I don't get burned out but I can get frustrated with some lakes. There are two my buddy loves to fish but the bottom of the lakes are  snag magnets.  It makes fishing any bottom contact bait difficult. 

 

One thing I do at my local ponds and lakes, is I to try something new every time I go. It sort of becomes like practice. I work on figuring the bait out, the right retrieve, what rod, reel and line work best and just bring a different mind set. Its fun and I don't get tired of it as long as I am learning from the whole situation.

20 hours ago, 10,000 lakes Bassin said:

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. 

I do not get burned out partially because I am fortunate to have access to some really killer fisheries, and very few are "small". 

Unfortunately, I don't get out nearly enough any more

to even think about getting burned out.

Just being out there is often the best part of the whole deal.

Sometimes I catch a few. 

Life is short.

Fish Hard

A-Jay

 

 

20 hours ago, 10,000 lakes Bassin said:

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. 

I do.  probably why I am not that successful.   I keep moving on trying new waters.  I haven't even fished Clearlake in 2025.  

 

sometimes I visit skunk-city..but that mysterious "what-if" song sung by a choir of Sirens is hard to ignore for me.  my kayak fishing partners have all but abandoned me.  hahha...  they suck.

My wife actually asked if I wanted to go fishing last night but from shore, no kayaks.

 

She would mostly just sit in the truck in read. 

 

It's 10 minutes away and a little over 20 acres big.

 

I think I've fished there 3 or 4 times in the last week or so, all from the shore.

 

I told her I probably have fished it too much from shore lately.

 

Stayed home.

 

Should have went because you can't catch your PB sitting on the couch.

I have a really good city lake near my house.  7 minute drive.  if I was goofy, I bet I could drag my kayak on a cart there, on a dare.  a double dog dare.

 

my one buddy fishes it non stop.  I havent been.  despite the rumors of 6-7lb fish being caught..   it is missing that wilderness adventure feeling for me.   SUP passing me, kayak classes passing me.   dogs catching frisbees in the water.   no thanks.  I'll fish that place if I am recovering from a flu.  

 

Getting burned out with pitching grass all summer is what got me started with muskie fishing outside of A-rig season. I haven't looked back. Those big toothy slimers are more challenging and more exciting. That's my 2c anyway.

8 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

Getting burned out with pitching grass all summer is what got me started with muskie fishing outside of A-rig season. I haven't looked back. Those big toothy slimers are more challenging and more exciting. That's my 2c anyway.

 

I was waiting for you to chime in here, and your response was exactly how I expected it to be.

 

I've gotten close to the complete opposite.  I really get burned out targeting muskies these days.

Mixing up my techniques definitely helps me. I frogged on the same smallish lake for probably 15 hours last week. Definitely feeling a little sick of it even when I was catching fish. 

Couple of things to remember, first a good spot will always repopulate and possibly with a bruiser that wasn’t there before.  We fish the same areas on the Rappahonock river for example, because there’s a reason why the fish set up in those areas due to tide, current, structure, etc. that never means the same fish will be there.  In the guide business, I had what we guides call a “milk run” of spots most likely to put clients on fish.  I also put some travel lakes in my yearly rotation, to make it fun.  We go to Florida in February and Michigan in May to spice up our year.  We’ve fished multiple lakes in Florida and always St Clair in Michigan and you know what?…….We fish many of the same spots every trip. 😉

I seldom fish the same spot two trips in a row.  I have about ten spots within 20 minutes from my house.  I like to keep tabs on all my spots.  I also like to try a variety of plastics even if one has been hot.  I like to change colors, and sizes and see what they catch.  Senkos and Flukes are my favs but trick worms, and hollow body frogs always make an appearance!  

4 hours ago, FishTank said:

I don't get burned out but I can get frustrated with some lakes. There are two my buddy loves to fish but the bottom of the lakes are  snag magnets.  It makes fishing any bottom contact bait difficult. 

 

One thing I do at my local ponds and lakes, is I to try something new every time I go. It sort of becomes like practice. I work on figuring the bait out, the right retrieve, what rod, reel and line work best and just bring a different mind set. Its fun and I don't get tired of it as long as I am learning from the whole situation.

I too am a bottom fisherman once the sun gets high.  Our bottoms are full of ruff sandstone and bottom weeds.  If I’m using heavy weights like a 1/2 or 3/4 oz I’m always getting hung in the rough jagged rock.  To stop this from happening I go weightless or 1/32 weight and just go super slow.  Quick little jerks and then long pauses keeps the bait on the bottom without hang ups!  Bass are down there hiding between those jagged boulders.

12 minutes ago, geo g said:

I too am a bottom fisherman once the sun gets high.  Our bottoms are full of ruff sandstone and bottom weeds.  If I’m using heavy weights like a 1/2 or 3/4 oz I’m always getting hung in the rough jagged rock.  To stop this from happening I go weightless or 1/32 weight and just go super slow.  Quick little jerks and then long pauses keeps the bait on the bottom without hang ups!  Bass are down there hiding between those jagged boulders.

 

That would definitely work but the wind at both of these lakes can be a factor. If I use a 1/8oz weight with a regular 5-6in worm (not a senko), it may never hit the bottom because there is either too much chop on the water or the wind has blown us out of position.

 

As far as getting hung up goes, the bottoms of these lakes were once forests and banks were a dumping ground for the broken up concrete roads and old construction near it. The fishing can be good at both but challenging.  

Not burned out just frustrated

4 hours ago, gim said:

 

I was waiting for you to chime in here, and your response was exactly how I expected it to be.

 

I've gotten close to the complete opposite.  I really get burned out targeting muskies these days.

Yeah, I'm easy to read, kinda like a comic book. 😂

Fishing the same spot over and over helps you learn the water, and as long as the bass are biting, I'm not getting bored.  

8 minutes ago, Bankbeater said:

Fishing the same spot over and over helps you learn the water, and as long as the bass are biting, I'm not getting bored.  

Exactly how I see it. I’m always chasing a bigger fish. But im Not  gonna lie those days I can catch 20 in and hour and a half are so much fun. Even if they are all 1 pound fish. 

I have a small pond by my house and a small pond behind our shop at work. I fish the one by my house a few times a week and either do the pond behind work or a reservoir on the way home if I have an opportunity.

 

I try new lures and techniques at the house pond and see what translates at the reservoir. 

On 6/13/2025 at 6:00 PM, Bankbeater said:

Fishing the same spot over and over helps you learn the water, and as long as the bass are biting, I'm not getting bored.  

Especially if I know there are big bass in there. 

Yep, always prospecting for new locations to fish. Turning to Nat. Forests lakes and ponds and some small creek fishing. Haven't done in a little over a year.

Good Fishing

On 6/13/2025 at 6:09 PM, Joedodge said:

Exactly how I see it. I’m always chasing a bigger fish. But im Not  gonna lie those days I can catch 20 in and hour and a half are so much fun. Even if they are all 1 pound fish. 

 

You like a busy bank and I like a busy boat!

14 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

You like a busy bank and I like a busy boat!

Exactly! But I want a busy boat I just don’t have one yet haha 

Every time we fish our " home lake" the first place we go is a cove across from the launch. Once there I'll cast over and around a submerged rock. I rarely catch a fish around that rock, but I'll always fish there. Here's why.

When I was a kid we had a camp on that lake. My folks sold it in 1968 but until the day I die this will be my " home lake"  

 I have a yellow jointed jitterbug in a drawer in the desk I am typing this on. In another drawer in another desk in our house I have a stack of old photo albums. In one of them is a picture of me holding up a bass I caught using that yellow jitterbug for the very first time over that submerged rock.

 The date on the picture is 1960.

  I guess it takes a lot to " burn me out"

 As long as I'm catching I dont get bored . The more I fish them the more I learn them. Theres always something to learn that makes me want to go back.

Try some new techniques at the places you're very familiar with. That will keep them interesting. I flog a 30 acre private spot. I enjoy other places for variety. But this one produced most the big bass in my pictures, so I can't just move on.

I wish I had a small lake to get burnt out on near me. My closest lake is 1 hour away and access to it is hard since I have to drive through chimney rock(Hurricane Helene ground zero) to get to it. It would take me 2 hours going around to get to it so I just go to Hartwell which is still 1.5 hours away. There is a kayak lake only about 25 minutes from me maybe i'll start going back to that lake. I've heard the bass have gotten better there since the shut down the power plant and let the tilapia die off. I'd fish in a bath tub if the wife wouldn't laugh at me. I don't see me getting burnt out anytime soon.