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Losing your mojo?

I think this is a common occurence in all forms of angling when you end up 'going through the motions' . . .for me fishing for barbel again has been a revalation and a massive 'break' from the circus and huge amounts of time, gear and bait investement that can be carp fishing. I've done more river fishing this season already than carp fishing on my syndicate such is the 'new' allure. As others have said mixing it up is key - do something different / fish a new water / fish for another species / invest in a new item of tackle you desire but don't really need . . .anything to keep your interest in what is such a unique sport/pastime. Failing that have a break and do something else - but never ditch your gear; when you're ready to return you'll know!
 
I dont fish every week, but try and get out a few times a month during the summer, normally after work sessions 4pm-midnight usually.
I fish mainly the Thames, for barbel mostly, the last barbel I caught was in 2008!!!!! It can be like banging you head against a wall most trips.

I started fishing for other species at different venues, it keeps be going when I get the rods back out on the Thames.

I love lure fishing, so I use these short sessions to find barbel spots, I normally take a bag of pellets and boilies with me to introduce into likely spots for return visits. I also take the kids out maggot bashing every now and then.

Also try and get out a few times a season with my own course gear and have a feeder or float session fishing for anything that swims, it all builds confidence
 
Rhys Perry said:
Lost my mojo a bit over the last couple of years myself, but it no longer bothers me since I bought a camera and go out photographing wildlife. I now split my time between that and fishing.
I think we get a bit too obsessed with goals, numbers, weights etc etc, to the point we forget why we fish and then get frustrated when we see others doing well all the time in the press and on social media. It doesn't have to be a competition!
Don't forget, the people that do well are out all the time and probably do very little else, and good luck to them. But for me, taking a step back and finding another passion has been great. I enjoy my fishing more having no real goals or expectations.
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It's true enough Rhys that there's more to angling than catching fish. But I find it far more rewarding if I blank when I know there are fish present. This may sound a bit odd as it implies incompetence on the part of the angler, but it gives you something to work on. Change of rigs, baits, tactics, fishing time etc. In other words you have a starting point to try and crack it. If you're unsure if any fish are even within half a mile then there's little point trying to figure out why you are blanking. It is this more than anything that totally kills my enthusiasm.
 
Alex Gowney said:
It's true enough Rhys that there's more to angling than catching fish. But I find it far more rewarding if I blank when I know there are fish present. This may sound a bit odd as it implies incompetence on the part of the angler, but it gives you something to work on. Change of rigs, baits, tactics, fishing time etc. In other words you have a starting point to try and crack it. If you're unsure if any fish are even within half a mile then there's little point trying to figure out why you are blanking. It is this more than anything that totally kills my enthusiasm.
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Yep, totally agree. For me ...if I'm not catching and I'm pretty sure it's down to me, then I'm ok-ish with that. By that I mean, it's then up to me to learn, change, figure, and sort it out. It should be do-able. But I'm not ok and can get despondent if I reckon that what I'm doing is ok, but those fish that I wish to catch aren't actually there (or within an attractable distance from me).
The scariest thing for me is the thought that one day I might wake up and no longer want to catch fish, any fish, anymore. I get a hell of a lot out of going fishing, even when I blank .... but I (no one?) can go fishing without the actual desire/wish to catch.
 
Not too much I can add here (as a fellow Rother angler). Yes it’s an incredibly difficult river to fish for barbel and you may well go through a hell of a lot of blanks ( and I do mean a lot) before connecting with one, but the rewards are there. 🤫😄
 
If you are thinking of a species change then i would highly recommend treating yourself to the excellent Fallon's angler magazine. It's very much a magazine for the all rounder and the quality of the writing is superb, catching the essence of angling rather than the how to do it, proper motivational stuff. I always have a smile on my face when it drops through the door.
Available here
 
blimey guys thought it was only me that felt like this,have had one half hearted attempt so far this season,and we are now getting some hot weathr to contend with!river is so low(lea),that really dont think its a good idea to go anyway?i may be an old fart,but why some on fb feel the need to post a photo of every fish they catch ?if a pb or a fish from a new venue thats fine,roll on autumn ,may get my rods out by then?lol.
 
Paul Eve said:
I have just returned from another unsuccessful trip to the West Sussex Rother this morning feeling like I have lost my Barbel Mojo! I have been fishing on the river for 3 seasons now and have managed to get 5 Barbel up to 14lb from the same swim and always during the summer months, i have caught nothing in the Autumn or winter to date. It is a hard river with a very very low stock of Barbel so i know I am up against it, as other with attest to I am sure. Talking to some of the regulars it would seem that 3-5 fish a season is a good result, but recently i met a guy who has had many more fish than that in one season and as luck would have it I did not have time to get some details. I have tried keeping mobile fishing to any snag that looks like it might hold Barbel and I also tried sitting it out in one swim, neither of these methods seem to helping at the moment and I am becoming increasingly despondent. I am sure others have been in a similar situation over the years and I would value any pearls of wisdom that may help me get my Barbel Mojo back, any suggestions?
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Recon it’s down to a very late spawning, our local river is only now just going into spawn.
Leave it a couple of weeks, have go for tench instead…
 
Raymond Kent said:
blimey guys thought it was only me that felt like this,have had one half hearted attempt so far this season,and we are now getting some hot weathr to contend with!river is so low(lea),that really dont think its a good idea to go anyway?i may be an old fart,but why some on fb feel the need to post a photo of every fish they catch ?if a pb or a fish from a new venue thats fine,roll on autumn ,may get my rods out by then?lol.
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Absolutely agree raymond about taking pictures, I like to keep them out of the water as little as possible, and they all look pretty much the bloody same anyway!! Unless it looks like a pb or nice double i dont get it🙄
 
The amount of Otter damaged Barbel is a worry, would rather not catch at all then witness the effects of this hideous callous killer. How long before all Barbel have gone and we are left with just memories? But of course Jo public doesn't care, we anglers are the eyes and ears but no one cares. And yet the Otter is lauded as a triumph
...what an almighty ....up.
 
Like i said in an earlier post, because its a part of the river angler ,we can't wait to get back at it, we have just had 3months off and surely the fish are ready, but how many of us get off to a flier,(unless you fish the aquariums) not many, ive been twice and come back home after an hour, once because there was loads of crap coming down after a bit of extra water, and last time because i just couldn't get a good feeling about it, i think an ajustment in the close season would help, say fish till april 30, and start july 1 st, most fish would be spawned out by then, and not long till cooler water temps, and a few more fish after a snack,,,,,, just a thought
Regards
 
One other bit of advice about getting a bit of a downer on is just accept it, don't try to analyse why. Downers are just part and parcel of life and naturally you will look to get back to things under your own steam. Downer about work, downer about the car, downer about the missus - given a little bit of time though and we come to realise things aren't that bad.
 
Jim Ufton said:
Like i said in an earlier post, because its a part of the river angler ,we can't wait to get back at it, we have just had 3months off and surely the fish are ready, but how many of us get off to a flier,(unless you fish the aquariums) not many, ive been twice and come back home after an hour, once because there was loads of crap coming down after a bit of extra water, and last time because i just couldn't get a good feeling about it, i think an ajustment in the close season would help, say fish till april 30, and start july 1 st, most fish would be spawned out by then, and not long till cooler water temps, and a few more fish after a snack,,,,,, just a thought
Regards
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The initial fervour of catches of skinny emaciated Barbel being held aloft on Facebook is off putting, especially as we are targeting the very fish that can offer a future for the species. These spawning areas could be off limits if we really had any combined interest but alas these areas are controlled by clubs who have no interest in doing so.
Pushing back the start to July would be a help, but even now there is spawning activity, there is clearly a huge vacuum of knowledge as to Barbel recruitment, but also all other species.
One thing I have noticed is the amount of fry this summer, I can't recall a time where there have been more in the margins...so that is something positive.
I am enjoying revisiting my childhood methods of fishing for whatever...it really is liberating and can be a great stop gap until Autumn.
 
Paul Richardson said:
I had a MASSIVE fall-out with my fishing partner of 30+ years recently about this.
I got off to a good start and have had a reasonable amount of fish since opening day. He was a few sessions behind and being very competitive he decided he needed to catch up?? I know what he's like and shook my head as I figured after all these years , we'd got past all this?
But he did the most heinous of crimes in my book which is he hogged 2 prime swims that had a bit of flow. I mean he fished one rod in one, and cast another rod into a downstream peg and heavily baited it. When I got there behind him, planning to float fish he was fishing the only pegs with any flow and I wasn't happy to put in mildly.
And we had a major fall-out. He was so obsessed with catching he lost sight of why we do it and basic respect for his wing-man of 30+ years. I was so incensed I couldn't speak to him until I got a full and frank apology in writing - more chance of hell freezing over!
I got the nearest thing to an apology earlier this week, and I begrudgingly accepted I might have over-reacted...a bit😤
But this fishing thing can send us all a bit barmy at times. Most of my best moments have been with him, but the red mist descended on both of us and I have seen lads fall out forever over lesser things 😁
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Reading this I'm reminded of the scene from the 1st episode of Lord of the rings. Where the two friends were fishing in the boat, one falls overboard and spots the ring in the silt, they then fight over the ring, and one kills the other for it! Glad you didn't get to that part! 😂😂😂😂😂
 
Paul Eve said:
I have just returned from another unsuccessful trip to the West Sussex Rother this morning feeling like I have lost my Barbel Mojo! I have been fishing on the river for 3 seasons now and have managed to get 5 Barbel up to 14lb from the same swim and always during the summer months, i have caught nothing in the Autumn or winter to date. It is a hard river with a very very low stock of Barbel so i know I am up against it, as other with attest to I am sure. Talking to some of the regulars it would seem that 3-5 fish a season is a good result, but recently i met a guy who has had many more fish than that in one season and as luck would have it I did not have time to get some details. I have tried keeping mobile fishing to any snag that looks like it might hold Barbel and I also tried sitting it out in one swim, neither of these methods seem to helping at the moment and I am becoming increasingly despondent. I am sure others have been in a similar situation over the years and I would value any pearls of wisdom that may help me get my Barbel Mojo back....
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Morning chaps.

As mentioned already. What a great post Paul!
I think it's a mix of everything we're going through these past two/three years, and when our love for angling isn't throwing up the results, of our hard earned efforts I think that doesn't help either. Everything thereafter becomes a bit of a slogg.

I lost (like many if you) my mojo, so much so, that after having a long lay off from the barbel fishing, I feel I've forgotten how to tie the rigs, (feel free to pm me some images please as this will help!!! 🙏)
so all I do at the moment is screenshot images of rigs in the hope it will help me to come up with one I can confidently use again. 🤭

I am about to make my own baits in the coming weeks, something that does give me a bit of excitement and confidence. But the venue I've chosen to join this season is a very tricky one to say the least, and a bit of a journey, so I accept that a load of blanks will be inevitable, and the cost of fuel is going to weigh on my mind, so will need to try & make the most of each visit. And forget the price of the travelling, as being there is important for the mindsets!

These past couple of seasons in winter, has seen me travel a little further and I've enjoyed some success where I haven't blanked, (fishing for Chub) and that's been enjoyable. And am looking forward to that part of the season again, where the river's will have more water within them!

Tonight, I'll be venturing out & travelling light, with a easily tied link leger, some boilie paste, and touch legering but although I'm not expecting to catch, it's about just getting out from the house. And atleast there might be a chance of a fish?

So yes, if anyone is willing to pm me a completed rig I can start to tie up, with the use of a boilie as a hook bait, that might help me get out of a rutt that I currently find myself in! 🙏👍

Kinda nice to know that it's not just down to you & that others are in a similar boat...
 
I almost envy some of you guys. My fishing time is limited to two or three full weeks a season on the D Stour and the H Avon with the very occasional local trip for mini tench and crucians and a day or two each winter trying to catch the almost impossible pike in Esthwaite. I don’t ever lose my mojo as by the time each trip gets around I’ve been dreaming about it for weeks ! The thought of being able to fish every weekend is a dream scenario that I only ever managed up until I was twenty years old when I used to fish four times a week.

Take it for what it is guys i.e. a very enjoyable and enthralling albeit sometimes frustrating hobby. If you don’t feel the “vibe” don’t go and find something else to do instead. For me this is family, work, football, golf, pool, climbing the odd mountain and beer !

I suspect that if I did have the opportunity to fish every other day I might also get despondent but until I retire and move three hundred miles south I just won’t know but looking forward to it anyway !

I wish all of you the best for the rest of this new season and remember we do this thing because it’s brilliant whether we catch or not. All the best. Steve.
 
Neil Smart said:
The amount of Otter damaged Barbel is a worry, would rather not catch at all then witness the effects of this hideous callous killer. How long before all Barbel have gone and we are left with just memories? But of course Jo public doesn't care, we anglers are the eyes and ears but no one cares. And yet the Otter is lauded as a triumph
...what an almighty ....up.
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I get your point Neil, but I believe that pollution is a far bigger issue. Not many Otters on the ‘Lower’ but fewer Barbel…..
G.T.
 
Graham Tremble said:
I get your point Neil, but I believe that pollution is a far bigger issue. Not many Otters on the ‘Lower’ but fewer Barbel…..
G.T.
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There were reported cases of hospitalisation for a couple of kids after swimming at Fladbury recently, so a big problem...but loads of small fish evident too. Hopefully Otter numbers are thinning out on the lower, but the middle Avon is suffering.
We can do something about pollution, but nothing regarding Otter.
 
Neil Smart said:
There were reported cases of hospitalisation for a couple of kids after swimming at Fladbury recently, so a big problem...but loads of small fish evident too. Hopefully Otter numbers are thinning out on the lower, but the middle Avon is suffering.
We can do something about pollution, but nothing regarding Otter.
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We can, but we won't.
Lots of sewage and dead fish in the river that runs into windermere this week, warnings that the lake could end up biologically dead if it carries on. To think this one of the countries most popular tourist spots, what chance do our other rivers and lakes stand?
Meanwhile water company bosses receiving massive bonuses.
 
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