Question on patience

[OregonNewb]

How long before you should change it up and try a different lure/bait if you are not catching anything. 10min. 30min. 1hr.????????

[Rebbasser]

That is one of those "ask 10 fishermen and get 10 different answers" type questions. I really don't have a set amount of time but probably 30 minutes or so. I try to give a bait a fair try before switching.

[zooker]

i use 3 that i know work and rotate every 5-6 mintues or so depending on what i am fishing..

zooker

[betursweetbass]

Use the force .....no, seriously, go with your feelings on the place and time. 30 minutes draggin a worm over the bottom is enough for me, if i have moved around and tried several spots. I'd switch up to say, tossing a fluke around for 15 or twenty minutes in the same areas. It really is up to you, but don't think about it so much in terms of minutes, but more about the attempts you have made....once your convinced they are not interested...change your approach.

Good Luck

[Twinsprtsfan]

I just realized the other day fishing that advice on patience is all it is made out to be and more. I am new to this also, but try to have as much patience as possible. I know it is hard, very hard to do. But when you think you have left your bait out there long enough and are fixing to pull it in, give it a few more minutes, just to see what happens.

I am far from an expert, but the other day I had decent success, the first so far for me, and I realized it was because I was being more patient than normal.

[Grudzilla]

Personally, I'll try a lure until I've used every possibe retreive I can think of without having success. Usually though, one of those retreives ends up working, and i stick to it in the same spot and catch a couple more. Lately I've been taking baits that have worked for others (by looking through reports for what people were using as opposed to just what people say works well). Having seen other people catch fish of the lures in their reports gives me some confidence in it, and that usually helps me to stick with it.

[WIUbassin]

I think it also depends alittle on how well I know the water. If its a place i have fished for years and I know that what I am using "should" produce, I will be apt to try it alittle bit longer than say I start fishing a new body of water and am alittle uncertain. In that case I find myself switching to other baits and lures more quickly to try to figure out what to do.

[Patrick Krueger, Jr.]

Sometimes I think I switch much too often. I've recently began bringing two to five lures, so i'm forced to use just those.

[youngbassman77]

Originally Posted by Patrick Krueger, Jr.

Sometimes I think I switch much too often. I've recently began bringing two to five lures, so i'm forced to use just those.

Same here... I used to switch a lot. Now, I just bring a few lures in a few different colors and I'm forced to use them. Sometimes I catch fish and sometimes I dont... Either way, I spend more time fishing than changing lures now...LOL

[leroy]

I used to have the same problem, I would fish with something and not get a bite so I would change it out after like 10 minutes. I've now learned to enjoy fishing almost as much as catching and try to use every type of retrieval possible on the lure before switching.

[keithdog]

When I start my day I usually have 6 - 7 rods rigged up and ready to go for different applications. For example, I might have a spinnerbait, shallow crank bait, deeper crankbait, a surface lure, a jig n pig, and a t-rigged plastic of some sort. As I move about the lake, I will frequently be changing rods depending upon the application I need at the moment. I will move shallow to mid depth to deeper water, working each area with the appropriate lure. What I am trying to do is figure out which pattern the bass are reacting to in as short a time period as I can. In one hours time, I can often figure out whats the ticket for the time being anyways. It often changes as the day progresses. If my pattern starts to dry up, I can usually figure out which is going to work next, depending on conditions and time of day. Once I figure out which one or two baits are producing the best, I usually stick with them untill they start to fade.

[Rebbasser]

Keith brings up a good point-it also depends where you are fishing. For example, in the lake Flyrod and I fish there is one spot on a point that has a shallow flat running north and south, but on the north end it abruptly drops into deep water. I have 2 depthfinders, one with the transducer on the stern and one on the TM. I've seen it where the bow is in 13-15 feet and the stern is in 35+ feet-you get the idea. Anyway, back to my point. On the shelf I would be throwing a crankbait or C-rig but on the ledge I'd throw a swimbait or jig-n-pig. Where you are fishing makes a big difference in WHAT you are fishing.

[RyDogg]

For me it depends on the day, and the fishing and pretty much all your surrounding. I usually just go with what feels right. If something just isnt working. I try something totally differnt. But for me theres no set time limit. Once i decide its not working, i change it. I just start using all different things for a while until something works. If I get something working but still really slow, then I try a different color of the same thing. If i don get anything on that i just go back to what I was atleast catching fish on and stay to that. But its always different

[WallStreetAmigo]

As a real newcomer to bass fishing (since last Aug) and having not fished at all for about 20 years before that, I found myself changing lures/baits way more often than I should have been. Since everything is new to me, I often now force myself to only bring two rods and to try at most two or three different techniques each time I fish (sometimes I change the color or size of lures, but try to focus on whatever type of technique/lure I am fishing ie. topwater, drop shot, spinnerbait, etc)

Today is a good example. I was at a lake I have never been to, fishing from shore. I was actually there just to scout out to see if it was a suitable place to take my kids fishing tomorrow, but ended up sneaking in about 5 hours (the wife was a bit choked, but forgave me when I bought her dinner!!!) I used a weedless frog the whole time. Only the one lure because I wanted to learn how to control it and make it work properly. I figure the only way I can do that is to not give up too quickly, especially while I am learning. This was the extreme, as I normally do change a few times, but when learning I think it is more important to develop the proper technique with each type of lure. After today I felt way more comfortable working the frog through lily pads and weeds, and the results show! Just my 2 cents as a total newbie! (I tried to attach a picture, so I hope it works)

BTW, a big thank you to all of you on here who give out such good advice. Without your help I would never catch any fish and I have learned a lot from you in my short time on here.

[WallStreetAmigo]

I should also say that I usually decide what I am going to try the night before at home.....that way I'm not tempted to deviate from my fishing plan once I get out there.....yes, I am fanatical about my preparations for a day of fishing!

[Rebbasser]

Way to go WSA! You done good, amigo.

[WallStreetAmigo]

Originally Posted by Rebbasser

Way to go WSA! You done good, amigo.

Thanks Reb........I'm a pretty proud guy today.

[FlyRod]

Originally Posted by Rebbasser

That is one of those "ask 10 fishermen and get 10 different answers" type questions. I really don't have a set amount of time but probably 30 minutes or so. I try to give a bait a fair try before switching.

Yeah, right!

As for me, I always try to do some "R&D" when on the water, but generally stick to my proven (or at least relatively successful,) lures and tactics.
I do enjoy tinkering and refining, to be certain, one example being the success I've enjoyed with a new-to-me method of T-rigging. It may have had NO bearing on whether or not a given bass was enticed to bite, but it surely seems so and it most assuredly has lengthened the life of the worms thus rigged. This is important since it allows more time with a worm in the water v. time spent re-rigging.
On each trip, I try to throw either a new-to-me lure and/or an oldie that I've not used in a while. Still, I spend relatively little time in changing lures. (It's tying the $&^#@! J-Knot to attach a new fluoro leader to my braided line that consumes most of my time.)
I like to joke that I carry a tackle bag weighing around 45 pounds, but might use 6 ounces of the contents on any given trip. That, I suspect, is not uncommon.
But, I'm coming perilously close to giving advice here. That, as those of you who read "Be on notice" by yours truly are aware, is no longer part of my repertoire.
I will say this...When two fishermen of relatively equal skill and experience have a widely disparate catch rate it's usually because one spends more time casting and less time fiddling with toys, rather than because of a gap in talent or dedication to the mission. On the other hand, I've fished (though not recently, thank Zeus!) with guys who just seem to be totally inept. No matter what they do, or how a partner tries to help them, they just seem destined for failure.
The last guy of that type I fished with, some three years ago, was the nicest guy (next to me) you could hope to meet, but if he caught one bass every, say, three trips it was cause for celebration. I finally gave up and sorta eased him outta my "team" because, frankly, it hurt to witness his failures and obvious disappointment.
"What am I doing wrong?" he'd whimper. I'd offer advice, and for maybe five minutes he'd follow same. That was usually when the one bass was caught, or at least was momentarily engaged. But sure as God made little green apples (or curvy, sweet, eager, ardent, moist, ladies with big...never mind) he'd be back on his mediocrity track before you could say "Tasty, willing, horny"...STOP THAT!!!
Is he a nice guy? Well, he was each time I was with him. Was he devoted to our sport? You betcha! Was his wife supportive? Yes. Did he have good gear? Yep! Could he tie a Palomar in the wind? Sure. Was his wife curvy, sweet...I'M NOT GONNA WARN YOU AGAIN! Was his boat always fueled and combat ready? Yes. Did I enjoy the lunches his daughter, eighteen and...(Don't go there!) insisted on packing for us...youuuuu betcha! She always put a nice "I love you, Dad" note in his goodies, and "Take care of my Dad, Big John" in mine. He had to take meds on time, you see.
Last we spoke, he was thinking of selling his boat to his prospective son-in-law, way below fair market value, in exchange for a promise of frequent outings. Hope it worked out.
Some guys/ladies are just not wired for this sport. I can understand that too because being a Type A (not to be confused with Taipei, a nice place full of not-Commie Chinese,) myself, I've had to struggle to fish with patience and intensity. Some Type A's just cannot resist skipping from one lure type, color, size to another every five casts. Some cannot understand the need to fish a given patch of water thoroughly before burning $$$gas$$$ to seek other venues. Some just can't work a lure slowly and patiently. Conversely, some other "types" are too lazy to keep a buzzbait on top.
For all the above, we are all bound together by one inescapable fact...We all look forward to the next trip with a cherished partner. I know I do.
Ramble, rave, rant....

FlyRod
Need advice? "Call Rent-a-know-it-all" BR-549.

[brushhog]

Fly - far be it from me to question your resolve, but that crept dangeroulsy close to advice...

That being said I admire how you steered yourself away from advice with wanton thoughts of nubile young.....OOPS ther I go now! As far as the patience thing goes my patience is directly related to the time I have to fish... If I'm short timing it I tend to prepare 4 or 5 lures/baits and hop through them looking for the magic that day.... With a hole day to fish, I fish a lure/bait for a much longer time.

I don't know maybe that is backwards... maybe with short time I should stick to one and fish it hard, what do you think?

By the way - the hole/ whole day spelling mistake was an homage to our intentional misspellers... it's kinda catchy....

[brushhog]

PS- Nubile is derived from Nubian.. See hot ancient neighbors of egyptians, think liz taylor in cleopatra, except taller, tanner, and with bigger.... DANG their I go again...

[noboatyet]

I change lures, or spots every 10-15 minutes