Hey yall, i recently hit a couple creeks new to me and they didnt really produce as well as i’d like. I spoke with a buddy later that day and he claims he’s been killing it in the very same creek.
My question is this: when you’re working new territory, how thoroughly do YOU search? do you simply float a cork until you get bit and then investigate that location’s watercolumn? do you systematically hit the whole water column at each and every bit of structure, even if you’re not on fish?
I find myself somewhere in the middle. I should probably work all structure much more thoroughly than i do when fishing new spots. However, if i havent been into anything i’ll start to expedite the process and move around much quicker until i find the bite, and thereby possibly missing some good fish along the way due to impatience.
love to hear some of yalls opinions and tendencies.
You will probably need to fish through various stages of the tide cycle. Your buddy is more than likely “killing it” at a specific part of the tide weather it be at the start of the incoming, outgoing, or somewhere in between. You may be able to cover more area quicker using a Gulp 3" under a cork until you locate the fish and then switch to live bait. I hope this helps.
Capt. Tim Deckard
Daily Charters -> http://BeaufortCastawayCharter.com
That’s good advice from Capt. Deckard. Fishing “new” territory is not a whole lot different than fishing “known” spots for me. I usually will put out a variety of baits: finger mullet, live shrimp and frozen shrimp (depending on the structure in the area). These are usually left to “soak” a while and see what the preferred menu is for the day and tide stage. While the 3 prospecting rods are soaking, I’ll usually throw a Z-Man paddlerz and work the bank and creek. There are days when you can’t “buy” a bite on live bait, but the Z-Man gets hit continously. Too-Busy posted a great video on YouTube on the 3 rod prospecting method that he uses. When scouting new areas, I usually try to hit the spot about 2 hours before low and will fish it hard until 2 hours of the incoming have passed. If I am with family/friends that want to catch fish, I usually will head to a proven spot to put them on the fish. Then hit a “new” spot after a few fish have been caught. It’s hard to get teenagers to be patient if no fish are biting. Heck it’s hard for me to be patient too. So I usually prospect alone or with someone that knows what prospecting is and understands that we are looking for new areas to fish.
I have heard/read on this site that if you don’t get a hit in 10 minutes, then you should move, as the fish aren’t there. But I tend to give a spot a little more time than that. I’ve sat in spots for a full hour with no bite. As the tide changes, so does the fish patterns. You’ll read lots of stories about people being skunked in “fishy looking areas”. I wonder how many times was the reason for the skunk was the wrong bait offering, or the wrong tide stage. Keep at it and you’ll figure it out.
19’ Sea-Pro CC
“Swagger Wagon”
Yamaha 115 - 2 stroke
14’ CMF Skiff
25 Johnson - 2 stroke
14’ Heritage Redfish
“There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter.”
Ernest Hemingway
Finding new spots often is an iterative process for me. Most of my new spots are found by working banks at a relatively fast pace. If I catch fish I will stop and work the area. If I catch more, great! If not, then I move on. On subsequent trips I will try to hit those spots again quickly at the same tide or at a tide which I think would be better. If I continue to catch fish then I will add them to my honey hole spots where I will go to and spend an appreciable amount of time at.
The exception is when I chose to fish prominent pieces of structure that I am confident that will hold fish at some point in the tide. In those cases it is just a matter of putting in some time when the tide looks right; this is where experience really helps speed up the process.
Iain Pelto
Sea Hunt Triton 160 w/ 90 ETEC “JB3”
Native Manta Ray 14
I agree with hairball. Chances are that if there is current and structure, fish will be there at some point during the tide stage.
Narcosis
Really appreciate the perspective from all, thank you. I’ve been trying to expand what i consider my familiar territory and was just curious as to other’s methods on working “new” spots.