[alanw]

Good question and good timing Tony, as I was just asking myself the same thing yesterday while bobbing around in the chop and slop with not so much as a raked bait to show for all the trouble of dragging myself and the entire floating toolbox down to the launch. How about that hour+ long cleanup afterward? In fact, I've been skunked my last 4 trips out but I still look forward to the next time for some reason. It's sometimes easy to forget why you're out there.

I think just the resetting of the mind that comes with being on the water is the key. For a few hours I'm not thinking about the past weeks stresses, or even the coming weeks problems. My personal problems fade away, even if for only a few hours, and that alone is worth it to me. I also think it's a way of staying in touch with the past.. fishing with my Father as a boy, teaching my son how to fish and fishing with him for years. Now that neither are able to fish with me regularly I can still call them up and share the experience. It's like a bond we share and I want to keep it alive.

There's also the lure of catching that fish of a lifetime. In the workweek leading up to a trip, there's always a little daydreaming of that fish out there just waiting to fall victim to my new technique. A skunk just gives me another week to figure out my next new and improved technique, and time to make another trip to the LTS.

If I really need to catch something I will change it up and target bass or perch or other easier species, or go out on a party boat for the day. But getting skunked out there doesn't discourage me at all, it just keeps me looking forward till the next time.