Disecting a lake, how long before you move!

george · Post by **george** » Wed Feb 12, 2014 9:34 am

When I fish any body of water I find myself (way too often) staying on an area too long trying to find fish before making a move to a different area or deeper water, I will throw top water, crank bait or rip bait, jig and then drop shot or split shot worm, etc.

Like most folks I have a tendency to fish shallow and progressively move deeper until I am satisfied that there are no fish there or they are not going to eat right now.

Answer this question! How long do you fish an area without success before you make a move to different conditions.

Now, on the delta I will hit an area for ten minutes and move if not bit, but if I hook up right away I will stay on that spot until I don't get bit for fifteen or twenty minutes.

Does anyone start deep and move shallow?

George

elfish16 · Post by **elfish16** » Wed Feb 12, 2014 10:57 am

Time of year makes a difference and bait in the area also!

I know there are times when you wait it out and can pay off. I won a derby two weeks ago by sitting on a spot all day. I'd go two hours without a bite but when they chewed it was fast and worth it. I knew they would eat based on the bait/forage in the area, just a waiting game.

If it's summer or fall I will fish MUCH faster. Spend 10-15mins and move if I don't get bit.

Have i found myself sitting too long, yes I have. But I think that's part of the game we all need to be able to adjust to with time on the water and experience.

semipro · Post by **semipro** » Thu Feb 13, 2014 8:25 am

I have always had a problem with staying too long in an area, not on one spot though. It paid off for me this weekend on McClure though. I fished two areas and stayed on the second spot for at least four hours. I always move up and down the bank until bit and then hang out for a time to see if the school is around. Always depends on the season, weather, depth, bait and bite. At McClure it was to fish Sllloooooooowww ... Had the TM on "creep along" and just soaked my worm, no added action.

Larry Hemphill · Post by **Larry Hemphill** » Thu Feb 13, 2014 10:21 pm

Hi George! You have asked that basic question that all tournament folks and guides stew over the night before. And - there is not a perfect answer to that question - because while sitting in one area may be the winning plan one week, it could be the last place, losing plan another week. There are NO absolutes in bass fishing!! My little essay here really applies to lakes or ponds since I don't get to fish the delta very often Bass really don't follow any set rules in their behavior - especially during pre-spawn and the fall season. They have to adjust to different water levels and weather conditions every year - just like anglers do. However, regardless of most variables, bass will seek warm water areas during sunny spring afternoons. If you know where those spots are - fish the nearby staging areas in the morning and look for possible north/east spawning flats in the afternoon. Those fish - male and female - will bite! During a pre-spawn storm, the bass will still be on pre-staging areas, but are not likely to move very shallow - especially if it is a cold storm. Also, it is a general rule of thumb that most monster bass will spawn as close to deep water as possible. Big females in the 7 - 8 lb range and up, usually have outgrown roaming around a lot and will NOT sacrifice deep water access. They often will spawn in the same area year after year, assuming similar water level (impossible in California!). That had been documented. As for the fall - one rule applies - FIND THE BAIT!!! Bass can be found from 0 to 70-80 feet on any given day. I actually had a client catch a topwater bass at Collins Lake and his partner spooned one a few minutes later at about 65 feet! Go figure!! Actually, that is your job George! And I guess - mine too!! Good Luck - and remember - when we make bad decisions, there is always tomorrow. And of course - it was the fishes fault - they didn't do what they were supposed to do, LOL!!

george · Post by **george** » Fri Feb 14, 2014 9:07 am

Thanks Larry, I posted this topic exactly for this reason; so the teachers like your self would share their thoughts and opinions that they have had success with. I for one have had days that I have stayed on a fifty yard section of a creek channel all day long during a tournament and would catch fish on about a ten foot long span on each pass. If I stayed on that spot after catching a fish or two they would stop biting but if I moved off for fifteen minutes and came back I would get bit again.
I recently had a tournament on DVL that we could not get eaten at 0-45 but as soon as I found fish on my graph at 48-50 feet we got bit.

I really started looking at all the other info on my screen and there was a definite line of where the bait fish were and they were in a five foot wide swath at 40-45 feet almost like a thermocline would show up on the screen.
Too bad the graph companies don't put timers on their units, that way we could just hit a button and have an alarm go off in fifteen minutes saying; hey dummy its time to go! lol

Thanks again!

George

Cooch · Post by **Cooch** » Fri Feb 14, 2014 10:58 am

I'm with Larry, there is no right answer to this question that will work for you day in and day out. Certainly it's different fishing a tidal river system(constantly changing conditions), versus a lake(moderate changing conditions) or pond(very little changes). Certainly is different fishing any one of the four seasonal periods. While I might camp all day in the spring and winter, I'll implement a 15 minute rule in the Summer & Fall. Here, understanding seasonal patterns and a bass' migrational route on a given body of water dictates your decisions. It will also be different for tournament anglers(pressures on, gotta move to produce), the guides(we want to produce for every client, when the bite slows the instructional part's gotta kick in ta fill in and buy some time), to the weekend guys who are just tickled ta be on the water just fishing(some move, some don't). Another factor is lake knowledge, the more knowledge I have of a lake, the longer I'll stay. On a new lake, I ain't stayin long at all as I want to cover as much water as I can until I locate the fish.

In that last statement, lies the key for me........If I know there are fish in a given area, I'm gonna hang around a lot longer to either wait em out or figure out a new tactic ta catch em. I then rely on my instincts to tell me to move or not. Instincts, are the thought processes that pop in and out of our minds while fishing. Those anglers who have great "instincts", immediately act upon those thoughts when they pop in there. Yet most anglers won't trust their own thought processes and tend to hang around way too long before making the change they thought about 3 hours ago.

Oldschool · Post by **Oldschool** » Sat Feb 15, 2014 9:05 pm

If you know the lake and know what is going on the decision is easy, stay with bite.
Recreational bass anglers rarely know what is going on and tend to fish where and use the same lures that worked the last time on the water without considering seasonal periods. Tournament anglers have the problem of moving and losing the spot, they know it's time leave and hope for 1 more bite.
There is an old rule is fishing, don't leave active fish. The trick is determining when the fish will be active.
Deep structured lakes, like we have in CA, knowing what depth the bass are at is essential. Deep bass stay deep and don't move very far during the day. Shallow bass tend to roam moving into feeding zones and pulling out and suspend. If shallow bass are not active and you meter bass suspended close, move. If deep bass are on the structure, stay. How long between moving and staying will make or break your day.
Our local lakes tend to have 20 minute bite windows a few times a day, short periods and you need to be at the right place at the right time...camp out or move?
Tom