No, not micro-dosing, settle down SwampGirl. 😉

 

I heard the host of Tackle Talk use the term micro trips to describe fishing in 5 - 30 minute increments as you can fit them in during the day.  For instance, I have to pickup the kids from a day camp that's right next to a local pond.  It's somewhat common for me to head to pickup early so I can beat on the bluegills for a few minutes.  Or, if it's been a hard day at work, there's a different pond I have to drive by on my way home.  Sometimes, 15 minutes at the edge of the pond is necessary before transitioning to parenting.  

 

Do you micro trip?  How?  Any stories or tips?  Recently I've been loving tiny Texas rigs for this type of fishing.  I just got some 1/32nd tungsten worm weights and they are the cutest little things.  Have you ever seen #8 and #10 EWGs?  They make panfishing a blast.  

 

I keep 3-5 rods rigged on the ceiling of my minivan from thaw to freeze and I bet it doubles the number of minutes I fish in a season. How about you?

19 minutes ago, MontanaBasser said:

Have you ever seen #8 and #10 EWGs?  They make panfishing a blast

 

That sounds awesome. Been looking for ways to get my wife on more panfish. What is your soft plastic there? 

All the time lol. The chain of ponds by my house I’ll fish a couple hours a few times a week. But I’ve stopped and killed 15-20 mins before picking my kid up, or if I run out to the store that way. I fish on bait and that’s it. Super simple and easy

I do 15-30 minute trips here and there. Most of the time I keep a texas rig rigged up, and that'll be what I fish. I will though tie something else on if I feel that it'll be productive.

 

While I can change lures in less than a minute, I don't change during the trip, just put a new lure on at the beginning if what's tied on isn't suitable.

 

Most often I don't catch anything on the very short trips, but occasionally I will.

We have a winter trailer in FL on a  pond and I make several casts a day there when I'm not out fishing elsewhere.  I've been known to fish in my PJs and robe.

Only kinda.  In the early spring when I’m itching I’ll keep a rod in the truck. I have 2 ponds where I can catch 3-6 bass in 30 minutes and they are mostly on the way to places.  All are 10” or less so I keep a tiny 2” plastic tied on a 1/16 or lighter head.  

3 hours ago, Rucksack said:

 

That sounds awesome. Been looking for ways to get my wife on more panfish. What is your soft plastic there? 

This season I've been kind of obsessed with stuff from Moondog Bait Co.  I love their leech pattern, lizard, tadpole, and finesse worm.  I thought I would get a lot more use out of the shad reaper, but those and the tadpole are too thick top to bottom for the EWGs and I don't have a lot of opportunity to fish exposed hook.  They all work crazy good on a drop shot, some as micro ned rigs and I've been experimenting with Carolina rigging them as well. 

 

Speaking of Ned rigs, a lot of the Z-Man Micro Finesse series works great.  It has the advantage of being able to take a lot of abuse and keep going which isn't true of a lot of micro soft plastics.  That said, at this size their action suffers and rigging them can be a challenge.

 

I also have a smattering of other crappie and trout stuff.  Bobby Garland, EuroTackle, trout magnets, mice tails, grubs and tubes.  Moondog also has micro bladed jigs,  swim jigs, ball jigs, underspins and my personal favorite right now -- A-rigs.  If your fishing feels bland, there's nothing like a Christmas tree of sunfish and baby bass.  And I can throw it on a medium spinning rod.  

 

High on my list to try soon is stuff from Creek Life Lure Co. They have  some more natural and subtle stuff than Moondog.  

 

That was probably more than you wanted to know, LoL.

My pond is five minutes from my home...plus a little walk through the woods. If the wind has been blowing all day and abates in the final hour, I've fished that hour. Is that a micro-trip? Or a maxi-micro-trip?

 

4 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

My pond is five minutes from my home...plus a little walk through the woods. If the wind has been blowing all day and abates in the final hour, I've fished that hour. Is that a micro-trip? Or a maxi-micro-trip?

 

 

I think it counts 

I don't work summers but my wife does and we've got 4 kids ages 8 -13. Everything feels like a micro trip lately, such as fishing while the kids are at Vacation Bible School, and night fishing trips typically cut short by lost lures and mosquitoes.

 

But late November my micro trips often require more elaborate forms of planning.  There's a very specific bite here around Thanksgiving time where if you know the right place and and the right technique it's fish every cast virtually non stop during daylight hours for a week or two. These conditions lead to other micro trips such as:

 

"Honey, my mom needs help pulling the turkey out of the oven I'll be back in 30 minutes."

 

Unfortunately one of my most infamous busts came under these conditions when I locked my keys in the trunk putting my gear away to rush back home. I'm not 100% sure but this might have been one of the contributing factors to my wife adding me to the tracking app on our phones.

 

 

15 hours ago, MontanaBasser said:

Any stories or tips? 

 

24 minutes ago, MontanaBasser said:

I think it counts 

 

Okay, if my one-hour jaunts count, my tips are to lower expectations because the bass are always moving and if one only has an hour to find them, you lose significant minutes looking. I averaged about four bass per hour-long trip, which is below my average, but I was okay with that understanding I was time-handicapped. 

 

I was also gear-handicapped, as I'd generally take just two rods as opposed to the usual five or six rods, and no tacklebox, counting that if one rod went down, the other would see me through to the hour's end. It was fun to fish so lightly and walking through the woods with only two rods made me feel like I was one of those lizards that run atop water. Yeah, light-footed. 

 

I'd also commit to one spot and pound that, typically a drop-off, where I could fish both shallow and deep from the same spot. 

I have a lake that is a little more than 10 minutes away.

 

There will be times where I'll just feel like going on a little ride and see what the water is like.

 

Sometimes it can get really weedy and/or dirty and it's always nice to gather intel before a longer outing.

 

So I'll throw a rod or two without even any intention of catching a fish.

 

The other day I threw a rod with a buzzbait and caught a couple bass. It was so blasted hot it only lasted 30 minutes and then I was ready to leave.

 

Better than sitting on the couch.

There isn't any place to bass fish near where I live, so no micro fishing trips for me.

There is a tackle shop close by, so I go micro lure buying.  Not the same as fishing, but it is the best I can do.

I will sometimes stop at the river on the way home from work for 30 minutes. On-foot shore access points are a little bit out of the way, but if I know I'll have some extra time I'll toss a rod in the car with my tackle backpack, which is always stocked some basic baits and ready to go.  I've done this occasionally for trout as well, as there are a few trout streams in the area too (although less successfully; I am not much of a troutmaster).  

When you are a fishing junkie like me, you’ll take a hit anytime you can 

3 hours ago, king fisher said:

There isn't any place to bass fish near where I live, so no micro fishing trips for me.

There is a tackle shop close by, so I go micro lure buying.  Not the same as fishing, but it is the best I can do.

 

For the most part I don't target bass when I'm doing this.  I catch some as bycatch, but if I'm targeting anything, it's panfish and stocker trout.  They're far more common in the ponds nearby and I just don't have enough time to target them effectively.  Try to catch whatever is there.  

2 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

When you are a fishing junkie like me, you’ll take a hit anytime you can 

Mhmm. Seems like if I'm having a bad day, a short trip always perks me up.

never.  my fishing trips are expeditions.  

 

Every day that I can go before work, I go. Some days it’s only a few cast, some days I have a hour or so. I have a milk run of spots on 2 different lakes I drive by on the way to work. Most trips produce less than 5 fish. One day last week, I caught 17 in 45 minutes before work, I haven’t produced those numbers in a short trip in a long time. I have a little box of baits and hooks with a few plastics. Most days a wacky rig does best. Lately a mini bladed jig and jighead minnow have been very productive.

Most of the fish I catch on these trips average 12-14 inches. I don’t think I’ve caught one over 18 inches on one of those short trips all year.

On 8/2/2025 at 9:47 AM, Darth-Baiter said:

never.  my fishing trips are expeditions.  

 

Mine probably aren’t the distance of yours. But for me to hook up my boat, drive to the lake, launch, fish, load back up, drive home, and put the boat away…minimum 3 hours otherwise it ain’t happening. No shore fishing for this guy. Using my boat is half the enjoyment.

Very similar to @gim. Closest water is at least 20 minutes away, the river and a lake is an hour or better endeavor. Micro fishing is only done if I happen by a public water, which is usually when I’m on the way to the lake!

 

I miss living in South Carolina! 

I fish micro trips almost every day if it's not storming.  My home is surrounded by 8 manmade lakes all within ten minutes of my house.  All these lakes at connected and have bass, peacock, and several exotics, Oscars, snakeheads, and Myans.  Because of the intense heat in south Florida right now I will go in the afternoon from 6:00 to 7:30.  I am lucky to have these lakes and not have to take the boat out to the glades.