2 month blank..

[tomgrim]

Going through a long bad spell of blanking, don't know what's happening.

[cookiesdaughtersdad]

It can happen to us all at times but two months is a bad run!
I wonder what times you are fishing? how many hours you are fishing?, methods etc? and are others catching from the same waters?
I would suggest a change of venue to see if you can get your string pulled, roving a river with one rod could be a good call.
Theres a good ole saying that "if you always do what you always did then you'll always get what you always got!" and I think that spot on for angling and so a change is as good as a rest!

Cheers Alan

[tomgrim]

I've tried different times of the day but I never seem to go back to the same place each week. There's a few different stretches of the river i've been trying.
Usually get out once a week up to 3 hours at the most with the lure rod. Try fishing all the spots that look 'pikey'.
That is spot on for angling.
Its happened as I bought a new setup and I'm still yet to christen it.
I had dark braid on my last one but I went for a bright braid on this and that's always in the back of my mind

Cheers

[peteren]

I'm sure bright braid wouldn't put pike off.
I've been getting more - and some decent - pike than perch whilst using 2-3" lures recently. Smaller lures increase your chances of not blanking.

[Happy Hayes]

Hi Tom
As far as braid is concerned ,the fish don’t care
About colour
The braid I use is bright yellow .
Blanking it happens to us all .
Regards
Tom

[Flipflopjoe]

Hi mate, hard times on the blanking run, I had a little spell of blanks on my river starting out, not quite 2 months but long enough.
I was always travelling up river, trying further and further upstream. I got fed up and just thought “feck it, try the opposite!”. I started heading further downstream and BINGO ! 6 pike in a 4hr session, only jacks, biggest 2 at about 6-7lb but good fun.
Anyway, I’m not saying the act of changing direction did anything, no cosmic energy changes or any of that tosh but I’ve found its worked before, if you do pretty much the opposite of what you have been doing, think a bit outside of the box an it can make a difference
No scientific evidence to support any of this and probability is I just got lucky the same time as I changed things but it could be worth a shot

[tomgrim]

Cheers lads. I know it's bad when it happens. Will keep going and trying, might give dead baiting a go to have a break from endless casting see if out happens.

Cheers

[Porphyrios]

Fear not brother! I can top 2 months! How about 4??? I probably wasnt making it any easier by only using large lures so I did eventually break the blank by getting my light outfit out, 2" shads and light line banked me a few big perch and a fairly decent jack! Anyway, back on the large baits now October has well and truly arrived! Tight lines, wet nets and all that jazz!

[Woodchucker]

Rivers can be moody, plenty of canals around south Yorkshire that can give you a confidence boost. Don't fall into the trap of blaming line, trace, lures because chances are the river you are fishing is either slow or the pike have moved onto the bait shoals that are out of reach from the swim you fish

[tomgrim]

Finally broke the curse. Went onto the canal like you said and got one at first light. Cheers

[Flipflopjoe]

Nice one mate, well in

[Martin Ward P.A.C.]

Yes I bet it feels really good

[Daniel]

How often you're fishing depends on weather I'd be worried about blanking.
If you're fishing three times a week and have blanked for two months I'd pack in and take up golf, if you've had two sessions two months apart it's nothing to be too worried about!

We all blank occasionally, the questions to be asking yourself while blanking.
Am I doing everything I can to increase my chances?
Am I doing the basics right?
Am I trying different types of lures? Not just a different soft plastic, but different lure types, cranks, spinners, spoons, jerks etc.
Am I covering the depths?
Am I getting close enough to the features?
Am I thinking about my fishing or just mindlessly casting and retrieving the same lure or two because they're my favourites?

Ask yourself that little lot, be honest with yourself, and blanks will become much less frequent if you correct the mistakes.

[norwich lad]

pressure, fish being taken for the table and otters (if present will not help fishing) its not helped on a couple of waters near norwich. getting fish but not as regular as in the past. may your next one be a big one, keep at it.

[delboy]

That only amounts to 2/3 days fishing in 2 months boy,so that don't sound to bad,if that is all the time you can spare,fair enough,leave them bits of wood/plastic at home and give them something to eat like a half herring,good luck boy

[Mark Phillips]

I'm sure bright braid wouldn't put pike off.
I've been getting more - and some decent - pike than perch whilst using 2-3" lures recently. Smaller lures increase your chances of not blanking.

I use bright yellow powerpro a fair bit, makes no difference to the pike I can assure you.

Blanking? My view is pretty straight forward on that. It happens, but it shouldn't happen very often if you understand why you didn't catch and what to do next time when faced with the same situation. Pike really aren't hard to catch, but they can be when they're switched off or not in front of you. That's it, simple as that, location is everything. Then after that, you just need to work it out. Without any question, the best lures to trigger pike when they're switched off are jigs, usually small ones, such as 3 to 4 inch paddle tail shads, small lizards, etc. Definitely the 'go to' method when the going gets tough, but as stated, first of all, find the fish.

[jamie g]

keep at it pal. least you are getting out and about. i tend to go on the avon more then the seven when river fishing by me. use to regularly blank on the seven. so use to put me off fishing it. like the other lads have said try some different places and tactics. good luck

[RAB-HENDO]

I would rather blank on the bank than blank in the hoose