Fishing new spots

[waldo567]

I got back into fishing this summer after a long time off. I have been fishing ponds and small lakes from the bank. There is one pond frequent that I do pretty well in. However, I like to try new spots and whenever I do I don't have much luck. Am I better off sticking to a couple small ponds and learning how to fish those as opposed to trying to find new spots a lot?

[roadwarrior]

"Just Getting Started"
Guaranteed To Catch Bass
I just cant catch bass
Learning to fish on your own

[scaleface]

I would fish different spots . Bass are a very hardy fish , I,'e caught them everywhere . Culverts in  irrigation ditches are some of the best place I ever fished  .

[Paul Roberts]

Bass are pretty much the same creature everywhere. But... conditions and circumstances vary. This can be hour by hour on a single water body, or across water bodies. I'd suggest you do some reading so you begin to know what to look for. 

One thing you can do, using the lures you already have confidence in, is to find similar water. If a water body appears very different (water clarity, cover type, depth, prey species) identify the particulars and apply appropriate tackle and techniques. Again, you'll want to get caught up on your book learning so you know better what to look for. Then you can ask more specific questions. While bass are bass (mostly), water bodies and conditions vary.

There are advantages to fishing one water: building confidence, honing skills, keeping tackle investments down, learning bass habits, seasonal changes, etc... New water can be enlightening, expand your skills, find you better fishing under challenging conditions (some waters fish better in certain conditions than others), and possibly find better waters to spend your time at. New water can also be frustrating to figure out. Eventually -when you have some knowledge, experiences and versatile tools under your belt, such challenges will be exciting.

[the reel ess]

That's a decision only you can make. Obviously, you'll get better and better on your home turf. But it is quite an adventure for me to try new spots. A change of scenery is usually welcome. Especially during times like the dog days when you can't buy a bite or when the fishing slows for no apparent reason. If you have a friend who fishes the new place, get their advice.

Lures that work for me everywhere, any time of year:

T-rigged worms or craws, Spinnerbaits (you might need to adjust the blade, color and size) and jigs. You can usually get it done with one of these all year. A topwater in the dead of winter probably won't work. Honorable mention: Rat L Trap.

 

[pawpaw]

Assuming you already have a good understanding of alot of the whens and whys of how to catch fish on your favorite lake it would then come down to... Do I want to catch fish or do I want to learn to adjust and catch fish most every where I go. I'm not saying you don't have to make adjustments to catch fish throughout the year or even the day on your favorite lake. I know you do. I'm not saying you can't learn a ton by just fishing one or two lakes. I'm saying that different lakes can have their own characteristics, cover, structure, water color and patterns etc. that come into play on any given day. Exposing yourself to these differences and going through the decision making process  to locate bass on different lakes under different circumstances can only make you better in the long run. There really is no substitute for experience. There will be a learning curve to figuring out new water. There will be days when you struggle but sometimes you have to figure out what aint working in order to figure out what is. Every good fisherman went through it. That's how they got good.

[jr231]

I love new water. Skunked or not. I get excited not knowing what's in store for me. If you fish a private pond so often.. you'll know when you've caught the biggest in there. You'll see her in the spawn.. and if you take measurements of length and girth youll soon know how many good sized fish are in your particular pond. Once you've caught the biggest hog in the pond then it's time to venture elsewhere IMO. And come back to your spot next season. Also you'll be surprised how quickly they catch on to your tactics especially the larger mature bass. Cycle spots to keep the ones you do have guessing. 

I'd get a kayak or find a river and just not nail the same spot repeatedly. A change of scenery does me some good. 

[waldo567]

I think what I plan to do is use the tactics I know pretty well, such as texas rigged senkos and flukes and try out new spots with those. When I want to try new techniques such as crankbaits I go to places that I know and experiment there. Seems like a sound strategy.

[geo g]

Whatever bait you are going to use, fan cast the area starting shallow and working out to deeper depths until you find out where the bass are hanging out.  Change from a search bait to a slower presentation like a fluke, senko, or worm.  If that doesn't work have a beer!  

[Ratherbfishing]

If you have many places to try...heck, I'd go for it.  You can always fall back on the old faithful ones when you need some validation. Or not.  It's completely up to you.

[blckshirt98]

First things first, make sure those new ponds you try have bass in them!  Whenever I try a new place I don't go in with the expectation of catching, I see them as mostly exploration trips where I try to walk as much shoreline as possible and make as many casts in different spots as possible to get a feel for depth and bottom, and any structure or cover.  After a handful of trips you should be able to find productive water or at least eliminate unproductive water, so each subsequent trip increases the number of quality casts you make.  Eventually as you become more familiar with the lake you'll have more success.  Don't let tough initial trip or two get you down and just keep trying to figure the lake out.

[WDE]

On 11/14/2016 at 6:05 PM, waldo567 said:

I got back into fishing this summer after a long time off. I have been fishing ponds and small lakes from the bank. There is one pond frequent that I do pretty well in. However, I like to try new spots and whenever I do I don't have much luck. Am I better off sticking to a couple small ponds and learning how to fish those as opposed to trying to find new spots a lot?

I think this is a good question/topic as I recently just started fishing after a ~15-year hiatus. I've got my go-to pond that I have dialed in, and have had tremendous success in pulling in some good sized fish. It's like a magnet, why leave when I know what they want?

However, like you, I also want to branch out to other ponds, simply for the sake of practicing different lures. 

[jr231]

Ponds are much , much different than lakes... it's funny how I can go to a farm pond that is 3 acres and nail 15-20 bass. And then go to a lake and catch 3. I dont have a fancy boat with all the gadgets. Just a ragpecker jon boat with no electronics. But I usually end up touching a bass. And in the end that's what I'm out there for. Relaxing and catching fish. I like lake fishing more because I always feel like im going to catch a gigantic bass (even though that's not usually the case )

Big bass live in ponds too though. My biggest came from a pond (it was a rather big pond). It was 24" and 8.2 pounds , and I'm sure would have been bigger had I caught her in spawn. . I took it On a rapala skitter pop (top water popper )