Should post in general fishing, but interested in the opinion of some of the regulars in here-

[mixermarkb]

Hey guys-

For those of you that fish derbies, or even just for fun fishing, how long do you fish a spot before you move on? How many different baits do you try? And how many casts with a given bait before you pick up something else? How much do your electronics figure in to this decision? What makes you make a 180 and make a big change? (Like run up a creek for color vs. fish clear water or vice versa) 

How does this mental game change for you on derby day vs prefishing days?

As I watch the Classic coverage, I'm really noticing that the very best guys out there, are the best at time management, and just seem to have a sixth sense on when to pull up the troller and move on. I know that's not accidental, soooo.. Discuss. 

 

 

[Basfis]

KVD talked about prefishing for the weather coming not the conditions of the day. 

IMO it’s all about confidence and individual strengths. Guys that like to fish deep or finesse often won’t hope for the same stuff as shallow power technique folks. 

I like colored water, more so if warming, less color if cold. Never gin clear. I chase it and sun with a breeze. Clouds and wind, maybe a little clearer. 

Mid conditions are right I’ll try a few techniques, otherwise I leave quick and adjust 

[Sore Thumbs]

That is a tough question. The more you fish the more those answers come more clear. Time on the water is the best teacher by far. It depends on so many factors it can be mind boggling. I struggle with this a lot. If I know fish are in the area I tend to grind it out more. Sometimes that works. Sometimes it doesn’t. When I started fishing 10 years ago I would ask the same questions and couldn’t understand why people kept telling me to just go fishing and it will come to you. There is no right answer. I would say fish to your strengths and let the chips fall where they may. 

[fishinwrench]

Making drastic changes during the day never has really worked for me, but making seemingly minor (subtle) changes while sticking predominantly to the initial game plan has paid off plenty of times.

A change in retrieve, or a change in weight that speeds up or slows down the sink rate of my bait has made a definite improvement in the number of bites on plenty of occasions. 

I only fish water that is 8' deep or less during Spring and Fall, and 18' deep or less in the Summer and Winter, so that automatically reduces the lake down to a more managable size.  If I make a long run (10 miles or more) then it is only to get to water that has more or less color to it. If the water where I'm launching at has the right color, and I can catch fish in it, then odds are that I am gonna fish within 5-7 miles of there all day. 

On those days when you just know you're getting your butt kicked the best thing I have found to do is to put the rods down, sit down and eat a sandwich and just chill for 30 minutes to an hour....or however long it takes to regain confidence in your ability to figure something out.   You think differently on your butt than you do on your feet.  Haven't you ever sat at home after a day of taking a beating and thought "Dang, I shoulda done this or that"?     

[mixermarkb]

I found I started catching more fish when I set a timer of 10 or 15 minutes, and if I haven't caught a keeper on a spot by then, I'm out of there. If I do catch a keeper, I'm trying to get better about pulling a u-turn and rolling back through that location again, with a logical change-up if what caught the first keeper doesn't pay off.

I do think I still get too stubborn on lure choice sometimes. I will finish a day and think man, I should have picked up _____________ and given it a shot before I tried a different location. In talking to Edwin Evers at a bass pro meet and greet, he said when prefishing he seldom makes more than 3-5 casts without a bite without changing something up, either retrieve speed, color,  or lure choice. That seems awfully fast to put something down to me, but it's pretty clear it works for EE.

I don't often get to fish for more than a day at a time, and I'm usually trying to figure out a pattern rather than running something specific I've got figured out before hand. I still think I waste too much of a day grinding at unproductive water, but it's hard to "fish slow fast" this time of year. 

[Bushbeater]

Nothing to do with fishing derbys, but consider fishing a river or stream. Say you're on a 2 day float. You are forced to fish the conditions, muddy or clear, and all you can do is concentrate on the patterns. I fish lakes much the same way and may spend hours on a stretch of bank. I'm guilty of not moving around enough, but I'm usually not fishing for a big bag, but rather a big fish.

[dan hufferd]

I listen to you bass boat guys, if I hear lots of big motors screaming across the lake all day I know it will be tough. 😀

[fishinwrench]

4 hours ago, mixermarkb said:

 

I don't often get to fish for more than a day at a time, and I'm usually trying to figure out a pattern rather than running something specific I've got figured out before hand. I still think I waste too much of a day grinding at unproductive water, but it's hard to "fish slow fast" this time of year. 

It's tough when you don't have time to experiment.   Typically it takes me 3 days to put together a solid pattern if I'm going in cold.

[snagged in outlet 3]

Every trip I go on is going in cold.  I stick to seasonal patterns with an eye towards how I like to catch them and adjust from there.  I prefer clouds and wind.

 

[Fish24/7]

Mark you know me, I'm that guy who will sit on a spot for hours if needed and wait for them to bite or try to make one bite if I know they are there.,lol 

when you hear that voice in your head say "maybe I should leave", listen to it  and GO.  these lakes  LIVE shad can be a major factor the majority of the year, if they ain;t around neither are the bass most days. Sometimes boat position has a lot to do with how many we catch too . By simply putting the boat "up shallow" and casting "out to deep" can be very productive. How many times do you see people park their boat a cast from the bank and work their baits shallow to deep all day and say "they ain't bitin' " when they could possibly be catching A LOT MORE doing just the opposite that day.. Big  Swimbait guys will  tell you the same thing

electronics will help with the lure decision process , what depth you see them on the screen and how they are positioned will help you decide what to throw , once you pick a bait based on that try a couple weight sizes and colors and retrieves before trying something else, but  sometimes the number of casts might be related to our confidence level with that lure jmo, in super shallow water say 10' or less for us reservoir guys then electronics aren't as important to me except for water temp and locating depth changes like ditches humps ect. , i guess if you have side scan ( i dont)that's a big plus to seeing fish in shallow water,but yeah visible patterns get the nod then, bank  type,composition,cover ect. when deciding where to throw.

big changes mostly depend on the weather to me, I try to change with the weather throughout the day if needed.  , WT and time of year can be a deciding factor too what area of the lake to be concentrating on.  GL buddy!