How long do you fish a bait be fore changing ?

I've fished a bait because it looks good to me for hours and not catch anything felt like they would come up and slap it but never bite it , moss green chatter with a graypearl- white trailer. Texas rig worm around stumps dropping into a creek ?
Thanks for any feed back Monte

Too long.

But I am convinced I'm right!

But, honestly ....if I ain't bit in 10-15 minutes, I'm either changing or moving.

I've gone a whole day without changing a bait. However, I don't do it very often at all. If I think the conditions are right for that particular bait, I'll stick with it for as long as I have to. But I'm pretty good about changing up. One example is a jerkbait. I've gone a whole day without getting a bite on one. I throw a jerkbait a lot, even year round. Most days I get bit on it, some days I don't. Sometimes fish just don't wanna eat, no matter what you throw at them. The decision to change up is hard, and some days it'll break you.

I will keep the same bait on all day, however I wont fish it all day. In other words I ALWAYS have a shaky head Senko combo tied on and will throw it throughout the day in different locations. I may change the color or presentation, but its always tied on.

The problem I see all too often is that guys sit on a spot way too long without getting bit. If you aren't getting bit it is most likely the spot and not the bait. The last time I was on Fork we hit at least 25 spots in one day. As evidenced in most tournaments, somewhere on the lake there is a group of fish that will bite.

"Your mission Jim, if you decide to accept it" is unraveling the mystery of where that spot lies.

Showing my age a bit in that last post. Does anyone know where that phrase came from?

Mission Impossible? Without Tom Cruise. Now we both told everyone how old we are.

Yep!! That was way before we had Tom Cruise to save the world!!

Hardest part of fishing I've found is not being mobile or adapting. I too find myself sitting in a spot that I too think should be productive with a bait I think they would like for too long. However, on a side note, I do have a few different baits for every technique I'm using. The hardest part is giving up on those one or two fish that may be in there and moving to the next spot and having to potentially do that all day long. Sometimes it just doesn't go your way but, some guys may second this, if you're moving and not wasting time in a spot or with a bait YOU think they should hit then more often than not you are going to catch fish and make a good day of it. If I know fish are in a particular spot than I'll tie everything to the line no matter how many knots that is. Don't be stubborn.

That really depends on the body of water though. Fork has actual good schools of fish. Some lakes best offshore stuff will have 3-5 good fish on it that can take some time to get them to eat. I sat on one spot on a lake in DFW last weekend for 30 minutes. Made a similar cast over and over and over. When I finally got bit, it was a 7 pounder... sometimes it's worth waiting out a high percentage spot to get that big fish to eat. That's fishing deep though. If I'm fishing shallow, I'm changing techniques pretty often and covering water until I get something dialed in. It all varies from lake to lake.

Mission Impossible,to James Arness' brother..... :>))

I have a problem with the ghost fish. Pull up on a spot and catch one right of the bat and don't catch another on that bait the rest of the day.

If I have one tied on another rod I will grab it. I've gotten lazy and won't change out a lure when I know that I should. I kept one on for three weeks with no but on it because I got stubborn and was going to force feed them.

I watched a video of one of the pro's (can't remember who), but he explained his procedure was to pull up to a spot, grab the bait he thought was gonna work, then he would cast in a semi radius pattern starting at 9:00 position, and working around to 3:00. If he gets some bites, he will repeat that area.
Then he will move on.
Me, I just spend too much time on one spot with one bait.

Just depends. Some days I'll throw something for 10 minutes and immediately change. Other days I keep throwing and throwing and throwing. Those days I should probably stop doing that and wasting time lol. We have big motors so we can move spots. I need to use mine WAY more.

+1

I have several rods on deck with different baits tied on so I can try different presentations to the area i am fishing to see if anything works before moving to another location. I no longer try to force feed them what I think they should bite. They know what they want and it is up to me to find out just what that is...that day. I do have a selection of soft plastics various shapes and colors that I usually start with and then go from there. If shallow it will be a baby brush hog tx. rigged, finesse worm on a drop shot or shaky head, Senko type bait, tx. rigged and wacky rigged. Then I will have a jig tied on, a swim jig, chatter bait or swing head, and a square bill or trap.

For me, moving instead of changing baits (if I have lots of confidence in that bait) is more successful most of the time.

Actively feeding bass usually aren't picky. Just got to find the more active locations.

I used to stay and grind , but now I'm on the move. That is why I like to fish by my self .