How Much Time?

Will you spend in a spot before moving on?

Last night I set up in an area I have had my eye on for awhile. I really haven’t fished it because of low flow but things picked up a little on Pool 8. With the thought that the area had to have some current now, and with a lot of wood and deep holes in the area, my mind was made up that the long run to the south would be worth it. This made it possible to hit a lot of holes on the way back to the landing if it was a bad call.

When trolling my way into the area it was picture perfect. There was even a current seem on the outside wood (20fow) and bait fish dancing on the 8 foot shelf towards the bank, it made the hair stand up on the back of my neck even Anchor was down and bait in the water by 8:45pm. For the first 10 minutes some medium sized sheephead kept me busy on the cut bait. After 15 minutes I was slammed on the deeper bait only to retrieve a no so good looking gill This got my heart pumping; it can’t be long before that shallow bait gets some action. Not to be, never was touched again.

With that said, I didn’t make my first move until after spending 2 ½ hrs in that spot. Something in my head kept telling me to hang this area out. Not being able to look at the same scenery anymore, baits were picked up and I fished my way back to the landing. The boat was off the water by 3:00am without another hit. 2 of the spots are a 95 percent chance of at least a fish in the teens and no bite
So did I sit to long the first time? I’m not sure, I almost believe there was just a non-existent bite last night for me

Oh well…..As Arnold would say, I’ll be back

Bret

Not a cat guy here, but I can say that you have to trust your gut sometimes.

My first big cat (47) came after three hours of dead time. Two years ago, I was with my two nephews and we sat on a spot catching nothing for 3 and a half hours – one nephew was dozing off when his rod started to bend over and the other nephew alertly jumped up and took the fish – a good one. While he was fighting it and trying to keep the owner of the pole from taking over, his own rod bent over and he told his brother to take that one. The first nephew (rod stealer) landed a 49 pounder, and his brother got a 19 pounder – both personal bests.

I’ve done both – obviously. Comes down to whether you’re being pulled away by the lure of a potentially better spot. My buddy and I spent about 5 nights getting no hits in another spot like you’re describing with nothing to show for it – haven’t been back to that one in years. Could be a monster down there, but we were fed up and can’t stand the thought of the spot any more.

That should clear it up for you, eh? Either stay or don’t stay and it might work out and it might not…

The scenerio that Matt described is the best answer…it only takes one fish to make a VERY memorable night…and sometimes waiting in one spot does it.

The guys that get a lot of fish…generally move after 20 minutes…but time after time, we hear of setting up shop and waiting it out for that one…Mr. Big.

Keep in mind “catching is over rated” and fishing is what it’s all about!

I imagine we all have our “Go To” spots that we have confidence in. I will usually sit on those spots for hours without a bite and not lose confidence that I will catch a fish there. I usually like to try a new spot when ever I get a chance – I won’t spend a lot of time on new spots but I like to add to my string of flathead spots just in case someone is sitting on my favorite Honey Hole when I get there and I need to move on. I don’t believe in sharing a spot – there is a lot of river and I will just move on to a different spot. Like the others said – It is more of a gut feeling kind of thing. Sometimes waiting it out works and other times it just adds to the list of skunks.