Do you fish the same place or new places more?

[Luke Barnes]

Basically like the title says. Do you explore new lakes, ponds, rivers, or stay to the same one or two when you go? 

 

When I started out I went to a different place every time. Then I started getting comfortable at a few places and only go to them now. But thinking about it, I caught more when I went to new places and tried new things and didnt try over and over to get that big bite like I did the last time at the same place. 

[GRiver]

I mostly fish St John’s so technically I fish the same area all the time, but I’ve got a few places I fish on a regular basis. I almost always catch fish there, some ok size sometimes small ones.
I even got a couple spots I kept going back to that, I’ve never caught anything.  It’s that place where everything looks and feels like they should be hoards of bass just waiting to jump in your boat, but nothing, I still keep trying.

 I do fish different places on the river and try to explore. I really like fishing new places. Its alway a challenge, I don’t have any really  good gear as far fish finders, just trying to read to shore looking for cover, or deep spots. 

Just getting out there is always good.

[Bankbeater]

It depends on how the fish are biting.  If I get skunked then next trip I fish somewhere new.  If I'm catching I keep going back.

[Skunkmaster-k]

Once I catch the lake record then I’m going worldwide like James Watson. 

[DaubsNU1]

Depends on how much time I have to fish...

 

Closest lake | 40 acres:  I can pull the boat around with the ATV, have it hooked to my truck and be on the water in 20 minutes. 

 

Next closest lake | 220 acres: I can be on the water in 30 minutes...lake is bigger, and has 5MPH limit, so it takes me another 15 minutes to get to my favorite spots. Bass and Pike.

 

Biggest Bass lake | 315 acres: About a 40 minute drive from my house. 

 

Favorite lake | 637 acres: more established, bass and pike, and even walleye. 45 minute drive. 

 

There are many more lakes in the area, but these are the four I fish the most. 

[Basser2021]

4 hours ago, Luke Barnes said:

Basically like the title says. Do you explore new lakes, ponds, rivers, or stay to the same one or two when you go? 

 

When I started out I went to a different place every time. Then I started getting comfortable at a few places and only go to them now. But thinking about it, I caught more when I went to new places and tried new things and didnt try over and over to get that big bite like I did the last time at the same place. 

I like to branch out to different bodies of water

Also I'm getting into multispecies fishing so it helps to go to different bodies of water

[Luke Barnes]

7 hours ago, GRiver said:

I mostly fish St John’s so technically I fish the same area all the time, but I’ve got a few places I fish on a regular basis. I almost always catch fish there, some ok size sometimes small ones.
I even got a couple spots I kept going back to that, I’ve never caught anything.  It’s that place where everything looks and feels like they should be hoards of bass just waiting to jump in your boat, but nothing, I still keep trying.

 I do fish different places on the river and try to explore. I really like fishing new places. Its alway a challenge, I don’t have any really  good gear as far fish finders, just trying to read to shore looking for cover, or deep spots. 

Just getting out there is always good.

That's really interesting. I would love exploring a river. It would never get old. You could always go further upstream or downstream and thats alot of water to explore. Ive only fished one crappy river and an oxbow of another crappy river so actual nice river bass fishing sounds like an amazing time!

4 hours ago, DaubsNU1 said:

Depends on how much time I have to fish...

 

Closest lake | 40 acres:  I can pull the boat around with the ATV, have it hooked to my truck and be on the water in 20 minutes. 

 

Next closest lake | 220 acres: I can be on the water in 30 minutes...lake is bigger, and has 5MPH limit, so it takes me another 15 minutes to get to my favorite spots. Bass and Pike.

 

Biggest Bass lake | 315 acres: About a 40 minute drive from my house. 

 

Favorite lake | 637 acres: more established, bass and pike, and even walleye. 45 minute drive. 

 

There are many more lakes in the area, but these are the four I fish the most. 

Sounds like a nice spot to be in if you ask me. I would be happy being that close to that many lakes and had a boat to fish on them! 

4 hours ago, Basser2021 said:

I like to branch out to different bodies of water

Also I'm getting into multispecies fishing so it helps to go to different bodies of water

I used to be that way and I enjoyed it more, caught more, and just had more fun. But life got busy and me and my wife had a third kid and she got diagnosed with Lyme disease so I dont fish as much, and thats ok!! It's worth it for my family!!  Because I know it's not forever and things will smooth out and I'll get some time to fish more. 

[Luke Barnes]

I guess my point was I tend to stay to the same few places because ive had good luck at them and I have limited time to fish so I try to go where my odds are the best. But to be honest I enjoyed fishing more when I went to new places or places I hadnt been in a long time and they are different and I learned things to look for since then and seeing how my choices affects my catch rate. 

 

Granted I'm a bank bound pond angler 90% of the time, lake bank angler 5%, and boat lake angler 5% of the time. So basically I stay to the same few ponds and I need to branch out more even though I get to go less. Its ok if I get skunked because half the time I get skunked because I keep going to the same old place the same old time experimenting with whatever is new and not what works best. So might as well enjoy some new scenery!

[CrashVector]

Depends 

 

If I only have an hour or so, I go play bank-beater at a local lake that's 10 min from my house.

 

If I have half a day, I go to familiar spots in the kayak to go bluegilling.

 

If I have a whole day to spend, I'll go to a new spot where I have time to explore around...fish for bass, bream, and drop juglines for catfish.

[geo g]

I fish almost everyday and have about 10 spots I rotate through.  This keeps me from getting board!, and gives the fish a rest.

[TnRiver46]

Not many ponds around here, usually fishing a massive reservoir and I’ve pretty much fished them all. There’s a couple I don’t hit due to distance. Rivers are also fun , I’ve hit most of them before as well 

[Catt]

70 years on the Louisiana/Texas gulf coast there ain't any "new" places.

[Mike L]

30 minutes ago, Catt said:

70 years on the Louisiana/Texas gulf coast there ain't any "new" places.

Kinda the same for me in Central / South Florida.
I consider Okeechobee my “home” lake only because I’ve fished it more often for a longer time than all the others. 
 

There are dozens of other waters within a 2 hr drive that I’ve fished one time or another that hold fish that at few and certain times could be a better choice, but I keep coming “home”

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Staogtepi]

I feel like it’s better for me when I stick to one or two lakes and get as much info as I can about them. I’ve had a lake kick my butt, then when I actually put some time on the water I’d be able to produce. All lakes fish differently in my experience so when I move to somewhere else most things from other spots don’t apply.

[A-Jay]

 I used to bounce all over the state.

Mission was to find waters with a healthy habitat that supported plenty of bait

& more importantly a decent populating of plus size brown bass.

Have since narrowed my 'choices' down quite a bit.

When the target sized fish are available, I'm fishing those deals exclusively.

Once that's not the case, I'll participate in the reach out American plan

and fish wherever.

Mostly just for a change in view.

A-Jay

 

 

[Junk Fisherman]

I fish primarily the same places but I have been fishing for over 20 years so I've fished most of the places in my areas.   Nowadays, I primarily fish 4 different places locally but 3 of them have loads of water including Lake Michigan.  When I travel I typically fish waters I have fished before but I head north in the summer and south in the spring and fall so it's usually multiple months between visits.  I fish about 10 different bodies of water every year and try to fish 1 body of water I have never fished before.  

[Zcoker]

One thing about the Everglades: it's like a living organism in itself, changing daily. One day it's very open and fishable and the next day it's like the pic below, loaded with lettuce! So I'm always forced to change areas with totally new tactics, only to have the same thing happen all over again lol 

 

 

 

 

 

[king fisher]

About 50 50 for me. I love to explore and am always looking for a new place to fish.  I also like to go to my old favorites.  The months of May and June I will be fishing one lake and only a few spots on that lake.  Those two months the water is low, and the big bass are concentrated on a few great holes.  The weather doesn't change, they have gained back weight from the spawn, and on every cast I have a good chance at a new PB.  The rest of the year, I will be exploring.

[the reel ess]

I fish the same place 90% of the time because it has big bass, it's a big place and has little pressure. I have another pond I'll go to if the wind is howling but I really want to fish becuase it's small and mostly protected from wind. I have a farm pond that's a bass fishing postcard. But the bass are all dinks. I haven't caught one over 2 lbs there in about 19 years. However, the bass are hungry there and it's not unusual to catch 20+. I caught over 50 there one drizzly summer day. It's great fun on a topwater in the summer. It's a good place to get your mojo back when they aren't biting well or to try a new technique. It's a pond so the owner wants some harvested and they taste good from that spring fed pond.

[BassNJake]

I fish 3 or 4 lakes a year.

I also fish my home lake 2+ times a week.

The water level changes year to year so it makes it different.

 

This year we are still 8 feet below full pool.

Last year we were at full pool and 2 years ago we were 12 feet above.

So in 3 years the fish are in different areas when they are spawning

 

[Bankc]

50% of my fishing is done at the lake close to my work, and I fish it every day on my lunch break (weather permitting), but only for about 30 minutes.  It's a pretty bad lake for fishing, but it beats not fishing for lunch.

 

30% of my time fishing is at the lake close to my house.  It's not a great fishing lake either, but it's a lot better and bigger than the one near my work.  I'll fish this lake about 75% of the time I go fishing on weekends.  It saves me about 2-4 hours of drive time over the "good" lakes, and I know it well enough that I almost never get skunked.

 

The remainder 20% of my fishing is done at new lakes or a few revolving favorites.  There are few lakes that I really enjoy fishing that are about 1-2 hours away and are much better than anything close to me.  I'll usually fish them about 2-3 times a year each, when the weather is just right.  I also like to explore new lakes that I've never been to before, and I'll usually find and fish a brand-new lake about 2-3 times a year (each time a different lake, unless I like it so much it gets worked into my rotation of favorites).  

 

So it's a healthy mix.  I probably hit up 10 different lakes in a year.  

[A-Jay]

2 hours ago, king fisher said:

  The rest of the year, I will be exploring.

Perhaps consider a somewhat more supportive & stable footwear choice while your at it -

Especially when fishing like a mountain goat . .

A-Jay

 

 

[Catt]

3 hours ago, Mike L said:

but I keep coming “home”

 

That's me & Toledo Bend 

 

There's a dozen places around the house that I rotate through mainly to got out the house. But sometimes I wanna sethook on something that'll sethook back!

[king fisher]

9 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

That's me & Toledo Bend 

 

There's a dozen places around the house that I rotate through mainly to got out the house. But sometimes I wanna sethook on something that'll sethook back!

Come fish a couple of my lakes. Nothing sets the hook back like an abandoned gillnet. Feels exactly like a giant bass. But you can’t eat it.  You can hook as many as you want in a day as big as you want them but the pictures never turn out well.

[MIbassyaker]

I fish a rotation of small natural lakes, impoundments, gravel pits, bayous, and stretches of 4 rivers within about an hour's drive of my house. Currently there are about 40 on my list and I add a couple new ones each year. Most I visit only once per year and rarely do I go any one place more than 3 times per year.