I’m curious if any of you start to feel burned out after repeatedly fishing the same small bodies of water, especially if you keep fishing with the same few techniques. 

Not this year.  We are catching 30-50 small and large mouth in the same areas every time we’ve gone.

after about 2 successful trips if size stays about the same I'll try new areas on the 3rd trip, possibly even half way through trip #2. I'll use the tried and true as "pick me ups" from strikeouts hunting bigger fish or a tough day in general. 

Never get burned out fishing but fish many bodies of water in VA and WV.

 

I fish the same 3000 acre lake every day.  I generally try not to fish any area 2 days in a row.  Admittedly, I may drop by a honey hole from yesterday if I start to smell a skunk.  

   

My home lake is 220 acres. There are sooo many sunken brush piles and much standing timber, I don't feel like I am over-fishing at all. It's a fun lake with 5lb LMB's, Master Angler crappie, and even stocked Northern Pike.

I was just chatting with another member about this exact question. I fish the same 4 ponds a lot. They are heavy pressured as they are city ponds and one is in a neighborhood they are all with in a few mile stretch. I have got 2 of the 4 figured out quite well. The other 2 are hit and miss but hold large fish. And a new 5th just opened up and was stocked actually. 
 

the added pressure makes unlocking the puzzle that much harder. Average catch is 1-2 pounds in these ponds. But there is bigger. I fish before work a lot. And I’m busy with home life. So my trips are alot of early mornings for 1.5-3 hours. So the farther the drive. The less actual fishing time I have. 
 

and what’s to get burned out? Seasonal patterns change. Vegetation changes. Weather and wind. It’s always a different game everytime. 

If I’m fishing the same spots it’s because they’re producing and no reason to leave. 
Which is the point. 

On a lake like Okeechobee I’ll get bummed because it changes so much and then I have to start over finding a new pattern. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

1 minute ago, Mike L said:

If I’m fishing the same spots it’s because they’re producing and no reason to leave. 
Which is the point. 

On a lake like Okeechobee I’ll get bummed because it changes so much and then I have to start over finding a new pattern. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

Bummed but it’s fun isn’t it? 
 

that’s where I have been moving to the Midwest. I’m from Florida.  I’ve never fished the actual seasons lol

I generally beat a spot till it dies out than try another. I will make trips to other places though just to go! That’s some of the fun.

I get tired of fishing the same 3-4 spots all the time, so I'm always looking for new spots to add into the mix, and new techniques to try. Bass fishing is so multifaceted that it's hard to get burned out.

I don’t like fishing the same small places over and over

Just now, LrgmouthShad said:

I don’t like fishing the same small places over and over

See that’s where I’m at. Same small

ponds all the time. But trying to master them and unlock what actually works there is a ton of fun. But adventure kicks in and I start looking at google

maps wondering what If?

I don't think I've fished a lake with less than 10,000 acres in the last 40 years.    

I do.  I try to rotate through a half dozen or so.  Which ones I go to more depend on how they are treating me lately and what I think the weather will be like.  Sometimes I'll go to a lake because I need to learn it better.  Sometimes because I want to try a specific thing.  Last year time was really tight so I stuck to the same lake for most of my trips and it was rewarding because I know that lake really well now (and it has been my #1 for the past 4 years), but knowing it so well means falling into ruts and ways of doing things which I don't want to do.  Every now and then I need a change of scenery.

I feel like it depends on your ability to travel. I found that when I don't have access to my car and am trapped in the same two places nearby I definitely get tired of it.

I have several small pond options, and several miles of river and park systems I can utilize. But every so often, I get tired of it. I usually have one or two trips a year to a distant body of water to fish. And I usually find that I suffer and struggle to catch fish, because I don't know the body of water, and where and how to fish it. I love exploring and learning new areas, but my most fruitful fishing comes from water that I know intimately.

I use the ponds I fish as a testing grounds for new lures and techniques, so I'm never bored.

3 hours ago, DaubsNU1 said:

My home lake is 220 acres. There are sooo many sunken brush piles and much standing timber, I don't feel like I am over-fishing at all. It's a fun lake with 5lb LMB's, Master Angler crappie, and even stocked Northern Pike.

Sounds like an awesome lake! 
 

To answer the question, yes, absolutely. I get bored fishing the same bait for more than an hour… even if I’m catching fish. 

I rotate between about 5-8 lakes each season.  I've fished these lakes (and one river) the past 10 years or more and developed a seasonal pattern on the fish I'm targeting.

 

I'll give you a couple examples.

 

I target the big water smallmouth in the spring and fall but not in the summer.

 

I target metro area lakes all season.  But not in the summer and on the weekend when the sun's out - due to recreational boater traffic.

 

I muskie fish 3 lakes within 30 minutes, but never when its warm or sunny or the water is 80+ degrees.

 

I have a pretty good idea of when each lake is going to produce, and with what presentation.  But it took time to develop and recognize these seasonal patterns, also taking into account how many other people are going to be out there at any given moment.

 

I wouldn't say "burned out" exactly, but I definitely feel an itch for variety and I'm too curious about every hole in the ground with water for my own good.  I see a spot of blue on a map and just have to try it. Some I end up liking and some I don't.  but pretty quickly, there ends up being too many places I want to come back to and fish.  

 

So over time I developed a loose rotation of 40-something distinct natural lakes, gravel pits, bayous, impoundments, and free-flowing river stretches in my area, most of which I visit only once or twice per year.  For instance, since my first 2025 outing in April, I've gone out somewhere to cast a line 13 times, and only once have I revisited a place I had already been to this year.  I also find 2 or 3 new spots each year to try, and some of those get added to the rotation. 

 

These are all small inland waters, mostly between a couple dozen to a few hundred acres (the biggest I visit semi-regularly is a little over 2000).  Really, every body of water near me that isn't Lake Michigan is "small" by national standards.  

 

This is not a recipe for maximizing success.  But it means I can enjoy the challenge of fishing a lot of different environments and conditions  -- from shallow slop to deep structure, from docks to weeds to wood to rock, from about 1' of visibility to more than 15' -- and still be on fairly small waters that are easy to navigate in a small craft.

 

 

I have focused on four ponds/bogs in 2024 and 2025 and in doing so, have increased both my total bass catches and my bigger bass catches, but I've been pining to cast where I don't know every bush and weed bed.

I do.  Just this week I started getting bored about halfway through my day.  I had fished Monday and then again Wednesday and was primarily using the same bait.  I caught a lot of fish but nothing bigger than 18".  But yeah I was getting bored and catching another 14"-15" didn't really do much.  This winter I'll be dreaming of getting out and having a day like that.   

We don’t have any small bodies of water but I do like to try different stuff. Never burned out tho, I wish I could fish right out in front of my dock all day everyday 

It seems to me that wherever you go, there you are.

 

I think if you're bored - spice things up.  If not - be happy.

 

This is how it is with anything in life?