Originally Posted by
ShortHanded
FWIW, here is my general approach in summer...your milage may vary. Im sure others will chime in as well...there are very good fishermen on this site.
Yes, first you need to find bait and/or fish.
Short of friends telling you what, where and how, one of the most important aspects in hunting predator fish is being able to mark bait and fish at cruising speed - saves precious time - if your sonar/transducer isn't allowing you to do this - tweak them until you can!.
So now I can find fish/bait, but are they active fish? Suspended fish, especially in/under bait schools, are generally active. Bottom hugging fish are generally inactive.
Marking bait, but no predator marks, circle around the bait increasing the radius up to one mile. No bites or predator marks, pick up and keep looking.
OK found fish/bait... now what triggers the bite (type of baits? troll direction? speed? and color?).
With no prior intel to the contrary, I start zig zag trolling with boards and dipys at 2+ mph with a spread of sticks of varying actions and colors. If fish are aggressive you'll catch...then tune your spread to maximize your catch rate.
If i'm getting lookers but no takers or the bite is a slow pick i'll switch over to harnesses on boards and riggers targeting suspended and bottom hugging fish.
If no bites after 30 mins... I pick up and repeat above..