I enjoy hunting for fish almost as much as the actual catching.
Absolutely! I love the hunt. If I am by myself I often leave feeding fish just for the challenge of finding another school and making it happen again!
You are asking a great question and it takes years to develop on the water instinct and there is no shortcuts. I felt like it took me 3-4 years before I really started to develop a good sense of on the water experience and this is year 5ish and I still learn a few more tricks that have taken me up a notch. Consider going with a guide a few times to learn the ropes if you haven't done so yet. Money and time well spent in my opinion. And the answer in part is based on your knowledge of your lake. I have been fishing for close to 4-5 years for hybrids. The first 2-3 years I drove around frustrated and stumped very often because I didn't know the pattern of my lake or what to expect and stumbled on to their pattern at random times and took notes on my experience, successes and most importantly failures. Every year gets better and better and you learn what to expect on your lake....where the fish will be, how many numbers to look for and expect to find, etc. So I don't think there is a "1 hour rule" or something of how long to search. The fact is, you can't catch them where they aint and you should not stop unless you see fish. The first few years I drove around more than I fished. Now I typically drive around maybe 5-10 minutes before I fish because I know where they are year round and what to expect.
I do NOT stop until I find fish. PERIOD. No guessing. No "I had a lucky day". It is not a luck game it is a pure skill game for the guys that are good at it. How many fish to find on your graph? Depends on the time of the year and weather conditions. Unstable weather equals scattered fish so expect to find less and catch less because they won't want to play for a handful of days after weather changes which is a big deal in spring and fall.
This week a cold front blew in sunday night/monday morning and I went fishing monday and again today (Wednesday). On days like these "post frontal conditions", my expectation was low for finding bunched up fish and having fish wildly participate in fishing efforts and I was correct. Maybe caught 15-20 fish all morning both days rather than the usual 50-70 plus fish in a few hours. The graph showed scattered fish on SI that didn't want to participate much.
In winter you often wont see but a few scattered fish mixed in with schools of shad and that may turn into hundreds of hybrids in the matter of minutes with thumping/splashing/drifitng. I do not give a spot more than 5-10 minutes usually before I move. Sometimes I stop for 2 minutes and I can tell right away if the fish are active or not and keep moving. Sometimes I only move 100 feet before I am happy with what I see on the graph and spot lock again. They are there or they arnt. If they are they are willing to participate or not so keep moving. Be INPATIENT! Its not catfishing! Look for fish primarily in deep open water absolutely not relating to structure or deep creek channels in winter.
In spring the fish are starting to bunch up and be structure oriented. Look for a growing number of fish on structure in moderate depths of water 20-30 feet deep. Fish can still be caught in deep open water areas as well but shifting towards structure orientation i.e. humps, points, islands, etc.
In summer it gets tricky. They may or may not be relating to structure. May be out in the middle of the dang lake. May be up in 3 foot of water. Gets very tough in the dog days of summer and I've learned to just channel catfish for easy fishing. You my find the hybrids and they may be a mile away minutes later. Deep summer is a pattern I look to explore and learn more this summer.
Fall: the fish start roaming and seem to relate to structure more than in summer.
Then winter hits and rinse and repeat.
Get you a good quality graph with side scan/side imaging and it will change your life if you learn to read it. No more guessing. Having the right equipment such as spot lock is key also unless you want to a change your TFF name "Trollingking"or something and just troll all day.
And I'm not sure how much I believe in fishing "wind blown areas" I think that matters WAY less than people try to sell or at least on the few lakes I fish. I do NOT care much about wind direction. It is probably one of the last things I consider honestly and something I do if nothing else is working and rarely helps. Some of my best areas are wind protected areas or opposite side of wind blown structure so wind blown is a bunch of BS and consider that last when looking for fish. Took me 4 years to erase that stupid rule that was taught to me.