Covering water?

[joe the plumber]

20 years ago it was cast and search,then go back to the truck,go to a new spot and cast and search again.All night long.

Now its go to one spot and cast untill they bump into me.This way of surffishing suits my lifestyle now.I do not fish all night long any longer.

Strange thing is that I enjoyed both styles with equal enthusiam.One style suited a young man in his 20's.The other style suits a middle aged man in his late 40's.

Oh yeah,my answer.Cast and search.I allways said its striped bass hunting not fishing.

[DZ]

I look for active fish - plugs are my search tool. If I get bites on the plugs I know I have interested fish. I cull the stupid fish with fakes then go after the smart fish with eels. In my neck of the woods I fish holes or what I call "preferred lies". 10-15 minutes a spot. Fish on the feed will be there and let you know quick. If no action I head to honey holes and pound it until they show or I quit. It's all about spot management....

DZ

[tattoobob]

If I am fishing Plugs or Eels I cover a spot then move
If I am fishing a chunk or sea worm I set up for a while the fish show up at different times at different times/tides

[MAKAI]

stick and move, lots of walking. casting, walking, casting, calling buddies with boats. " what are you doing tomorrow" ? do notice most don't stray far from their ride. nothing wrong with a little excercise for my arthritis

[Tagger]

Depends ... If near an inlet ,,I wait them out ,new water is coming to me .. I could move and miss it .. Crashing surf is a fish call I believe .. If the surf is banging they'll eventually investigate .. I'll wait them out again . A point with a cross current,I'll wait them out . I know they'll be by . Looking for fish you could also be running away from them . Vast coastline with no outstanding features or obvious "fish lies" make me wander aimlessly ..

[Sea Dangles]

If I go east they go west. If I'm capeside,they are within casting range on the mainland. No matter what I do they are always one step ahead. I think I can pop the Wepeckets from shore tonight.NE 25-30.

[davisd]

High tide and wind adviseries from 11:00 PM on I may try and inlet in Marshvegas.

[NIB]

Originally Posted by DZ

I look for active fish - plugs are my search tool. If I get bites on the plugs I know I have interested fish. I cull the stupid fish with fakes then go after the smart fish with eels. In my neck of the woods I fish holes or what I call "preferred lies". 10-15 minutes a spot. Fish on the feed will be there and let you know quick. If no action I head to honey holes and pound it until they show or I quit. It's all about spot management....

DZ

I would bet ther's a few thousand hours that have helped to develope this technique.
I used to be a wait em out guy.They got to eat...
This has helped me to learn the optimum times to fish each particular location.After a while it becomes common sense.
I never kept a log either.

[BassDawg]

Originally Posted by DZ

I look for active fish - plugs are my search tool. If I get bites on the plugs I know I have interested fish. I cull the stupid fish with fakes then go after the smart fish with eels. In my neck of the woods I fish holes or what I call "preferred lies". 10-15 minutes a spot. Fish on the feed will be there and let you know quick. If no action I head to honey holes and pound it until they show or I quit. It's all about spot management....

DZ

YUP!! what DZ says, with one proviso~~~

at a couple of "first cast" udl's i START with the snakes.
LOVE the preferrred lie technique and dominant COW maxim.

i also will stay longer than 10-15 mins a spot and adhere
to the Striper Coast Highway thoery as an extension of the
Honey Hole Rule. at my biggest producers, i have numbered
positions based on tide stage, moon phase, and size of surf;
which only means that for some places i will stay longer to work the
entire SPOT and optimal TIDE times, based on my active read and my lawgs' history.

then there is my General Rules of Thumb:

Schoolies on top, let the offering drop.
Twenties down low, i've got to go.
Schoolies on eeeels, are YOU for real?
Eeeeels and BIG takes, it's time to rake!!

THANKS again DZ for your wit and WISDOM!!

[saltwaterhabits]

Generally, I hit a spot and stay . My spot selection is not random, but specific and chosen for a reason. That reason being that it has been repeatedly productive under a certain set of conditions.
Sometimes the plan doesn't work, sometimes. After and hour I'll move on.
If I'm chunking , which I'm new to, I like to throw it and just sit back....let the fish find me.