How many Holes?

[TNFL]

On average, how many holes do you punch before you find the pod? I feel like a dill hole drilling around a dozen holes.

[setterguy]

I don't know about anyone else but there have been times when 20 holes wasn't out of the question. I say drill till ya find em...you can always get your blades sharpeded.

[eyepatrol]

For me, I've found that it's sometimes a matter of happenstance. Couple weeks ago I punched a hole and found fish, but they weren't very active. I moved about 100 yards, punched 3 more holes, marked fish in each hole and each hole had active fish...didn't need to punch anymore. After I picked up my limit of crappies I walked around and punched probably a dozen more holes looking for a decent pod of sunnies, but never found any and by that time I had to leave.

At the SCMN Get-together on Saturday there was about 15 or so of us out on a lake and altogether, and I'm just guessing here, but we probably drilled 100-150 holes, maybe more, and had a difficult time finding active fish.

Most of the time my fishing days are limited to 1/2 day of fishing, so I don't have a lot of time to walk around punching holes searching for the biggest and most active pod of fish. If I find fish, I'll usually set up on that spot and work them for the couple hours of fishing I have available. If I had a whole day of fishing, I could imagine punching anywhere from 15 - 30 holes assuming I was looking for the most active pod of fish, or a pod of fish with bigger fish.

[Matt Johnson]

Some days it won't take many holes at all, but other days I'll go through a whole tank of auger gas. Sometimes I'll find myself peppering 50 holes over a single piece of structure in a matter of an hour or so. I guess it also depends on the lake I'm fishing and my past knowledge of the lay-out and structure of the lake. Usually if I fish lakes that I know then I can drastically cut-down on search time. But like basscatcher said, this past weekend on German was one of those situations where not many of us fished the lake before and we found ourselves firing off holes left and right.

Often times I'll punch a series of holes just so I can stay on top of the school. Not so much for the purpose of locating, but for when those fish move in and out then I can follow them around. Basically I know the fish are there and I just want to have several holes to fish once the school puts on the cruise-control. Usually you can come back to some of the old holes and catch fish in those again later on.

Punching holes seems like a full-time job some days, but I just chalk it up as a learning thing, where I find myself learning more and more about a particular lake and piece of structure while doing so...

[Deitz Dittrich]

I'm not so sure I dont drill about 20 holes before I even wet a line... no matter what... Because usually the fish will move some in the time while I am fishing.

There have been a lot of days I have lost count of the number of holes I drilled.. .Yesturday for instance I am sure I drilled well over 70 holes...

[CALVINIST]

I have a hand auger...Strikemaster, new this year, I can't afford the gas one till next year. I still drill at least 15 holes every time I go out. And yes, I am losing weight!

[Corey Bechtold]

Drill as many holes as you deem necessary. Just use some courtesy if there are other anglers in the area. I typically start with 10-20 holes and if I find fish in an area I drill some more so I can move with them. If there are other people in the area I either ask if they mind if I drill some holes or I just move farther away.

Keep drilling,

Corey Bechtold

[TNFL]

Thanks. Do you usually drill different depths first to locate them and then work horizontally to find bigger and more active fish?

[Deitz Dittrich]

TNFL- Its really going to depend on lake to lake, however, many times fish will move from one depth to another. Finding the right depth is the key. So drilling in different depths is important to start, then re-drilling in the depth you find them and trying to predict where they will go from there so the holes are ready when it gets to be game time is of importance too.

[Mr. Pike1]

My game plan is to of course check the map and target the structure, weedline, or deepest hole. I usually kind of zig zag my holes from shallow to deeper drop offs. I work the are and if fish stay on that are. If nothing I attack an entire new area until I locate fish. However, if it is really really cold I go into hibernation and hope for the fish to find me

Obviously the species you are targeting makes a differnce in your approach as well. I usually look for sunfish, pike, or bass along the weedline during the day. From there I target the deepest hole and look for suspended crappies. As dusk approaches I look for stucture and set up for the dusk walleye bite or if no walleye the dusk crappie bite in a deep hole.

[TNFL]

Also, how far apart do you drill your holes to effectively cover an area?

[Matt Johnson]

That can depend on the situation as well. If I'm trying to find a large piece of structure or a breakline then I might drill holes every 20 yards or so, but if I'm looking for pockets in the weeds or extact edges or whatnot, then I might drill holes every 10 feet. It all depends.

As a general rule of thumb, start with a larger distance between holes, and then fine tune your approach as you start finding spots that you like...