How long do you stay?

[TMF89]

Hey guys, I was out today for about 2 hours, and went through about 3 or 4 holes, keeping the same bait. My question for you guys is how long you stay at one spot, how far will you move, and how many different baits/presentations will you try? Thanks guys!

[Bobb-o]

if i am fishing panfish, before i even begin fishing i will drill a series of holes in an area i suspect the fish to be in. I will then go to each of these holes looking for active fish, if i find none i will keep hopping from hole to hole until i locate them. if i dont find any in the first set of holes i will drill another set of holes, sometimes in a line, sometimes in a zig-zag pattern, basically whatever strikes me that day. i will mostly stay with one presentaion until i find fish, i like to start off with either a genz bug with a shrimpo tail or a diamond jig and a nuggie. if i start marking fish that dont seem to cooperate i will then either upsize or down size my bait to see if i can entice a strike then. but i will never spend more than five minutes at a hole if there are no fish in it and never more than 15 min on inactive fish. There are always some agrressive fish, and you arent gonna get as many bites unless you find them.

[TMF89]

before you start fishing, you search for active fish? How're you doing that, just seeing if any show up on the flasher? So you don't change baits, just try to find fish? Can I give you a few scenarios? A. Fish are there, coming and going, will rise to your bait, but not strike? B. Fish are there, will rise slightly, but otherwise show no interest in your bait. C. Fish are there, but completely ignore your bait. D. You've drilled plenty of holes, but you're not marking fish anywhere.

All those would be happening with the bait you first started with, I'm mainly asking if you would switch or move, and what you'd switch to.

[bgreen82]

A & B, i would try a few different presentations before deciding that these fish are very negative and move on. i may still try different things but not for as long as i may in the other circumstances. D - drill new holes and try to find em.

[Corey Bechtold]

What depth were you fishing? What time of day were you fishing? Do you have a flasher? Why only 3-4 holes?

There are a lot of intangibles we need to know to help you out.

Good luck,

Corey Bechtold

[juggs]

If by one spot you mean the same hole, my answer is only until the fish are off my flasher or go negative. A lack of mobility is one the biggest banes of fisherman--ice or open water. If you know the fish are in the area, drill as many holes as feasible. I like to hole hop with just my flasher until I mark fish instead of setting up and waiting for the fish to come to me. As far as presentations go, I prefer fishing with bigger baits but often can't get away with it. I'm a big believer in size over so many other factors, especially in the winter when fish are naturally more fussy. In other words, if you're marking fish and can't get them to bite, go smaller and slower. Sometimes a lack of motion works best. Try jigging slightly above them and moving your bait upward in the water. This can often trigger fish into striking.

[TMF89]

8-12 feet, 4:30-6:30, yes to the flasher, and because since I was just breaking my gear in, I didn't bring a house out, and forgot my headlamp, so no light to fish by. Also the reason i didn't switch baits, I couldn't get the line through the eye!

[lucy1205]

"comintayahaaaaaaaaa!!!!" WOOOOO

[Corey Bechtold]

Later,

Corey Bechtold

[clamtrap]

Thats AWESOME !!!!!!!!!!!

[slipperybob]

Re: How long do you stay?

Until nature calls, or the better half calls and say come home NOW!!

I like to stay until I catch my limit, but sometimes I hole hop, if it's not too windy and I've gots lots of room to move about. Sometimes I go out and look after dark and then I've got portable village surrounding me so not much chance for hole hopping there, except run outside jig some and run back inside.

[Luck e 1]

I only stay 20 mins or so when i am fishing for gills. It just seems that gills are usual eager, and if they are near...they will show themselves. if they show but are not hitting, then i will try other presentations. If they don't even show...i move pretty quick. This happened to me two days ago. I just kept moving until they showed on my marcum...then worked on presentation.

Crappies i think are different. I will take more of a wait and see approach because they seems to show up at certain times of the day (maybe dusk).