Good, Not Great

I had been looking forward to Sunday afternoon all week.  I cannot tell you how excited I was to hit some farm ponds, catch a bunch of bass, and spend time with my wife and dog.  Three of those things happened and I shouldn't complain.  It was a beautiful day in a beautiful place that I love with company that I love with all of my heart.  The fishing was subpar however.

I ended up catching four bass and none of them were tiny.  I didn't get skunked and I ended up landing a few fish that fought really hard.  I am, however, left scratching my head at what caused the numbers to be lower than usual.  Typically, the spots I fish will end up providing 20-30 fish in a day.  For some reason, that didn't happen.

Whenever this happens to me, I always try to dissect the day.  Did the recent shift in barometric pressure have something to do with their desire to eat?  Was I throwing a fly that moved too fast or moved through the wrong part of the water column?  Maybe the gusting wind moved the fish to places that I couldn't access.  It is possible that I was fishing too shallow or it that I was on the water at the wrong time of day when fish were less active.  Maybe it was all of these things or none of them.  I look at these things not as excuses of why I wasn't as successful as I usually am, but rather a way to analyze my errors and hone my skills.  

It is also important to note that most of the time I don't get to fish when conditions are optimal.  I get to fish when my schedule opens up and allows it.  For me, that means I better be on top of my game in any condition because I don't get to order up perfect situations.  Maybe this wasn't the best day and time to be on the water but it was still a learning experience and a good time.  No complaining here, just pondering and analysis.

This is a different fish, I promise, it just looks a lot like the other one.