Fishing Confidence: Why You Need It and How to Get It

If fishing with kids has taught me one thing over the years, its that fishing with confidence matters. This goes for both the parent, the child, and even the professional anglers out there. The more confidence you have while fishing, the more likely you are to catch fish. When I take my kids out on the lake, if they (or I) aren’t feeling it, it seems like we can’t catch anything.

The concept of “being snake bit” is well-known in sports. Essentially it means you’re on an unlucky slump where nothing will go your way. You might see a hockey player who can’t hit the net to save their life. Perhaps it’s a baseball pitcher who keeps missing the strike zone. In fishing, being snake bit means you can’t get a fish to chomp your lure no matter what you try. After awhile, it can be easy to stop trying.

Well, it’s one thing if you’re just out there fishing by yourself. It’s quite another if you have little ones in tow counting on you to put them on fish. Let’s talk about why you need fishing confidence and how to get it before your next trip.

Why Confidence Matters In Fishing

Confidence is an extremely positive tool in life and those who have it will usually credit it with at least some of their life success. Those who lack it may well spend considerable efforts and dollars out there trying new self help programs, pills, or trappings to try and gain it. Fishing is no different – those with confidence usually are ahead of the curve while those without it expend considerable effort trying to gain some.

The Power of Positivity

I’m a firm believer that self-fulfilling prophecies are a real thing in fishing as well as life in general. If I don’t think something is going to happen, chances are it won’t. This probably isn’t so much an issues with the cosmos as it is with myself – I need to believe in something to happen to give myself the energy to see it through.

Keeping a positive attitude is critical in fishing because you just never know when the fish will turn on or move into an area. Some tournament fishermen who are confident in their spots will sit on them all day without getting a bite, but they know that eventually the fish will arrive.

Likewise, positive thinking gives you the motivation to make “just one more cast” and you never know – it might be the cast that connects with the fish you’ve been dreaming of your whole life.

Just as importantly, even if it doesn’t pan, out, thinking positively will make your time on the water much more enjoyable than if you sulked about assuming you would fail!

Inspired Leadership of Self and Others

Given my blog and the books I’ve written, I have a reputation with my friends and their kids that if they come out fishing with me, they’re going to catch something. This could be a terrible burden if I let it, as I would never want to let someone down who made plans to fish with me. Even so, I am fully aware that sometimes, the fish just don’t cooperate right off the bat. While I’m always careful to have a Plan B when fishing with kids and follow my own advice about stress free tips for fishing with kids, it’s critically important that they never see me lose my smile. A guest out fishing with you is relying on your knowing what to do and if you let on that you’re worried, they will too. Then, all the confidence leaves the boat. We don’t want that!

Ways to Gain Confidence In Fishing

Now that you know why you need confidence in fishing, how do you go about getting it? Well, pretty much the same ways you’d gain confidence in any other sport or life endeavor. Practice, Preparation, and Proper Equipment.

Practice

Athletes gain confidence in themselves by practicing as perfectly as possible before the game. You can do the same thing with fishing. One of the most important things you can do is cast accurately and quietly. You want to present your lure exactly where it needs to go and have it enter the water without making a giant splash (normally).

You can practice casting in any open field with an old plug that has the hooks removed, or, if you’d prefer, they also sell this great set of practice casting plugs. This set comes with a variety of weights which is actually preferable to using a plug, as you can see the effect of casting different sizes. Frankly, I think I just found a good birthday present for my son as he wants to start using a baitcaster this year (he is 8) and I want him to get practice out in the yard first.

If you want other tips, you can also check out my article on how to improve your fishing skills.

Preparation

Preparation is huge in fishing, especially when you haven’t been to the waterbody before, or for a long while. Make sure you do some scouting, at least online. Fishing forums are a great place to start, as is google. Odds are, you found this article using that – go ask a specific question as you might find a fishing report for your lake that either is very recent, or at least is from the same general time of year from years ago.

Another great resource are Facebook groups. For example, Fishing 802 has a number of great tips about fishing in the 802 area code (Read: much of Lake Champlain). There is a wealth of knowledge there (not to mention some anglers who don’t know how to wipe coordinates and other meta data from their photos)!

If you’re fishing with kids, make sure you check out my article on preparing for a fishing trip with kids. It is filled with specific tips to help you enjoy your time out there. You also might want to see my article about making fishing with kids stress free while you’re at it.

Proper Equipment

You can’t have confidence while fishing if you don’t have confidence in your equipment. While you don’t need to rush out to buy the most expensive rods out there (if you do, buy them used) you should have confidence in your equipment. Don’t get the cheapest rod and reel combo out there. Don’t just drop your reel in the sand and forget to clean it. Check your line before you go out and ensure it isn’t frayed. Make sure your lures are of decent quality and appear relatively stable. In short, control the variables within your control.

Consider Reading a Book

Several books out there can help you gain confidence while fishing. For example, Destroying Bass Fishing Myths will help you avoid some of the nagging doubts that come with the sport. Likewise, High Percentage Fishing: A Statistical Approach to Improving Catch Rates can help you break down bass fishing situations with data. It’s basically the “Moneyball” of fishing.

How to Get Confidence When Fishing New Bass Lures

I make a point to try and learn a new technique or lure each year. This can be scary because I don’t always know exactly how to work a lure, and am often going by instructions I got from the internet without a firsthand guide. Thus, I try to set myself up for success by doing the following:

• I will use a new lure in an area I know has fish in that time of year. If there ever was a moment to go to a tried and true “honey hole,” it’s when you’re trying to build confidence while fishing a new bass lure.
• Any variables that I can put in my favor, I do. This means picking my spots with the weather and time of day. I’m certainly not going to try a new bass fishing lure at high noon the day after a cold front!
• If it’s possible to choose a variety of sizes with a new lure, I try to pick one that has a better chance of catching a wider range of fish. I wouldn’t want to try and build confidence when fishing new bass lures by picking the “jumbo” size that only a monster is likely to hit.

How to Shake Off a Bad Fishing Trip

There’s much wisdom in the phrase, “A bad day of fishing beats a good day at work.” Sometimes when the bite isn’t that great, I focus on the beauty around me and try to take it all in. Also, remembering that this isn’t a life or death situation or one that has irreparable consequences is important too. Lost a giant fish? You also gained a great story. Didn’t quite make the tournament cut? Well, what did you do wrong and what would you do in the future?

On that point, keeping a fishing log can be a great way to boost your confidence. Unsuccessful trips are just as important for a fishing log as the days that work out great! If you had a bad day fishing, consider drowning your sorrows with some sympathy shopping and treat yourself to this great leather logbook. It is organized so it will remind you to capture all the important details of the day including waypoints, water temps, and fish species as well as your thoughts and is the best one I’ve seen.

Conclusions

I hope this article helps you keep things in perspective so you can build and retain your confidence while fishing. It’s a wonderful asset to have out on the water that will help you have a better time on your own, and especially if you bring your kids out with you.

Thanks for reading,

John Paxton

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