Where to start?

[Knot Tellin]

I like a lot of fisherman I believe. Like to go out to a spot where they usually catch fish or hear that people have been catching them. We then proceed to set lines and start fishing. I think a lot of times this costs me a lot of fish and is in general a waste of time.

How many of us do this? What do you typically look for before you start fishing? Bait, fish, temp what? Also how long do you usually fish a spot before you decide that it is time to move?

[flyman013]

I'm a rookie when it comes to salmon. I keep a log of EVER fish I catch with location, date, depth, water temp, air temp, water clarity, trolling speed, etc. I use that year after year and start from there and let history start me out. After that, just try seeking fish with the finder and hope for the best. I credit my log book for quite a few of my fish. Good Luck.

[tray19682005]

i have my favorite spots but you have to be care full listening to radio and fish reports as there is alot of folks out there that intentionally will lead people away from fish just to cut down on traffic! I live in Ludington and learned not to listen to radio as the "holy bible ' as I learned more I found my hot spots and work them then wander out till I find fish.you have to be very carefull of info from Charters as well as they do this for income and want you away from fishing grounds!!! I hope I dont offend anyone by saying that but I personally love this site and want others to learn!

[DarkBlue]

I like a lot of fisherman I believe.

I know that this was a typo, but it cracked me up.

As far as starting points if I'm not fishing on a regular basis and have them somewhat patterned, then it all comes down to networking. I have a select few friends (some charter capt's/some not) that I can go to for up to date, accurate information. And in turn they know that they can hit me up anytime for the same. These are people that I trust, and they trust me in turn. Nothing is more valuable than that when it comes to accurate information.

There are also hotspots that I have figured out over the years that can turn on given the time of year.

And sometime I just "trust my gut" and try various areas and baits. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but either way I learn something.

Hope this helps,

Chris

[In The Net]

i agree with tray. We fish in ludington and i feel like alot of the charter boat will say stuff over the radio that is false. Not all the charters boats do that but i feel like a far amount of them do.

[Nailer]

A network of fisherman can really help this. When I can't get reliable info. We go to the proven spots.