How Long Before You Continue On

[Quesenek]

Just as the title says, how long before you continue on or consider the spot your fishing "fished"? I've just recently gotten a kayak which I've taken out a few times when I have the time and its not storming.

Today I was out and was wondering how long I should stay in a spot before I move on which is something that is new to me because while bank fishing all I had was a little area that I would cast out into for hours.

Now that I have a way to cover a lot of water I seem to be still in the bank fishing mindset where I'm out for 3+ hours and I've only covered a little area of water not knowing if I should move or not.

[A-Jay]

When I move from one spot to the next depends on how I'm fishing at the time.  

 

If I'm on water I'm familiar with and in a spot I have a lot of faith in, I may fish for a bit, sit for a bit, fish a bit and sit for a bit.  I'm usually fishing low & slow (deep & with a jig) and waiting for the fish to turn on or come to me.   May take all morning or even all night.

 

But when I'm looking for fish or on new water I'll move around a bit.  The time at each depends on how effectively I feel I'm able to cover the water, how active I think the fish are & the presentation I'm using.  Could be 5 minutes could be 50 minutes.

 

Finally, I fish from a canoe so my version of Running & Gunning is different from anglers with more HP, but probably similar to yours.

 

Good Luck

 

A-Jay

[laduckhunter]

Unless targeting a specific laydown, I am going to spend at least 15 minutes at a particular spot.  If its a flat, maybe a bit longer depending on the size.  I am sure this could be a formula of sort, taking in these general ideas.

 

1.) Physical size of the area you are covering and how well you can cover it. Example:  If you backlash every other cast or feel the need to switch lures out a lot, and  get hung up, all of these take time away from you covering water.

2.) Your confidence level that fish are holding in this area.

3.) The number of different presentations you plan to run through the area.

 

Right now for me on the river, it is a squarebill/Mid-depth diver, chatterbait, then if I need to slow down, move to some sort of speed craw or brush hog depending on the situation.

 

** Disclaimer:  I just started bass fishing, but this approach has been working for me.  I am steadily catching fish in 100+ degree weather

[WRB]

Welcome to bass fishing from a boat where 90% of the anglers stay within a casting distance from the shoreline. Small natural lakes and ponds a high % of the bass population lives near shore if that is where the prey/ food source is located. Larger man made impoundments that have pelagic baitfish and islands, underwater structure like creek channels and humps etc, the bass population is dispersed away from the shore line.

A boat provides the ability to fish wherever the bass are located, it's up to you to located active feeding bass and that requires finding the prey the bass are feeding on. How long you stay in a area to determine if bass are there and what they are doing depends on you. Knowing when to hold'em or fold'em seperates success from failure, no set time limit. If I don't see signs of baitfish or know that prey isn't there or the bass are inactive, it's time to move on.

Tom

[Dennis1972]

 i went out last night and fished one of my hot spots for about 1/2 hour before i gave on the spot, it was just no good last night, makes me wonder if someone was there before me and fished it out..... so i moved on.

[NathanW]

Yeah. I remember when I first got my boat I had a bad habit of trying to duplicate previous success. I got my boat in the Spring while everything was on shallow rock so think about how much time I wasted on shallow rock once the spawn was over.... Hours and Hours.

 

My advice to you is to focus on learning how to cover water. I would gain confidence in fishing swimjigs, jerkbaits, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and topwater. These baits catch both smallmouth and largemouth all over the country so don't start thinking your lake is special if you don't fall into immediate success with these lures. Keep moving. You are going to throw the wrong bait at times but the only way to learn you are throwing the wrong bait is to keep throwing it! These tactics will not only help you learn to eliminate water but also help you over time with understand how fish relate to different types conditions and geography. There are also seasonal aspect to consider and sometimes the best way to learn these is to keep a log the first couple of years on where and when you find good fish. 

 

If you fish an area for three hours and don't have success you are doing something wrong without a doubt. Guys at all levels go through this.

[BassinLou]

I run and gun. I work a section for about 10 minutes and move on. If I am bank fishing I just keep moving down the bank until I find signs of life and develop a pattern. When I am on my boat, I go where the wind takes me. Literally. Since I have a small tin boat, I learned not to fight the wind. It can be frustrating. If I am pitching or flipping however, I place the boat in the vegetation to anchor itself and then pick the cover apart and move on to the next spot. 

[scaleface]

You just have to play it by ear. Theres this one  flat that I always fish   deep   . I dont spend a lot of time out there  because I catch few fish but when I do catch one it is usually big. I could spend all day there and get skunked or maybe a dink. So I give it one go around and If I catch something I stay longer .

[MN_Bassin]

In a kayak, it's much, much easier to fish shoreline cover. Not that fishing deep can't be done, but you would need Navionics or a depth finder unless you know the lake extremely well, or there are tell tale signs. I skips docks 85% of the time with my friend, and we each put 3 or 4 skips into a dock, and drift down to the next. 

[bigbill]

First n fishing my smaller places over and over the fish learn our baits and scents. Now comes the challenge. What will catch them all over again. Fool them again.

Alright how long do I stay in one spot. I stay till I'm on a pattern.

I have every bait and color, size with me. I found on a tough day when things are exhausted I've thrown every bait more than twice think firetiger when all else fails. Then I move.

I refuse to leave a beaten man.

I've learned in the water column we can have different water conditions.

[FinCulture]

Maybe work two different presentations from 15-20 minutes each before moving.

[RoLo]

Rather than running-&-gunning I normally anchor-down on known holding sites along my paper route,

then fan-cast each spot with at least 3 different lures (on many days the electric motor is never plugged in).

A small spot with no activity might only take 10 or 15 min cover, but if the activity is hectic

or the bass are running large I might spend an hour or two on that structure.

In other words, it's something that I play by ear.

 

Roger