The MAD Fishing Show and the bad mojo

As much as I applaud the shameless fish bragging, a far more important aspect to me is honesty. In the spirit of that honesty I have to admit that the less than infamous and completely non-sponsored MAD Fishing Show is in a serious slump. Even the trips to the most consistent fisheries are coming up zilch. One skunkfest won’t dampen our spirits or lessen our determination but 3 or 4 zeroed out excursions can open a door of paranoia and frustration in my already frazzled mind. Catching fish is never guaranteed but typically Don or myself can find a hot pattern for the day and work it with some level of success even at the worst of times. In the last handful of trips we have slung at least 50 patterns over 1,000 casts to see nary a follow.

Some people tend to blame the weather or the moon phase. Other people may blame the season. I am not above any of those excuses but in truth I can an only blame myself for not catching fish. What makes this situation really bizarre is that I am catching fish on my solo trips but the Matt and Don runs are coming up empty. For the most part I am not a superstitious person unless it comes to fishing. A crazy slump like this will allow my imagination to point towards some type of bad mojo being involved.

Panic and desperation can subtract from a positive mentality as well as fishing focus, which are two very important aspects to fishing. Before my mind gets too carried away with thoughts of doom and gloom I need to remind myself this is January and the fishing can be real hit or miss. However…I am not above resorting to voodoo, even if only to calm the paranoid voices in my head.

My name is Matt and I’m a fishaholic.