How many casts to one target?

[Todd2]

A little back story, I was out yesterday by myself with no time restraints which seems to be rare. At the end of a long day, I was going to hit "one more bank" within sight of the ramp. I had had a decent day but told myself I'm not leaving unless I catch one more keeper. I go down the long bank, catching a few dinks. I get to the end, where the rocky bank transitions to some sandy bottom where a huge laydown was. I started pitching a jig, then a worm..back and forth. This went on for several minutes and remember I was telling myself I wasn't leaving until I caught another keeper. I didn't count the number of casts but it's more than I ever have in my life at one target. If somebody had been with me, they'd been like "dude let's move". But somewhere around cast 30 or more, I felt the slightest tic..reeled down and swung and it was my second biggest of the day..about 2.5 lbs.  

 

I didn't make another cast but driving home, I wondered how my day would have gone if I treated every lay down like that. Obviously you hit less targets in a day. 

 

 

[scaleface]

I have a friend that does that and he catches some big bass .  Once I feel I covered the target well,  I move on . I did catch one this spring on the fifth cast to  the end of a laydown but I saw movement and knew there was one there .

[BrianMDTX]

I think "the next spot" always looks better lol. But I try and cast at least 20 times at a spot before I move on.

[Jaderose]

29 minutes ago, scaleface said:

  Once I feel I covered the target well,  I move on.

This.  Might be one cast.  Might be 30.  Might be 1 lure or technique.  Might be 3 or 4.  Depends on situation.

[Deeare]

I throw at least 10–15 casts each for a couple baits until I dial in a pattern.  I try to hit a promising spot,   Throw 3 or so baits until they tell me what they want and at what depth they are in.   I usually try to be patient and hit good spots with multiple baits from multiple casting angles.     I start with baits that cover water and then slow down with soft plastics.  

[WIGuide]

I don't have a hard and fast rule for number of casts. For me it really depends on the day and what I'm doing, and if I've got them figured out or not. Like for instance, if I'm trying to find a pattern, I'm not looking to catch everything that's there, I just need a bite to clue me in. If I get a bite on a laydown after a 2 or 3 pitches to it, I'll probably slow down, not just on that one, but on others as well. In a tournament I fished earlier this year it was similar, we had found they were on shallow wood already so we slowed down and really picked every piece apart trying to put baits in places others couldn't or wouldn't try. Instead of a pitch or two to the obvious places, it was that plus 5-20 or more depending on the particular laydown. It was slow and methodical but it worked, and there was actually one overhanging tree with limbs in the water that 3 of our keepers came off of. 

[Todd2]

14 minutes ago, Deeare said:

  I usually try to be patient and hit good spots with multiple baits from multiple casting angles. 

That's a good point..in the heavy stuff I usually just go back and forth with a jig and whatever worm I have on my Texas rig rod but probably should try a few more lures.

 

On a side note, earlier in the morning I was coming out of a creek and getting ready to go WOT and my PFD inflated..sunny day..no rain. Just started hearing what sound like gas leaking out and constricting around my neck..that woke me up.

[Captain Phil]

The Harris Chain is a highly pressured fishery.  On any given weekend, we may have a half dozen tournaments going on.  This makes fishing tough.  When fish are pressured, their strike zone shrinks to inches.  Turbid water shrinks it even further.   Getting an inactive fish to bite takes patience and perseverance. It may take me 10 or more casts to catch that fish.  The fish that hit on the first cast has already been caught.  

 

 

[DitchPanda]

I fish a small lake close to me all the time that gets fished a lot especially in summer camping season. I know the lake very well so I know there are prime pieces of cover that always hold fish but they aren't always quick to bite. Because of this I've been known to really milk a spot. Case in point a few weeks ago I fished by a small beaver dam that holds em. Caught a few dinks right away then it shut off. Pitched into it another twenty minutes and got a 3lber out of there. Probably 40 casts between bites.

[LonnieP]

I do it quite often if it's a lay down or something that I've caught fish at before. Last year at a big laydown, I made about a dozen casts with a jig. Nothing. Picked up my rod with a senko, another dozen or so casts, nothing. Picked up my Squarebill rod and caught a 5lb bass on the next cast. 

[Mike L]

If fishing “areas” and not a specific spot I’ll fan cast all around with the same bait, speed etc. then move. 
 

If a particular spot I’ll hit it from all angles, then move. 
 

 

 

 

Mike
 

[Choporoz]

I've always been extremely impatient.  I've really dedicated myself to thoroughly understanding all the laydowns that I see with any regularity.  Two weeks ago, I litterally spent eight hours without moving more than 150 yards from where I started.  

[Todd2]

7 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

  Two weeks ago, I litterally spent eight hours without moving more than 150 yards from where I started.  

I'm not that patient..lol How'd it turn out? Better or worse than normal?

[RoLo]

 

Most bass fishermen are highly mobile, and trace the outer weedlines with their electric motor.

Whole days go by when I never fire-up the Terrova, but stab each waypoint with my Minn Kota Talon.

On balance, the shotgunner is going to deliver far fewer casts to each target than the rifleman.

 

Roger

[Choporoz]

4 minutes ago, Todd2 said:

I'm not that patient..lol How'd it turn out? Better or worse than normal?

Quite well.

 

I should mention that this was tidal water and my personal opinion is that good spots reload faster in tidal water than on lakes.

[Todd2]

5 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

  The fish that hit on the first cast has already been caught.  

 

I had to read that twice but that is good advice. I never looked at it that way. 

[frogflogger]

Somewhere between 1 and 100 I never know.

[Bankbeater]

It depends on the target. If the target is coontail I will make a lot of casts just because there will be a lot of places for a bass to hide, and a lot of cover that will block the fish’s vision. Structure may be more open so I won’t make as many casts to that. 

[Captain Phil]

Pads are the most productive bass cover in our area. Isolated pads are even better.  If you see 4-6 pads off by themselves, you can be pretty sure there is a bass under them.  One cast is not going to do the job.  Multiple casts are needed from varying angles and depths.  In only takes five bites to win a tournament, it could take thousands of casts.

[Todd2]

Lot of good points here...multiple casts, multiple lures, multiple depths, multiple angles. We don't have a lot of grass, most of my targets are laydowns, standing timber(stumps), and deeper brush piles. By far, I seem to do better on the big "obvious to everyone " laydown.  So many people forget to look at the size of the trunk of the tree and end up fishing too close to start. I'm guilty of this myself some and not thoroughly working the whole tree.

 

 

[papajoe222]

It depends on how confident I feel that a specific target holds a quality fish. I fish a lot of docks, but only a handful get ‘the treatment.’  
for larger areas like a point or channel swing, I’ll go through enough presentations to cover the water column and then do the same from the opposite angle. 

[TriStateBassin106]

Depends on what I'm fishing and what i'm throwing, if it's wood like a laydown or a sunken branch I'll pitch into all the holes I can find then move on, i'm a bank beater so I try to reach for what I can since i'm not on a boat. 

 

This guy I caught the other day I was doing what you're talking about, I saw a patch of weeds with some holes in it and I pitched a senko #297 into the whole area about 15 times. First starting with the edges and then working my way inside the weeds. 

[Big Hands]

On 6/8/2020 at 1:02 PM, Choporoz said:

I've always been extremely impatient.  I've really dedicated myself to thoroughly understanding all the laydowns that I see with any regularity.  Two weeks ago, I litterally spent eight hours without moving more than 150 yards from where I started.  

I know a guy that spent two days in a row on one tiny spot and won himself a brand new full size bass boat and motor for his patience and perseverance.

 

Turned around and did the same thing again (on a different spot) a couple years later.

[Choporoz]

2 minutes ago, Big Hands said:

I know a guy that spent two days in a row on one tiny spot and won himself a brand new full size bass boat and motor for his patience and perseverance.

 

Turned around and did the same thing again (on a different spot) two years later.

There's a reason that 'good spots' are 'good spots'.  Pulling a fish off a laydown just opens up a vacancy.

 

But, I guess the OP was more about whether that first fish is in there and willing to bite.  As we can see from the replies, often she's there but won't be bothered until you hit her on the head three or four times.

[jbsoonerfan]

I guess I would define one target different than some people would. To me, one target is a stump, laydown, boulder, etc. I would define grass, pads, coontail, etc. as an area. By my definition, I may throw at a single stump 200 times or more I would guess. I have never counted casts, but I have spent 30 min or more on one stump. Now an area, I will spend hours in an area not more than 100 yards long if I know it holds fish.