The topic came up on our ride back from the Racine tournament and we basically agreed it tended to be a gut feel. We discussed various tactics for reapproaching a area of fish.
Was wondering if anyone had any guidelines for when you'll turn around on fish, and what tactics you might use when going back through fish?
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What I do is find the trol that the fish want and mark a spot when we hit fish. Then I trol in that direction until we stop getting fish or marking fish. Once the fish stop then mark that as the outside point and work over the waypoints until you make a couple of passes without fish. Then continue on that trol past your outside spot until you find them again! This really works if you get a double on and then mark the spot!
Greg, If I turn on to retry a spot will have a lot to do with those dag gone currents. Last week I wanted to retry a spot, lots of bait and fish, had a double on. Perfect time to hit that water again. Well, by the time I got done dealing with the fish and turned everything went to heck. My rigger cables were swinging all over the under water current was reeking havoc on my speed and now I'd lost confidence in what my presentation was doing. Direction as I'm sure you know often factors into putting fish in the box. In my above scenario I should of kept trolling straight ahead,[hindsight] without the currents perhaps a turn would have made more sense.
I have in the past run a cloverleaf pattern over a spot and picked up fish on numerous passes. That's what I like about this type of fishing, all these varibles. I will say that in shallow water (spring browns) I rarely hit the same water twice.
Tim
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I’ll speak for the small boat crowd – tactics might be different from those on the “battleships”.
I pull lines and power back around, try to trace my path and come at them again from the same direction and speed. Usually make one more pass then continue on.
Lot of variables here. Are there other boats in the area that will work them over before you get another shot?
I’m talking 6 lines here max. Takes less time to “run and gun” then to circle back with lines the water. I can repeat the presentation and not worry as much about boat speed, currents, etc.
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I agree with Hiatus to a certain extent. With only a couple of us on board, I will pull the lines and run back to the original course and troll the same line through. On the other hand, when we have a full spread set and it is obviously working, I will mimic a holding pattern from my flight school days and parallel my course after a slow turn. That way I will figure out if they are only hitting while trolling in one direction. If not, I am constantly on the active fish instead of pulling and running.
When approaching a spot that had active fish earlier in the day. I always give myself plenty of time to get setup before approaching the way point, and always hit it the same direction as was productive earlier.
Ka-Bob
Bob Vohl "Ka-Bob Master" Official Iowa Delegate to Team Heavy Super-Sized Fishing Specialists www.teamheavyfishing.com bob@teamheavyfishing.com
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I will make my turn try from the other direction keeping a eye on my speed probe on the cannon ball. If I can't get it right, then I will just take a big circle and come over it in the same direction. For me it seems to vary 1 day you can get them from both directions and there are days they will only hit going the same way.
Drag-n-Ballz
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There is no set standard. Every day is different. It depends on whether you fishing structure or just basic depths. If its structure spin as fast as you can and get back. If its depths work that depth in that direction until it dies then troll back trying to mimic your speeds. Just to many variables to say. I really go with my gut on what I feel at the time.
First decision is why are the fish at the spot you hit them at and why. Then go from there.
Later, Curt
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If I hit only one fish, I keep going, if I get a double I go back. If it is coho's I'm fishing that cinches the turn around, a double of coho's means a limit is there waiting, usually......
This is the biggest dilemma I have in big lake fishing. Is it the spot or the direction of troll that is "hot"???
I will often turn and go back through an area but if I dont get a fish I will usually get back on the original troll that took fish.
If it is the spot I will usually hook another fish (or two or three) while passing through the area in a couple directions. If not I get back on the troll.
But as Curt said, it can be different every day.
I often fish on a 270' heading until I bang a fish then work that depth. If I am on a certain depth heading north or south over the same depth of water and taking fish I will stay on that troll on the assumption that the depth/currents will hold fish in a long band of water.
Last night we sat down and trolled south for 25 minutes without a hit, changed directions to troll north and bang, fish on.
I marked the hit on the chartplotter and we stayed on the north troll for 20 minutes with nothing so I said "screw this" and trolled back to the first hit (another 20 minutes).
When we got within 1/4 mile of the fist hit...bang...fish number two.
Long story short we boxed 8 fished, missed one on the riggers and lost one in the next hour all within 1/2 mile of the first hit and took fish trolling north, south and west.
Last night it was the area not the troll.
In Michigan City Sea Ray Classic we found a spot, hit a triple and stayed on the troll for the next hour traveling 3 miles taking fish all the way down the bombing run for a total of 10 fish. When we went 20-30 minutes without a hit, I pulled all the lines and RAN back to the original triple, and set up on the same troll.
We hit our last two fish in the next 30 minutes and went in with our limit....
So you never know what is the right call. On that 3 mile troll every time I would go 10-15 minutes without a hit I would start thinking "I should turn back" then BAM fish would hit and change my mind to staying on the troll. It was only when I finally went 30 minutes without a hit I turned back, but by then I was 3 miles away and didn't want to troll back, instead choosing to run back and get back on the troll.
You just have to let the fish/hits tell you what they want and react to it.
But it is still the biggest dilemma I have in big lake trolling since I never really know what is right until you try working the area and working the troll.
And sometimes you make the wrong call unfortunately. Had we stayed in the area last night we would most likely have limited out even faster since we wasted 20 minutes each way determining that it WASN'T the troll LOL!
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