TIME FISHING IN ONE HOLE

[after-4]

When trying to locate fish how long do you spend in a  hole before moving on. If I see a suspender or movement I will spend a little time. I see others drill 2 holes and fish all day. They do just as good at times as me. I say I am going to do that and just relax and fish. But then I have to drill all my holes and explore. It just seems like the thing to do. Every hole is a new adventure. Just that it wears you out and it is supposed to be relaxing. I'll have time to relax between ice out for a couple weeks I guess.

[poorman]

If there aren't any fish flashing on the vex after a few minutes I move on. However its a lot more work when the ice gets as thick as it is now.

[Pantucci]

Depends where you are-- I was on a small lake and I would have 10 minutes of nothing, then my Lowrance would light up like a xmas tree.  In my experience, the perch would come in periodic flurries-- you might get 3-5 in one, then wait a while for the next one...

[after-4]

Seems to me that the perch should be hitting the shallower water for prespawn . Only thing is that the calico are deeper where I fish and that is my target fish usually.

[chez]

I usally fish with 3 of us.Ill drill 40 holes in an area I like ,right off the bat.We hole hop most of the time.How much time I spend in an empty hole is,NOT VERY LONG,i have dropped the Vex in the first hole many times and never moved at all..Other times I have fished most of them 40 holes.
I would sugest,if there is no movement in the hole I would say 10 minutes at the most,but don't count the empty holes out,try them later in your trip.

[Chris338378]

X2  I couldn't have said it any better.

[Kov619]

I jumped 30 holes today with 4 jigging rods  different jigs  on each...hit 2 or 3 fish then jumped to the next...ended with 25 good gills...3 bass and 3 break off using 2 lb test more hits was a fun day....no marks on vex I moved to the next hole along weed edges and in weeds.....had a lot of under size fish also

[ICE4LIFE_83]

I usually drill a couple holes give them 15 min each at first then soon as I get some good schools on the showdown I usually drill 6 different spots out for my setup in a circle around original hole in a 20 to 30 yard circle. Seems to work for me minimal movement and can usually stay on the fish pretty well doin it that way.

[Van_Cleaver]

I like to hit and run as well and don't spend a lot of time if nothing is showing. I usually start with five holes and jig; if something shows up and I can't get a bite I drop a dead stick and move to the next hole. Often that will result in a fish while I'm working the next hole or two. If not I'll do all five and if still no fish I'm usually going to make a big move. I won't spend too much time (usually five min. or less per hole) in one place without bites or fish showing on the sonar. If a hole in my group starts producing I drill some more near by and jig them and put out more dead sticks. If there is a good bite I'm going to concentrate my efforts on my jigging stick. Some days I never need more than five, but typically I'd say 20-40 holes a day for me. Of course I check out abandoned hole with e flasher as well; why not. The exception might be If I  have a fool proof pattern (does that exist ) on a lake and know there will be a bite at a certain time and place.

[GreenFinnyBlinny]

I like to ice fish like I bank fish... take some time to find the spots that hold a certain species of fish under certain conditions and post up. I like finding spots based on depth, structure, temp, weather conditions, species habits and so on.. then when you find that spot...you might sit for 2 or 3  hours and get nothing but then when they hit you might fill your bucket up in an hour.

I have to admit though I spend a lot of hours and trips getting nothing at all.. so this might not be the best technic lol

[Chrisper4694]

i've often wondered the same thing and i agree with most, if i don't see any marks in a hole after a minute or two i move on, but i will double back a few times rather than just constantly making new holes...something can move in close enough to be attracted in after a little bit that wasn't there a while ago.

i guess it also depends on if you're targeting roaming species like pike or a species that pretty much sets up shop for the winter like catfish. 

[fishermantim]

I say it all depends on what you are targeting.
If you want panfish, then sure move if there's no action after a few minutes.
If you are targeting larger predators, give it a little more time, as you may have to "draw them in" to your locale.

If you are targeting the big fish and you see a lot of smaller fish on the screen, that's more incentive to keep jigging away!

[EssoxHunter]

I'm a run n gun guy during the day for crappie/perch/walleye, use a flasher, so if the screen doesn't light up pretty quick, I'm goin to the next hole, and go back a little later. Once it gets close to dark, it's time to dig in at a favorite spot.

[planner47]

run gun find and whack'im. then kill them at night. best way to go. just like essoxhunter said. lots of holes work work work = fish