED OUT several months of the year!  (Not Fair)

But, I'm sure most Swimbaiters would like to know where they stand overall as far as "Success Vs. Skunk" in the Swimbait Chunk'in Community...

I have only been swimbaiting for a little over 6 years now and I'm certainly more successful than the 1st year I started (I may of caught 3-4 fish the 1st year)

ALL FISHERMEN Hate getting Skunked for the most part...even happens to the Traditional Tackle guys too... All part of the game

 

Merry Christmas Ya'll!

 

 

[bassbass]

Merry Christmas to you also Justin.

I fish every Saturday and Sunday depending on family stuff.

I only throw swimbaits and out of 20 outings I may skunk 1 time out of the 20 trips.

Up north was about the same but the weather at the beginning and end of the ice had an effect on it.

[VolunteerSwimbaits]

This is my first year, but ive caught 2 fish in about 6 months. If i had to guess, maybe 70 trips, and only one was successful. 1/70 but i enjoy every single skunk.

Just yesterday i was chunking a hudd around, and without even getting a bite i learned so much about bottom bouncing. 

I came from carolina rigging 24/7 so i am very much a bottom fisherman. Throwing across deep points and dragging up ledges is my specialty. But the problem with c-rigging is that you catch a lot of fish haha. And going from catching 5+ a day to catching one every few months is a very hard transition, but much more worth it. 

I know this comment is overly long, probably cause im on the toilet while writing this, but heres an analogy. Swimbait fishing is kinda like shooting photos. You can bring a digital camera and take 200 meaningless photos of a landscape, or you can take a film camera and take 10 heartfelt meaningful photos of something that really spoke to you... same goes for fishing, you can throw a senko and catch 50 bass that you will not remember next week, or you can throw a swimbait, and catch 2, but youll never forget about those 2.

Anyways im out of here, merry christmas.

[chefchris]

From the boat I’d say 1 in 4 is a skunk

from shore it’s more like 3 in 4 skunk, mainly just do to the fact a lot of bodies of water here have super limited shore access or have access but crap casting cause of trees or the access is in the worst part of the pond 

[Amistoad]

For the past couple of months (I was saltwater fishing most of the spring and summer), I’ve averaged 1 out of 5 trips skunked on swimbaits. I do cheat though and have conventional gear with me to manage to catch a fish or two on a crankbait or Carolina rig. So 0 out of 5 skunks all together. I only fish weekends on public waters. But once in a while I sneak off for a Friday session. My go-to swimbait is the Mattlures hardgill. It almost always gets bit on the waters I fish. Rats and glides are less productive for me. But the Gill gets ‘em!

[bigbass45]

First I have to say I am a little green to swimbaits but I have been at it hard for about a year fishing 2/3 days a week. As of recent, I have had a bad run. I have been five/six trips no fish on a big bait. I was doing better earlier this year and getting two or three a trip until about July. Then one every other trip until the truck to pull the boat broke down last month. Bad juju ever since. Truck's fixed and it's time to reposition but so far it's been the bank and my kayak for the last 6 weeks. I agree with Chis access to your spots can be critical. When I lost my truck/boat for a month I realized it was my crutch for catching fish. I need to diversify my spots and swimbait ability. IMO a fish every other trip isn't to bad for an average if all you are throwing is a big bait. It's easy to get spoiled when your catching, and hard to keep going when your not. I think this is a great topic by the way. Also more power to bassbass/ Brian V, you are killing it. Good attitude VoluteerSwimbaits/ Jordan, keep casting you got heart. Thanks SU enjoying your forum, you guys are great.

[danthefisherman]

Well, my brother and I haven't caught anything over a pound on a swimbait since July...but then again we haven't been able to get out on the water very much recently (maybe once or twice every two weeks) and the fishery at our home lake is dying down quickly. Last year we had our best season ever in terms of quality at this lake by using swimbaits, but this year we've really struggled to pull anything together even when we occasionally throw a drop shot for dinks. I haven't even seen a single good fish during the past few outings which is highly unusual for this lake even during the winter time 

[El_Weruso]

I don't even want to answer the question! haha I fish about 1/2 times a week maybe 3 hours at a time. Right now my ratio is like 1catch/5days of fishing. It's tough fishing pressured local park lakes 

[chefchris]

there was a July about 10-11 years ago i fished (surf saltwater fishing) that I went fishing 26 out of 31 days and got the goose egg/skunk every trip. was a huge let down after a great may and June. made some adjustments to where and when I was fishing, what I was throwing and how i was approaching it and then had one of the most epic late summer/fall runs I've ever had. 

sometimes you just need to step back, look at what you're doing (we all get stuck in a rut of throwing whats worked in the past or fishing the same spots over and over) and come up with a new plan of attack. 

I'm also a huge believer in keeping a detailed log with the date, weather, wind, what I threw, conditions, moon phase, pressure, and any other details that may have impacted the results (boat traffic, new line/new bait, new gear etc) 

[Rogervang]

For me, in the last 6 outings I caught 2 fish. I dont get to fish too often with work secdule and not finding a babysitter but that's the last of my worries. I was out the other day throwing glide for the year time in years for about 3 hours with no actions. I switched to a hudd and bam! That fish broke my skunk.

[waynem]

I  throw swimbaits 90% of the time and get to fish about 5 days a week from ice-out to ice-up (retirement is great!).  My overall skunk rate is no more than about 10%, but keep in mind I have a lot of on-the-water experience behind me.  In New England we generally have a zillion ponds, rivers, and lakes in easy driving distance.  I've gotten better at matching up the weather/seasonal conditions to where I fish on a particular day.  In post-spawn I'm only going to fish places that have  prime structure (points, hump drops) that draw the spawned out females.  On calm bluebird sky days when the fish a likely to be inactive, I'm going to stay away from crystal clear lakes with no cover and I'm also going to avoid places with way to much weed cover for the fish will bury into.  On the other hand those are the type of places I will target on those overcast rainy days when I think the fish will be actively roaming and feeding.  Stuff like that doesn't always work the way I think it will, but it seems to increase my odds.  Knowledge and experience are ten times better than how many expensive baits you own.

[biggfeast]

Seasons play the biggest role for me... Spring/Summer maybe 1 out of 5 is a skunk. Fall/Winter maybe around 4 out of 5 is a skunk. 

I suck in the winter time lol... doesn’t help that the trout stockings have been pretty minimal as well out here in San Diego. 

[FishDr]

Great question, and one that I've thought about a fair bit, at least for certain situations.  It seems to depend more on species than on time of year or location.

If I'm fishing for bass in local waters and put in at least 2 hours per trip, I estimate I get skunked once every 6 or 7 trips(71 - 83% success rate).  I normally can get a fish to commit to one of my go-to baits (Slammer, Baby Possum, G2 Shellcracker) but there are occasionally nights, and sometimes days, when I can't buy a strike, let alone a fish.

If I'm fishing for walleye in one of a handful of lakes that can kick out 30s (inches, not pounds), then my success rate is more like once every 15 trips (especially with one lake which my friends and I call the wicked witch of the west).  That's a 6.67% success rate and it takes a fair bit of motivation to keep going back.  The reason I do keep going back is that I know the fish are there (both from experience and from looking at the fisheries survey data), albeit in modest numbers, they are nomadic, and it is a matter of putting your time in casting at night.  I went 16 trips over about 2 years without a fish and then landed a teener.  A colleague of mine went something like 21 consecutive nights in late fall/early winter without a strike, and then he landed 5 fish in 4 nights of 10 lbs, including one over 12 lbs.  The Wicked Witch of the West is like that.

[LUV-2-CATCH'EM]

I love the detail you guys put into your responses... Holy Smokes!

Bassbass Brian is clearly leading the pack on success...

But his fish aint just jump'in in the boat... We all know he out there putting in the time on the Grind!

I truly Believe SWIMBAITERS are some of the most Dedicated/Hardcore anglers out there on the water Grind'in it out...

I know there is huge science behind getting fish to bite...But I think to a certain extent its a game of numbers?

If you go enough times eventually you will connect...at least that's what I tell myself when I'm in a rut!

 

Welcome to SKUNKVILLE...Population 1

 

 

 

 

 

[Tinos240]

I rarely catch fish haha!  Throwin big baits and working em different ways is just awesome in itself and gettin a bite and catching a fish is icing on the cake, but iv caught about 11 swimbait fish all year goin out mabe 3-4 times a month and all range from 3-8.5lbs, skunkin just builds you up for when you do catch one its all worth it