From Blank to Blank

Amongst all the articles you read about fishing, there's one common phenomena that seldom gets much detail: the dreaded blank. In fact, I'm still waiting to read the feature honest enough to describe a biteless day of soul searching.
Angling writers blank too; they just don't talk too loudly about it. In actual fact, the real die hards in search of elusive specimens can blank many times along the way. But I can't make that excuse of late. Colliford Lake (above), for example, can usually be relied on for a fish or two. The water level was way down on our arrival- strange to be walking on dry land where we've caught fish in times past. A cooler day amidst the scorchers should have proved better though. Witness once again that maddening gap between theory and a fish in the net. From tiny nymphs to big lures, it was all pretty futile. The only monster spotted was a thick shouldered carp crashing the surface- an unknown quantity here, but some good fish hide here completely off the radar. Perhaps a lead someone who checks this blog could follow up? It's fly only, but the fish look susceptible in the shallow corners when the sun is up.
The sea hasn't proved much easier either, despite the River mouth at Seaton looking perfect for an early morning bass on the fly. The sandeels were there- so where were the buggers? Best blanking excuse I heard this year came from a fellow struggler: "the sea's too choppy today." I didn't have the heart to mock, or point out that sea fish are, erm, perhaps used to a few waves?!
Looking at it philosophically, perhaps the blanks make the good days sweeter. Or do the good days make the blank days blanker? Personally, I blame the fish.