The following is some guidance on how to break out of a not-catching slump, and is offered as a public service.
From personal experience, I've determined the following. There are four different kinds of slumps, and each requires a different course of action to resolve. Some slumps may be deeper that others, so you shouldn't expect immediate results. Determination and commitment to breaking the slump are essential.
First, there is the "technical slump." This type of slump is related to how and where you are actually fishing. This is probably the easiest slump to break out of. Assessing your fishing habits with an eye towards gear, fly selection, stream selection and how you read a stream, will go a long way towards breaking it. You could probably divide this into several types of slumps based on the various categories listed above, but I think when you are not-catching for technical reasons, you should assess all these areas.
Second is the "lifestyle slump." This has to do with your physical, emotional and mental state. Health, diet, recent illness, and hormonal changes can all play a part. Have you been feeling well? Have you been drinking quality beverages? Also, pheromones can affect the fly's smell - have you been feeling kind of "manly" lately? What has been your mindset as you approach the stream? Are you confident? All these things can affect your catching, so you need to make that commitment to good health, good attitude and proper beverage selection.
Third is the most difficult of all to break, the "karmic retribution" slump. This is related to some wrong you've perpetrated at some point in the past against someone else, or maybe even against Gaia. The first step to solving this puzzle is to analyze your past actions. These things usually operate on cycles. You first have to figure out when the slump started. From there, you need to look back 12 hours, 24 hours, one full lunar cycle, and one solar cycle. At one of these points in time, you should come across some rift you've created in the space-time continuum. To break this slump will may require some combination of good deeds, chants, soul cleansing and sacrifice. The specifics will depend upon the severity of the evil you've created.
I'll add a fourth type, because after assessing my own situation, I think this is where I am at. We'll call it the "complex slump." This would be a combination of any of the above. Once you have determined this is where you are, you need to break out of all the slumps. You may be able to accomplish this concurrently, but breaking each slump sequentially is the surest way to avoid a relapse.
So...before I step into the Piedra river this weekend, I will do the things necessary to break this slump. I will eat right this week. I will check my knots. I will chant to Gaia for her blessing.
I've noticed the cats have been hiding recently; I think they know an animal sacrifice may be necessary.
