How long do I stay in a certain spot/method?

[Sierra]

How long do I stick in a certain fishing location or use a specific technique before changing if I am not having any success? I'm afraid I usually stay too long, however I'm not sure what a good rule of thumb is? Also, I'm fishing in Northern MN a week after walleye opener, any ideas on what techniques I should use?
Is trolling out of the question? Fishing Upper South Long Lake (1000 acres) by the way.
Thanks,
Sierra

[Texeye]

I don't know what you classify as a long time,but I feel that within 30 minutes you can usually tell if where your fishing will be productive.It can take longer if you are vertical jigging and working out a point or reef.Sometimes the walleye will be in one small spot so until you work it pretty well you can miss fish.If you are throwing cranks or jigs its good to fan cast to locate fish.It doesn't hurt to go a little faster when trying to locate walleye,just remember when you find one there are usually more.I usually go with something I am very confident in, and when I catch a fish I will work that area good and if what I am using does'nt produce I try something else before I move on.I can't tell you what the bite will be up there but I am sure some kind of live bait combo will work.Good luck!

[Eyez]

I think it all depends on the general "mood" of the water you're fishing. "mood" is a combination of a bunch of things, weather, recent fish reports, time of year, time of day, etc. If you talk to a bunch of people, and everyone's been catching fish at a reasonable pace and the weather's been steady, I'd like to hop around fairly quickly, thinking that I can find active fish somewhere. Sometimes, however, after a cold front in a lake that's in the middle of an algae bloom in july, you'll be fishing a lake that just seems dead. Times like that, 1 fish every 3 hours is a good day, if everyone else is getting skunked. Sometimes you just have to take what you can get. It's all relative, there is no hard and fast rule as to how long to fish a spot before you move. I would say though, that if you decided that it was worth a try, don't give up on it too quick. Don't second guess your decisions about where to fish, and move too soon. On the other side, don't fish a spot for 5 hours without a bite, if you think you can catch fish in another spot. My beginning rule of thumb, is that I like to cover a spot at least twice before I give up on it. If you're fishing a hump, go over it twice, if you haven't had a bite, sign of fish, or marked anything on your electronics, then maybe think about moving, unless you're confident that there are fish there and that they will bite, and that you have no better options. It's a judgement call, in most cases.


That's the long answer, but I hope it helps :)

Eyez

[Lund AnglerMJ]

How I approach a typical day,is to factor the local weather in.#1!!! Next,say it's been the typical up and down good day-rain a day or 2,well I'd fish slow. Spend at least an hour on a weedline,with a jig-n-minnow option.The fish may be slow.If the weather has been stable,say 3 or 4 day's of the same,no front's then a little less time on the same spot.They would be a little more active.I would try worm's also,on those spot's.I'd pick the best structure element on the lake to start with,and work it good.My first option,if stable weather,is trolling.Slow at first with the elec. motor,then zig-zag the weed edge,with a crawler harness,and in the rod holder a small Shad Rap;shallow diver-in Perch.See what hit's first.Then work the area.Before moving on I'd spend at the most,even with 3 or 4 in the boat say another 45 minutes.Local weather play's a big factor.Think of what it's been doing the past 3 day's.Pay attention to the details. It does work.

[SnellTier]

Sierra,

I fish LOW a lot and Winnebago a lot. My wife is my partner.

If we are not seeing a lot of fish on the locator we won't usually fish a spot at all. There are days when I followed the Fishing Hotspots trip leaders on LOW for 4 hours scouting fish (like I scouted whitetail deer) figuring out patterns, etc., before we put a line in the water. Once we did, we caught a LOT of fish. This was while I was first learning how to fish ... and I learned a lot from those guys about marking fish and when to fish.

If we do mark a lot of fish, we toss out a marker on the heaviest concentration and we like to vertical jig them. If we don't catch one walleye between the 2 of us in 15 to 20 minutes we move on.

If we are not marking fish at all (like last year because there were a lot of baitfish in the water and the walleyes were lying on the bottom fat, dumb, and happy) then we bottom bounce. We cover an area relatively slowly (speeds at which a one-ounce bottom bouncer takes us to the bottom in 30 feet of water) but if we have not caught at least one fish in 20 minutes, we move on. The idea then is to "run and gun" ... and cover likely spots until we find fish.

On small bodies of water one might have to wait for the fish to "turn on". But on larger bodies of water, walleyes in someplace somewhere are actively feeding. The challenge (and fun) is finding them.

Hope this helps.

TomD