sunnie question?

[bgreen82]

first i will say i am primarily a shore fisher. with that said, there have been quite a few outings where i found the sunnies early in a certain spot and stayed on them for about 15 minutes pulling in 10 to 15 fish. then it just dies. when a school of sunnies moves is there ever a rule of thumb as to where they move to. like do they go deeper or shallower or parallel to the shore along the same depth they were at?

[Cyberfish]

No rule of thumb I am aware of. try deeper, then try to the left and right. or try switching baits, they may still be there and just quit biting what you were using. It is also possible that it was a small school and you got em all!

[Tyler Holm]

Try switching the color of the bait you were using. If that fails, switch the profile of the bait.

[Matt Johnson]

You might have just plain and simply worn out the spot. Those fish might have seen your presentation enough times that they no longer bite, or the aggressive fish have seemed to move on.

My guess would be that they made a parallel move along the shoreline, at least if the temps and cover stay the same. If there is a drastic change in temp or sun, then they might move deeper or tighter into the thick weeds.

Have you tried making short moves down the shoreline to see if they relocated parallel to where they just were?

[juggs]

If you're talking spring time action they may be on their spawning beds. If that's the case, it could be a limited number of fish depending on the quality of the bottom content.

[BillP]

This late in the year I find that I often have to change the depth. Sometimes you will start getting nothing but little ones. When that happens go all the way to the bottom even letting the bait lay on the bottom and carefully picking it up from time to time. Other times the bigger fish will come rite up under the boat. You can keep catching little ones even if you move to a nearby location if you don't try some drastic changes in depth.

[Matt Johnson]

Great point Bill!

The smaller fish tend to be more aggressive, especially when the summer heat hits. They will suspend in the water column and even hug the surface of the water. Anything pitched in their general direction will get devoured by the little ones.

The larger fish like the deeper water, often time that's because there is probably some sort of weed down there that offers them cover and shade. Even if it's a 6-inch tall weed, those larger gills will hold in it. Or it could just be that that the cooler water beneath the surface water is much more appealing to the larger fish.

The younger fish go out and play, while the larger fish relax in the house

[RonZych]

Also try;

1.Early morning just as the sun starts coming up.

2.Early evening before the sun sets.

These are the times of day that the bigger panfish move in closer to shore

[united jigsticker]

Shallow water Sunnies can wear out quickly, become spooked, or change location all within minutes time.

My best advice is to pattern them; Observe the depth they're in, structure or type of weeds they're relating to, and look on for similar areas to target.

Granted I realize you're fishing from shore, so you may be quite limited in the amount of identical structure you can find.

If that is the case, then I agree in switching up colors or even the approach.

If you were getting them 2 feet under a float, try casting a light jig and seeing if they'll hit it on the drop or on the swim. This also may work vice versa if you were pitching to begin with...Go to a float, and suspend your offering.