How do you pass the time when fish aren't biting?

[Dminor9]

I have only been out five or six times this year on the local lake. My son-in-law and I finally got his used Express fishing boat fixed up and running with a motor rebuild, a Garmin Striker Plus fish finder, a Motor Guide Xi3 trolling motor, and the live wells re-wired and working. But the summer hasn't been kind for catching fish. Between the excessive boaters and vacationers, and the intense Texas heat, we haven't caught much. So we pass the time with a lot of practicing using the fish finder including starting to contour map the lake, way pointing groups of stacked fish, and learning the layout of the bottom. Also spend a lot of time practicing casting techniques, such as flipping, skipping, and unfortunately clearing snags. Some time is also spent teaching my son-in-law knots, rigs, and baits to use and how to fish them. Hopefully this will pay off in the fall when temps fall to a reasonable level and all the vacationers and excessive boaters go home for the winter. How do you pass the time when the fish aren't biting? 

[Russ E]

If I am on the water, I am fishing.

If the fish are there, a few will always bite something.

Obviously some days are more productive than others.

If the fishing is slow, I am looking for better areas or trying new baits.

I can't count the days that started out slow and turned productive because I tried something out of my comfort zone.

[BrianMDTX]

2 minutes ago, Russ E said:

If I am on the water, I am fishing.

If the fish are there, a few will always bite something.

Obviously some days are more productive than others.

If the fishing is slow, I am looking for better areas or trying new baits.

I can't count the days that started out slow and turned productive because I tried something out of my comfort zone.

I agree 100%. If I’m fishing...I’m fishing!

[the reel ess]

By trying different things to change that.

[Bird]

This year's onslaught of boaters has forced me to be on the water at Dawn, fish for a few hours and off, been working out well so far.

 

Fish are off and on in any water.

[Tizi]

I keep fishing, time of day can change everthing

[Guitarfish]

Sandwich time!  Gives me time to slow down and think about what I think is going to work.  Then I rig up my new lure ideas and get back at it.

[gim]

I fish when it rains.  You'd be surprised how many recreational boaters avoid the lake when it rains or its at least cloudy out.  The fishing it often a lot better too.

[Tatsu Dave]

Always exploring and moving till I hit bass that are active, water I fish is pretty hard for pleasure boats to get in. I ignore other fisherman and keep trying to find good structure places where the fish hold when coming and going from the shallow water food sources.

[MN Fisher]

I get so little time to fish as it is, I'm going to make the most of it. If I'm on the water, I'm fishing - whether that's casting half-a-dozen different lures (I have 8 rigs with me) at a spot, moving to an apparently likelier spot, or changing the lures on a rig to try something else...I'm working as much as I can to catch fish. Sips of coffee or what ever are between casts and if I need a cig, I'm puffing on it while casting/retrieving.

 

As said, my time on the water is precious, so I make the most of it.

[gim]

Its not always JUST about catching fish either.  As I've gotten older, I've learned to simply enjoy being out there in the fresh air, hearing the purr of my 4-stroke outboard, or getting some sun.  Catching fish is always a bonus and the ultimate goal but even when the bite is poor I can still try to enjoy the great outdoors.

[NHBull]

Mindfulness!

[scaleface]

Trying to figure out how to get them to bite .

[Randy Price]

I'm with @gimruis on this one.  I often bank fish and if the fish aren't biting I'll just enjoy the fresh air and maybe smoke a cigar if I brought one.

[Jaderose]

I've spent multiple hours watching a momma raccoon teach her babies how to wash food.  Watched beavers working on dams and watched geese just bicker and fight with each other.  My fishing time is very important to me but that includes more than just a bait in the water.  It's the whole experience.  Those fish will always be there but that huge racked buck that came out to drink 30 yards from me won't be.  I always enjoy when a platter sized snapping turtle surfaces to say hi or an Eagle is riding the updrafts, too

[Smells like fish]

Between bites? I'm casting! ?

[Fishnski48]

With the heatwave we've been having here in AZ, I'm on the water by 4 AM and off by 10 (it's generally 100 degrees by then on its way to over 110+). By then it is HOT and the recreational boaters are out creating havoc on the water for my small boat.

When I find them, they are in deep water.  In between active casting and bait switching I grab a cigar and enjoy the scenery - fish don't live in ugly places. I'd rather be out on the water even if catching is slow.

[Randy Price]

I just enjoy the peace and quiet of nature.  I really like bow hunting in the early fall before it gets too cold here in N. IL.  I'm totally camo'd out and enjoy watching the wildlife after they have forget your there.  I have let deer pass me just because I was so happy just to be out there. 

[riverbasser]

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

Trying to figure out how to get them to bite .

This along with

 

Scratching my head, fish calls lol.

 

If pleasure fishing I normally slow down. Tournament fishing I start fishing faster. Just depends on the day and circumstances.

[Gsurko]

When the fish ain’t biting, I pray for the fish to bite.

[Bankbeater]

I change baits if I haven’t had any luck with anything tied on. 
If the bite has been going good and just shut down then I keep fishing. 
There is no way to tell how long the bite will be down. It might be 15 min or it might be an hour. 

[geo g]

Fish early and late in the day.  Slow down with plastics.  Throw in heavy cover, and deep at drop-offs.  Look for spots with current and fish the eddies close to the current.  Down size baits, to get more bites.  If nothing works go home, turn up the AC, and have a beer!

[DitchPanda]

This time of year when it's super hot if it's slow enough for me to want to stop fishing I do that and go home. During nicer weather which for me up here is 35 to 80 so a big chunk of the year...the fishing is usually good. Sometimes if I'm out spring or fall and just want a break I'll walk shorelines and look for lures. Spring I'll sometimes hunt morels.

[Linewinder]

I sit back and watch my son fish.

 

Or I just look around, see what's there.  I remember many years ago I was fishing one extremely hot day in Florida with my brother.  We skipped around to 3 different lakes but this one we were on the hottest part of the day, sweating bushels, he asked if we should go in because he didn't think I could handle the heat.  I was doing better than he was.  Just to annoy him though, I stopped casting, looked at the sky and said, "I see a whale, up there in the clouds".  That ticked him off enough to focus himself on fishing rather than whining about it being hot.  We caught a few in the weeds.

 

I'll watch the birds too.

[Mobasser]

I continue fishing. I'll try a new spot, with a different bait.