How long to fish an area?

[ReelMaster]

Being a bank fisherman and no electronics to locate fish I was wondering how long would you fish a spot before moving on?

[jimmieO]

This is one of those questions in which you will hopefully get 100 different answers, test them out, and find out what works for you.

Time is going to depend on what you're tossin at em I would say...spinnerbaits and crankbaits will be quicker, t-rigs and jigs will be slower..... pick a spot and try 2-3 rounds of fan casting, varying your retrieve and then move on, however long that actually takes for each bait....but...I would say start with the crankbaits and spinnerbaits to find the fish. Once you do, wear em out with everything else you got!

There are TONS of variables here...but as a general guideline, this has worked for me! Good luck!

[Stingray23]

I always start with a spinnerbat. Its my search bait. I'll fan cast the entire area around me a few times. If I get no hits,I'll switch to a jig or T-rigged plastic and work the bottom slower. this will take me more time and requires patience. I'll sit there awhile and be persistent. It usually works. If nothing, then I'll move around. I'll always look for structure sticking out of the water first though, like a fallen tree, dock, rock pile, lilly pads.... then work my way around.

[Gatorbassman]

10 casts. It doesn't matter if I'm on the bank or in a boat. If I'm by myself Ten is all I give them. If I'm with someone else it might be less.

One thing I learned from 12+ years of bank fishing is that no matter what time of year I hit every point I can and every place where the creek channel comes close to the bank.

[Catt]

I totally rely on instinct, if I feel I've adequately covered the area then I'll move on; some areas only look good from a distance.

[Muddy]

I totally rely on instinct, if I feel I've adequately covered the area then I'll move on

Hey Catt: If you are fishing a spot that you know should produce and it doiesn't will you hit it again during the trip, let's say on the way back?

[Catt]

Absolutely

Catching is all about location & timing; you can know the location it's the timing that's the mystery.

[Muddy]

Thanks, I asked because a few times this past season I hit the edge of a flat where it takes a deep nose dive. I noticed that at 6 to 8pm the action was poor , but after 10pm the spot was a producer. The puzzle part is the first time was deep into June and the later date was in early Sept..

[Sam]

Mr. HopJ,

Forget time.  

Target on the number of casts with different baits.

For example, you want to fish an area from shore.

You need to fan cast different baits from left to right and then right to left three or four times, if not five to ten times, for each presentation.

So forget time and focus on throwing different baits from many angles, and then move on and do it again.

Have fun.  

[ReelMaster]

Thanks for the responses. I have followed most of the advice given about different lures and fan casting but I have stayed in an area for 2 hours and not caught anything but just knowing that "just one more cast" will catch one.

[Btech]

I have spent all day in one area ... no joke 10 hours in one spot with some submerged trees and such and not caught a thing as i pack up and leave someone else comes in and grabs one (usualy a dink) but goes to show that fish move.

My grandpa used to say 2 objects will find eachother faster if one is still...

I try to keep this in mind by staying in an area until im bord to tears or out of new lures

Than again maybe this is why i have a 0 bass count this year ?

[Bass_Akwards]

This is the best explanation that I have read on the subject.  I didn't write it, but it's great info.  It's by a Florida Fishing guide.

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I rarely throw any bait for 20 minutes without at least picking up another rod and making a few cast with something different. If you pitch a jig all day without a bite, you're not on fish. Look at it this way. If a 100 more guys were out there with you fishing all day in a tournament, at the end of the day a whole lot of them are going to weigh in limits of fish. Obviously, a lot of things were going on that you either didn't know about or didn't take advantage of. You say you knew they were there. How do you know? If you caught them a week before, chances are they moved. This would be a good bet if it were spring, late summer, or late fall. At each of these times, the bass will be in transition. The word pattern is way over-used. Many people think that if they are catching a lot of bass using a spinnerbait, this is a pattern. This is not a pattern, it is a technique. A pattern is a certain bait, fished at a particular depth, in a particular manner, on a specific type of cover or structure. If you can take that spinnerbait to other places with the same make up and have it produce again and again, anywhere you find the same type of cover or structure, at that same depth, then you have a pattern. Let's say you are catching these spinerbait bass at 10 feet on secondary points that have chunk rock. If this turns out to actually be a pattern, all you would have to do is find other secondary points with chunk rock, fish the spinnerbait at 10 feet, and you will catch bass. As you can see, it's just not that easy or often that you put a true pattern together. Most tournaments are won on areas or spots, not patterns. What you had here sounds like a spot that the fish left. If they were there and simply turned off for whatever reason, you would have had to change your presentation or bait and create reaction strikes. The vast majority of bass are caught because of reaction strikes rather than feeding. When it gets tough, the strike zone shrinks. This means the bait must be placed closer to the bass to get the reaction. If bass are in an area, once you find the spot or spots they are on, they can and will be caught. You simply have to do something to make them react. If I fish a bait for 10 minutes on a spot that I know is holding bass, and I still haven't had a strike, something's wrong. Bass don't simply pack up and move, other than when they are in transition. This happens as the seasons change and during the spawning period. You can establish a true pattern and then have it fall apart gradually or overnight. Even if it falls apart overnight, a true pattern would still produce a couple of fish. This is the reason I have never pre-fished or practiced for tournaments for long periods as some guys do. If you start practice 2 weeks before a tournament, chances are when it starts you are going to be fishing a pattern that is on its way out. You win tournaments by putting together a pattern that is just coming on. This way the fishing keeps getting stronger as the tournament progresses. It's the same with areas or spots. You want to be fishing spots that the bass are just moving into rather than off of. This way your bass are replenishing themselves. It takes a great deal of experience and knowledge to be able to put all of this together. Once you get to a point with your fishing, you know where fish are going to or coming from at any particular time. This is when you can stay on them all year and not have those fishless days. The bottom line is, if you are on fish, anybody can catch them. The tough part is getting on them and staying on them. When they do make moves, they are not a mile at a time. They are gradual moves most of which are vertical. Study everything you can get your hands on about bass behavior and their needs. Then use your head. Never fish a spot or bait all day without a strike. If they are there, do something to make them react. You don't catch bass by waiting for them to feed. You catch them by making something happen.

[Raul]

Being a bank fisherman and no electronics to locate fish I was wondering how long would you fish a spot before moving on?

For the better part of my life as a fisherman I 've fished from the bank, even now when I do have a boat I still fish from the bank most of the time, so, you don 't need electronics to "locate" fish, you locate fish by looking at the structure, which structure ? you walk on, stand on and look at it, how long ? it may be 10 min or it may be more, if I feel I 've covered it well enough without results or after miliking it thoroughly then I move on.

[saint romain]

im not as experienced as most of these anglers here...

but i know a bass fishing trip on a boat is almost like a christmas present to me

i fish a lot from banks...and its pretty different when youre fishing a pond or a lake/river.

theres 2 lures that have by far produced more fish than anything else in a pond, and thats the good ole white trick worm, or the red shad ribbon tail T-rigged.

but most of the ponds I fish are extremely productive (most, theres still a few that i try to nail that monster and get skunked every time!)

but in general, i cast a spot 4-5 times, and i always go with 2-3 rods rigged up with white trick worm, red shad ribbon tail, and a buzz bait(for the last 10 minutes)

depending on size of the pond, i usually walk it twice; well i try to at least.

when i get a good hit, and just dont get a good hook set, i tend to be unlucky, but ive sometimes cast in the exact same spot and he'd hit it again.

one of my "secret" baits i use is the walkin worm. I cant use it in any pond, because i find it quite useless in ponds with grasses or too much heavy cover on the bottom.

spinner baits are probably one of the best lures ive used in ponds, but thats before i fell in love with soft plastics

i also have a big problem with "speeding" up my retreives and casts when i get frustrated...i try to keep from doing that, but sometimes ill catch myself doing it about an hour after i started...

best advice IMO is to just try many many different lures/colors/presentations and fish as many ponds as you can. you'll eventually find a good one. just be careful because if its an easy pond to move around and get good casts, its easy for anyone else so theres a good possibility its fished a lot, not always, but just keep that in mind. look for secluded ponds, and if needed ask permission (or be really sneaky)

but then again, im not as experienced..just putting in my 2 cents