WHEN THE BITE IS HOT

[Muddy]

Hey Fellas: We all have experienced days when it seems no matter what you throw , you are catching large quantities of fish. For me this means a lot of LMB between 14 and 17 inches, very few over 3 pounds. When the bite is great like this, and you not fishing competitively , do you leave that spot in search of bigger fish? In your experience are the bigger fish also on a hot bite at the same time?

 If you are already over lets say 12 to 16 ft of water, do you go deeper in search of larger fish?

I know this is very generic , just looking for how you would approach  similar conditions.

[Wayne P.]

I never leave fish to find fish.

[JShrock07]

When I  find situations like this I like to keep the boat moving around everywhere. The day is still fun none the less but just the thought of moving around to a different part of the lake and trying to catch a bigger fish. But I'm glad you put the part in there about it not being a tournament because when there is a tournament I can't find a lot of fish. ;D ;D ;D

[Muddy]

Then if you should happen to see me on that body of water, keep going the bigger fish have an aversion to my boat!

[ilovefooffur]

Leave the spot where you're catching fish?  BITE YOUR TONGUE!!!  No Way, Jose.

[Catt]

I have participated in all out feeding frenzies occurring on individual pieces of structure and in areas as big as 4-5 squire miles. Sometimes it would be smaller bass, sometimes larger bass, and sometimes a mixture of both.

As far leaving bass that are aggressively feeding it would depend on the body of water, if I know the body of water contains only small to medium size bass then changing areas would be useless so I would enjoy the ride. If the body of water is known far big bass but the structure I'm fishing is not conducive to holding big bass I would likely leave. But thank you God for the times when all the conditions are right and the big girls come out to play because this is when momma gets a call saying the truck broke down so I'll have to spend another night.

[Branuss04]

Here is my take on this.

If i'm fishing a spot that seems to be producing lots of decent size fish, lets say 3-6 pounders.  I firmly beleive that there are bigger fish stacked on this spot as well.  So instead of pounding this spot for hours and possibly ruining any chance I have of catching these larger fish, I'll fish another spot for an hour or so and let the original spot take a break.  I might go to another spot that has the same characteristics in hopes of more big fish.  I wont necessarily leave to find bigger fish, but I leave to let the original spot die down, even if it is producing fish.  I guess this is the downside to fishing for quality, not quantity.  

Me and 4bizz got on a bite like this one day.  We fished every spot on a lake that had certain characteristics.  We would fish it hard for an hour, catch 3-6 quality fish.  Then go to another spot with the same characteristics and catch more.  We fished each spot 4 times that day and everytime the spots kicked out fish.  90% of those spots kicked out fish over 5#.  

[Muddy]

Thanks, different view points , I appreciate all of your  your experience and input 8-)

[whitwolf]

I never leave fish to find fish.

Exactly. Time Is always at a premium so If I'm on the fish I stay right where I am at.

[Muddy]

I fish a lot of long days, when you are not fishing against the clock, it really is not an issue for me. I have all the time in the world.

[Fishing Rhino]

I've been told the first rule of fishing is, never leave biting fish.

[cart7t]

I thought for sure this was going to be a question about Elaine trying to give you a hickey after eating jalapeno's.  

[Muddy]

Nay!1 Unfortunately I am in PA with 10 inches of snow on the ground and she is back in Brooklyn. I can't wait for this year to be over so we can plan on living in the same city again

[Bassn Blvd]

I fish a lot of long days, when you are not fishing against the clock, it really is not an issue for me. I have all the time in the world.

If I'm under no time restrictions and all I'm catching are 1-2 pound fish then I have no problem exploring other areas.  Chances are the fish will be biting there too.  If it's a tournament then I'll stay put.

[SirSnookalot]

No challenge in catching small fish, I always search for larger ones.

Many species school up and all will be the same size. A 200' walk down the beach may produce a  school of larger fish, it hapens all the time.

[Muddy]

Except this is not salt water, the fish act differently.

[zbass]

If your just fun fishing, tay put and enjoy the frenzy. When it starts to die down, scoot to another area. No reason to move and risk not catching anything when they are biting and you can do no wrong.

[bigfruits]

id grab the lightest rod i had with me and hang out till it stopped.

[SirSnookalot]

Except this is not salt water, the fish act differently.

Not as different as you may think.  I fished freshwater 50 years before moving to Florida and I apply many of the same techniques to saltwater as I did to fresh.  If you opt to sit in one spot you're chances of catching larger ones are greatly reduced.  Whether it's fresh or salt you need to cover a lot of water to produce.

[Muddy]

Hey Stu, pretty cool I grew up in Brooklyn and first fished saltwater. From the shores of Plum Beach,behind Korvetts on Bay Parkway and Breezy Point, the old adage Follow The Birds is what worked there!

Some shorelines in fresh water are just a waste of time, when walking a pond or a lake I try to avoid the crowds, it's worth getting scratched up by brush and reeds.

[BARON49_Northern NY]

When I hit a school of smaller fish I will work a heavier bait to get underneith the school or work around the outside edge of the school in search of bigger fish.  The school is there for a reason, usually forage fish and big fish being lazy will usually pick a place to ambush the the wounded bait fish as they fall.

I would never say leave fish to find fish, but take the time to pick apart the area where you found the smaller fish.  There might be one or two big gals hanging around for an easy meal too.

[SirSnookalot]

Follow The Birds

It works here too.  99.999% of time the birds are right and the fish are there.  Both the fish and the birds are vieing for the same baitfish.

I do much less freshwater fishing these days as I love the ICW and the ocean, just so many different options and species, not to mention the "shoulders" on those saltwater fish.  Did you know there are places down here that in one spot you can catch bass, peacocks, snook and tarpon, the latter 2 being saltwater species that can exist in fresh or brackish water (they cannot reproduce there).

Gave up my boat up north as prefer hoofing and packing light now.

[SirSnookalot]

BTW, this time of the year the birds sometimes LIE, lol.  I fished 20 miles of the ICW at various spots and 10 miles of beaches the last 2 days, all with out a strike.  It seems to happen this time of year.  The strong bite is the freshwater one now.

Come on down, I'll take ya to some great places.

[Muddy]

Thanks; the general consensus seems to be stay with the fish.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

I agree with Baron but think like Stu.

It's the old salt in me.

I would look under the fish you are catching.  Get to the bottom quicker.  Big=lazy

If no luck,......go find 'em elsewhere.