How Long Till You Give Up And Move?

[200racing]

i went out on a river i have fish only a few times. found a awesome spot. it was a dirty creek meeting the cleaner main channel.the 2 colors and all the debris flushes in by recent rains were really swirling around on their way downstream. coming off the river into the creek its 40ft it rises to 15ft at the mouth for 15yds then drops back to 25ft for 40yds then varies between 7 and 15ft for aleast the 1/2 mile i cruised up it. there were large schools of bait cassually schooling on th surface out on the main channel.

there were random bait popping frequently inthe current. i marked quite a few classic fish arches on the f.f.

2 hrs later we didnt get a bite. we moved on to try other spots.

how long do you on average give a spot on new water? how long do you give a spot you feel is just perfect?

[Nitrofreak]

If I find a bait ball such as you did, I will stay with it for as long as possible, especially if it is going to be a place I am going to frequent.

That allows me the time to look at the structure the bait fish are using and mark it for later use, the other part is if the fish were biting and I was only going to be there for a short period of time, I would have only hung around until the bite ended, I will normally give a spot no more than 10 minutes to produce if I were in a tourny, it would depend on the location and the amount of fish on the sonar for longer periods of time if I were not in a tourny.

[Sam]

After 20 to 30 casts.

If I think I have covered the water in the area and no bites I move on, especially fishing a river system.

In Virginia we have tidal rivers so it is important to hit the falling water when the bass are active.

I don't know if your central Bama rivers are tidal. If so, Google "fishing tidal rivers" and read the articles.

You may also want to read Woo Daves articles at www.woodaves.com

[lavbasser]

It depends. A lot of things will influence your decision. In general, the better it looks the longer I stay. With so many patterns and nuances you could stay hours and still not exhaust every option. With experience I think you develop a sense of when it is time to quit. I think a lot of people, and myself included, make the mistake of staying too long at times. Sometimes it take a little courage to leave, even when you feel you have given it your best. You can always return to it later and often that is when your luck changes.

[KevO]

Most days I don't fish a spot for more than 15-20 minutes. I start throwing reaction baits like crankbaits, traps, spinnerbaits to find active fish. If nothing bites I move on. If I get bit, I work the area more slowly again with a jig or worm. I will however stay longer if the spot looks really good and I see bait and fish on the graph like you did.

[flipin4bass]

As long as it takes to try 2-3 proven lures. I don't have much river experience, but on lakes I start in the shallows and then move out deeper on choice contours and structure.

[Miller's Ferry 8]

I fish river systems as well. I have learned that the majority of the time, when you see baitfish in large quantities like that the fish are there. A lot of times though, they are full and chasing that crankbait or whatever you are fishing in that current when they have already gourged themselves doesnt sound like a good idea to them. Bass are like any other animal on planet. If a lion just ate a whole zebra its not gonna immediately go back hunting. Its gonna nap under the tree. Given, if another zebra lays down beside it then yes the zebra will get attacked. So my advice to you is throw the two or three lures you are most confident in and thoroughly fish the spot. The best thing to do is be there at daylight and catch them feeding in the morning.

[A-Rob]

hmmm I think I generally stick around too long.

I just try to keep moving along whatever I wanted to fish...if it was a row of cane I'll flip the whole thing but move along it quick. When I hit the end of what I wanted to fish I move on. Or if its a set of pads, I'll cover it from left to right then move on.

I guess if I'm hitting a pocket that I'm fan casting to...maybe 15-20 minutes?

[hatrix]

I'm on the move for the most part. I make enough casts to cover the area with what I think should work. They might be there and eventually you can catch them if you throw your whole tacklebox or wait long enough. But I'm looking for the ones that right to bite right now.