Gauging Success

[TheFriendlyFisherman]

Curious how some of you guys/gals gauge success or what you would estimate your catch % is each time you go out surfcasting. I like to think I’m relatively seasoned fishing, but newer to MA. If you’re surf fishing in MA, do you land strippers each time out, 75% of the time, 25%, etc. Been having pretty dismal success recently and just trying to get a sense of how other fare each outing. Part of my issue is I spend half of my time recently scouting new spots and just learning the area but starting to feel like I’m underperforming (but still having a blast doing so!) so curious how others do routinely.

[pops02]

For me, i have whittled down my main fishing area to about 10 miles of coastline on cape cod bay. Within that area there are a number of creeks and small back bay / marsh areas and the biggest estuary in cc bay.  Depending on wind, weather and tide i can roughly find a fish 50-55 % of the time over the course of the season in one of these areas within the 10 miles. Things seem to slow down from around mid-July to mid - August for me and picks back up when the cooler weather arrives in September.  When i choose to fish the lower cape, either bay side, or backside, all bets are off, and those percentages might plummet. For me, if i catch fish 50% of the time, I'm a happy camper. I enjoy being in the water, just as much as catching fish. 

[pops02]

I would like to add, i live within those 10 miles of coastline and have been concentrating my fishing within that area for the past 10 to 12 years due to family / work commitments and have tried to learn all i could about what conditions are more likely to produce fish. My suggestion to you is if you have a long commute to the salt water, find a fishing area that is dear to you for whatever reason, weather its a part of the cape you love, or have great memories of, and learn the ins and out of that location. once you learn the ins and outs of that spot, you can venture out to other locations and learn new spots, leaving your first location as a fallback, or putting non fishing friends on the fish. Good luck, and enjoy your time on the water.  By the way, welcome to the site. 

Edited September 20 by pops02

[zak-striper]

2 hours ago, TheFriendlyFisherman said:

Part of my issue is I spend half of my time recently scouting new spots and just learning the area but starting to feel like I’m underperforming (but still having a blast doing so!) so curious how others do routinely.

 

I have had outings where it is stupid fishing with nothing but schoolies for a couple of hours but didn't get a fish over the minimum and I felt like a failure.

 

I've fished for hours and only caught 1 or 2 big fish and felt like a huge success.

 

I've been skunked but it was a gorgeous day on the water, I learned something about a location that I could apply in future outings or I tried a new technique that got me comfortable enough with it that my next time out I was able to use it successfully.

 

"Success" during an outing is relative to what you're trying to accomplish. And it isn't always about quantity or size.

 

When I was on vacation this summer I tried a spot that I've fished before but I fished the opposite tide that I normally fish. I got one small keeper sized bluefish and I lost a couple more on hits that didn't stay on. However, I learned a lot about how the opposite tide fishes so now I have that learning curve under my belt.

 

On Sunday I was fishing a spot that I fish a few times each season. I was targeting blues. However, albies were showing up on occasion to blind casting. I quit targeting blues and started using my funny fish setup. I didn't catch one, I only caught a nice blue that fortunately didn't bite off my 15lb leader. However, a small number of albies were caught by other people at this location. Just by switching up my setup and watching what other guys were doing, I learned enough about targeting albies at that spot that I now feel prepared for them when I am there next.

[1ife]

From shore.. 90% if success is defined as catching.

 

If conditions aren't right I will just go home. Fished long enough that I have my routines and expectations. I usually will have plan and jump spot to spot.

 

 

[angler management]

after years of going to a spot and just start casting i now follow the birds - gulls - cormorants - heron know where the bait is and timing tides once you find a pattern stick with it .

[Intrepid95]

Really depends on where and how I'm fishing. One of my regular spots that I know and am familiar with? If I get skunked, that's a failure to me. Scouting out a new one I've never fished before? I'm just glad to be out there.

[BrianBM]

Success? Happiness. As you leave the beach. A sense of peace.

[bob_G]

How many fish I caught, or even if I didn't catch any at all stopped mattering a long time ago.  It's the process that's important. I'm just happy to be able to go.

[TheFriendlyFisherman]

2 mins ago, bob_G said:

How many fish I caught, or even if I didn't catch any at all stopped mattering a long time ago.  It's the process that's important. I'm just happy to be able to go.

Completely agree - I’m always appreciative of just getting out and the process and work that goes into setting yourself up for some success. As a newer member here it’s great to hear from you, Bob. I’ve read and learned from a lot of your posts over the years (I’ve been reading on this site on and off for years before I just recently made an account). So grateful for you and others who share so much experience with the rest of us.

[zak-striper]

6 hours ago, 1ife said:

If conditions aren't right I will just go home. Fished long enough that I have my routines and expectations. I usually will have plan and jump spot to spot

 

 

There's one beach I fish where I've lost track of how many times where I was fishing when I saw someone show up, cast for 15 minutes, then leave because they didn't hook up. Meanwhile I grinded out an outing at that beach and got a few quality fish or an hour after the 15 minute person left, a good bite broke out and it tuned into stupid fishing.

 

Patience truly is a virtue when it comes to fishing. 

[1ife]

I agree with Zak that 15 minutes or hours at a spot you don't catch anything doesn't mean it cant be fruitful. Putting the time is really what I find that promotes success. When you know you know. 

 

The time you invest and what you learn is what you'll cherish. To catch one fish is easy, every place has a time and place.. there will always be times when you shouldn't have left but if you want to be consistent have a plan but be ready to adapt.

 

Every thing is relative.

[pops02]

8 hours ago, zak-striper said:

 

 

There's one beach I fish where I've lost track of how many times where I was fishing when I saw someone show up, cast for 15 minutes, then leave because they didn't hook up. Meanwhile I grinded out an outing at that beach and got a few quality fish or an hour after the 15 minute person left, a good bite broke out and it tuned into stupid fishing.

 

Patience truly is a virtue when it comes to fishing. 

Did you speak with them and did they confirm they were leaving because they didn’t catch a fish, or perhaps they had to get going to grab that gallon of skim milk ?

[akoller]

I would caution against tracking yourself too closely for "success." When I have done this in the past I ended up fishing with a narrow focus on areas / methods that I thought would work best rather than exploring and learning. Success is if you learn something or enjoy the time on the water.

[jigmaster5]

Success means different things to different people.

 

My uncles used to love fishing trips - not for the fish - but b/c they could eat whatever they wanted, drink whatever they wanted + their wives didn't ask them to do anything or not eat this or drink that.  Plus they got to hang out and talk about everything under the sun.

 

For me, a successful trip is either dialing in a bite or learning 1 thing for next time.  Over time, these small, incremental things add up & pay dividends in future trips.