Do you fish for a limit/check and then try to catch a kicker, or do you swing for the fences and go for just a few bites?

I know there are a lot of variables and it depends on many factors like how practice went, weather, time of year, knowledge of the lake, AOY points, etc., but where do you normally start?

I guess I keep it simple, I can go anywhere in the country and i want to catch the biggest fish in the body of water I'm on. Sometimes that's keepers like what the opens guys faced this fall, sometimes its 5lb or bigger like spring on rayburn. I do always want to bring in 5 but its pointless to bring in 5 dinks when it takes 15lbs to get a good check.

Usually; when i find numbers, they're small to medium fish that wont get you much of a check.

I'd try and have a couple spots that i felt would give me five or more quality bites over five or six hours.
You dont get extra credit for getting your sack in 10 minutes.
That being said, you need a couple of those numbers spots just in case you only get four good bites.
Never go to the scale without a limit.

I just go fish the way I like to fish.

Fish the day.

Just go fish and have fun, if it’s meant to be it’s just meant to be.

Fish for 5...then donkey hunt. This method has served me well over the years.

At the amateur level, about 3/4ths of the field "just go fishing".
Their entry fees make up the prize money for the other 1/4th.
Hopefully everybody has fun regardless of their finish.

Your "strategy" just depends on what your goal is.

There is usually a window for bites, and fishing for bites and then hawg hunting usually does not work, since that window of time is not that big usually. Lots of variables that go into where to start and when to leave, and which fish to chase.

Fish for winning fish.

I subscribe to the theory of catch your fish.....if they are good enough you get a check .......you need 5 to matter.... ut it depends on if you are fishing a series or a derby.....a bagel in A series can ruin the season.....with a derby swing for the fences

What is a Derby and a Bagel?

My success in pre-fishing will dictate my approach at times.

When i stopped fishing for a limit and started fishing for the big bite, I consistently began to cash checks in every event. I got way fewer bites, but got more of the right bites. Just my personal experience

I fish the best places I found prefishing, whatever they may be. I have read at least one guy who has won multiple BASS AOY titles say he doesn't know what "fishing for big fish" means.