How far should i move my hole when serching for fish?

[Ironeagle]

When you guys are on fish and bite gets slow wether its crappie or perch, and you decide to move to get back on fish or are serching to find the group, how far do you move? will you move like 10ft? or like 10 yards? or more? will the bite be better only a few feet away?
sometimes when i redrill i move and seem to loose them. should i serch out far or just move my hole out a few feet and start jigging again?

[snowman3406]

If youre on to fish, and it slows down, its hard to say without a flasher.  I don't own one, and it makes it a bit more tricky.  If you pay attention to the direction the fish heads when you hook it, its usually towards the school of them, if they are a schooling fish I am chasing.  I will usually tr to chase them in a v pattern out from where I am getting them, to where they are "heading".  Some times this is the key to finding the school , and staying into fish.  Some times it does not work as the fish just put down, sit still and won't bite, or they don't head in that direction.  If you have a flasher, just drill holes in a circle until you find them again.  I will usually jump 20-30 feet per hole while "seeking" fish.

[Wiener]

I don't move the hole, I drill new ones! 

If you are fishing with friends, you can leap frog to find the school again.

Best would be to have one guy drill holes and another guy with a camera (of flasher) try to relocate the school.


Hope this helps,

Wiener

[slipperybob]

  Darn, I was gonna say that I don't move my hole, either...

I usually drill a few holes in an area so that if I need to hole hop it would be ready.  Just spud or stomp down on the skimmed ice.  Sometimes I may move my shelter and set up in another spot within a few yards to a hundred yards.  If the whole area becomes vacant of fish, then if the situation warrants to move to another spot on the lake I will do that. 

[chimo]

When starting cold and trying to locate fish I usally put my holes 10-20 paces apart.  I'll drill a half dozen holes or so, and then use my fish finder in each one until I start marking something.  Once I mark something I will cut down the distance between holes to 5-10 ft and try and pinpoint the fish.  Sometimes just a couple feet can make all the difference though and areas I am fishing can start looking like swiss cheese    My dad loves to tell stories of days when he had holes just a couple feet apart and would catch lots of fish out of the one and nothing out of the other.  Good Fishin

Chimo

[icehousepsycho]

If I'm on a familiar lake, I'll start by drilling 40 or 50 holes right away.  It only takes 5 or 10 minutes with a power auger.  Then, I'll go and check the holes with my Vexilar.  If the bite stops, then I can hole jump and not have to redrill and spook fish, I just clear out the skin coat of ice.

[geothefisher]

I will pick my "prime spot" and set up there to jig.  Then we put in holes for our tipups, and a bunch of extra holes to move in to.  We will keep widening our search until we can get "steady on" fish. 

[Ironeagle]

thanks, yea i have a vex.

[fishermanna82]

i would go 10-15 yards per hole and have the hole zig zaged.

[fishermantim]

Also keep in mind that these schooling fish may be moving around the same area all day long, so that by drilling a lot of holes (say 10-15 feet apart) can give you the option of following the school or staying put and banking on their return trip through you area again.
Although there is no guarantee this will work 100%, you can cover plenty of ground and may even get fish you weren't actually targeting.
I set up my traps, one shy of the legal limit, and break out one jigging rod.
I don't always cut all the holes at once, but I cut more than I need to start with, and will cut more if needed.
Since not every fish is going to strike at shiners every time, jigging gives me a chance to get fish actively feeding at each hole.
Until I gave jigging a chance, I thought it was a last resort when shiners weren't working or had run out.
Now it's a viable option, or even a substitute when conditions are right.

[jjc155]

when I am moving or drilling holes in a line I tend to go about 20-25yards. One trick that I have been taught is that when you catch a fish look at the way that the first swim when hooked. That is typically the way that the school is moving. So if the fish runs "north" and then you stop catching fish make your next move to the north etc.

J-

[nocod]

10-15 paces for me and my first few holes are allways in the southern direction,if i dont pick up the school i start drilling east.

[jigpause]

as far as my hydro map tells me.....and my best guess on winter movements...then the water jug and marcum help me pinpoint the location

[icontact]

I usually start drilling holes at about 6 ft and go down to about 25. I start fishing all holes and when I  contact fish I usually go sideways from there staying at whatever depth I hit fish at. First light and last light change this a bit, but through the day I have found that once you find the depth they will stay at the depth for most of the day. The bite turns on and off a bit, (change bait and lures) but they seem to usually remain at about the same depth throughout most of the day.

[pooley]

you move your holes ?? wow!!

[Rat-Man]

The best thing to do is have an understanding of the fish your after and a good lake map them you won't have to drill all those holes . At most I drill maybe 10 holes and that's all.

[Waynesburgjay]

Sometimes just a few feet makes all the difference.