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there's 3 ways i normally fish:1. if i'm setting up for trout, i know trout don't usually school up in one area, rather, they cruise around in anywhere from 5 to 20 feet of water, usually suspended a few feet off the bottom. so i won't mess around drilling bunches of holes trying to get on fish; rather i'll find a likely spot off the end of a point or in a corner that is gonna concentrate those cruising fish and force them to swim past me, and i'll drill a single line of holes perpendicular to shore, set dead rods or tipups, and wait for the fish to come to me. i'll give it 30 minutes to an hour, and move if i don't have any action.2. if i'm familiar with a body of water and i'm fishing panfish, i'll find a weedbed i've marked on gps, then drill holes until i find the edge of that weedbed that has access to deeper water. big bluegills, crappies, and perch will all utilize that edge to hunt for food. drill a line of holes along that weed edge, and then put the auger away until the bite dries up. 3. if i'm unfamiliar with a lake, or i'm fishing a large area that doesn't have much variety (mud or gravel flats) then i'll drill and drill and drill until i find fish. when the school moves on, i pick up and move again. drill, drill, drill. some days i spend more time with an auger in my hands than a rod.
it all depends on the body of water, it all depends on what you are fishing for. personally i'm not going to just sit and wait for fish to come back. they went somewhere and i'm going to find them. often times this results in us finding a better spot. i mostly fish for panfish. and in the 10 years i've been ice fishing, i've never seen a guy just sit in one spot and outfish people running and gunning. I'm not talking about a guy sitting on one lone piece of structure all to himself. i'm talking about out on a point, on a basin, etc etc. i'm not saying they don't catch fish, and maybe to them its the perfect amount of fish without having to move and thats great. When we fish, i say we spend probably most of our time in 1 spot. but it takes a lot of predrilling/prefishing running and gunning time to find those spots.
If you don't see fish on your flasher immediately, do you move again? I am going to a lake this afternoon that I have never fished. I know there are some good gills and some crappies, but if you don't see fish, do you just move right off the bat? Will you fish a couple holes for 10 minutes before drilling new holes? I am new with the flasher and new to an area so I am doing a lot of "scouting".
I drilled over 100 holes last weekend. Didn't fish a hole unless I marked a fish in it (fishing for suspended/roaming fish).I caught probably 80-90 fish throughout the day and could have had my limit several times over of 8+" gills and 10+" crappie.Older gentleman sat in his one man about 15 yards away the entire day. Walked past me as I was loading gear into my truck and he asked me how I did. I told him my results and he showed me his bucket of 9 fish and said he was mistaken, as he thought it was a tough day.
Are you saying you drilled 100 within 15 yards of the old boy. If this is true, I am surprised he did not salute you with his ice auger.