Greatest Thing thats Helped me!

[MePreach]

I have always kind of been a creature of habit and when I found fish it was hard for me to move and try other spots and always trusted in certain spots to catch fish. Somedays they would be there and others I would be empty handed! I finally stepped out of my comfort zones about a year ago and started taking 30min to an hour each trip to try new spots and I have to say it has helped me probably more than anything I have ever done! Just over the past year I can honestly say I have limited out more than I have in the past ten years combined.... being stubborn or narrow minded will cost you a many of empty livewells! Hope this helps someone as much as it did me without all those years of staying put and going home with only a few!

[Procraft 176]

Sounds like a good idea to me, like u, I like to spend all my time at places that I have caught em in the past.

[Hanr3]

I too like to spend some time each day exploring for new spots. You just never know when you'll find your next favorite spot. My favorite spots also change as the seasons change.
I started doing research into Walleye fishing, particularlly trolling, figuring while trolling I cna watch the depth finder for more Crappie spots.

[beagle man]

excellent post, been doing the same thing, I learned from my pops, and we always went to the same spot, this was before all the electronics we have today, and I think I got them all, anyway it's hard to leave fish to find fish, but I tell you one thing, give up the hour or so and go look you will be amazed at what you find to fish, thanks MEPreach .

[Dongotto]

That is great advice. I have been making an effort to explore new areas over the last few years. It is amazing how close some of my new hot spots have been to me for years and I just never checked them out. I will take it a step further and say that not only should you step outside your box on finding new spots to fish, but also step get outside your comfort zone with new methods. I like to jig fish trees and beds with one rod in my hand most of the time, but I have learned how good trolling cranks and slow trolling can be also. At times these new methods for me are simply more productive ways to fish especially when I have friends or family along. I have just been learning these methods of late and having a blast playing with all the new gear and trying to figure it out. So when you combine exploring new locations with learning new methods it is almost more fun than the law allows.

[Bronson]

A guide told me he tried to spend a little time every trip trying new areas, techniques. This is especially true with crappie when a lot of the great brushpiles of a few years ago start breaking down. Check your electronics and you'll notice a what looks like a solid mass of brush only 1-2 foot off the bottom. There's a good chance this was someone's honeyhole several years ago and no one has bothered to add anything to it.

Winter trips can be a big help where they drawdown the lake every year. You can find a lot of brushpiles and stakebeds sticking out or just beneath the surface. I like to put out my own stuff but you'll find ten times more stuff using your electronics to find what's already there.

Sometimes when I've gotten to the lake a little late, I will stay after for an hour or so idling around and checking out the drops. It's a very nice surprise to find a big brushpile that wasn't there the year before.

[Wannabe...]

Did somebody say "Shortcut"? Bwahahahaha


Wannabe...

["G"]

I have always kind of been a creature of habit and when I found fish it was hard for me to move and try other spots and always trusted in certain spots to catch fish. Somedays they would be there and others I would be empty handed! I finally stepped out of my comfort zones about a year ago and started taking 30min to an hour each trip to try new spots and I have to say it has helped me probably more than anything I have ever done! Just over the past year I can honestly say I have limited out more than I have in the past ten years combined.... being stubborn or narrow minded will cost you a many of empty livewells! Hope this helps someone as much as it did me without all those years of staying put and going home with only a few!

Very good advice

[crappieseeker]

that is a good thing to do and sometimes you never know where you will catch them, sometimes even where you thought you might not

[barrelslime]

Greatest thing thats happened to me is advise to watch my line. I never relized how many strikes I missed till I started watching my line, and my catching average went up.
Looking for new spots is hard for me also, but I make myself do excatly what your saying, about an hour loooking at electroics.