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What Was Your Most Unusual Way to Discovery a New Fishing Spot?

2K views 20 replies 15 participants last post by  BiteArray 
#1 ·
I really enjoy the planning of my fishing trips, exploring and discovering new spots. I’ve found many good spots this way and found some nice ones trolling. However two of my best fishing spots were found by good fortune.

Spot #1: I had just gotten my first offshore boat and was on the maiden fishing voyage with a good friend who was going to show me the ropes and help me get started. He had given me some snapper numbers that I preloaded in the chart plotter. We run about 10 miles offshore and he says something isn’t right, we’re too far offshore. The numbers he had given me were in a different format than what the new chart plotter was setup for. We also noticed that the fuel gauge seemed to reading on the low side. To be cautious, we decided to troll back to the pass to save on fuel.

On the way in I notice that the sonar just lit up. So we decide to check it out. Turns out to be a live bottom with good structure and loaded with snapper. Been fishing it now for five years and have only seen about 5 other boats on the spot. This year took the same good friend out and we got our all time best snapper trip - four snapper between 19 and 25 lbs in 45 minutes.

Spot #2: Still early in my offshore boating experiences. Fishing offshore with some a couple friends looking for a good mingo bite. We find a good cloud on the sonar so proceed to set the anchor. Not very good at it and end up about 200 feet off the structure from were we want to be and not much showing on the sonar. A lot of work to pull the anchor at the depth we were fishing. So hey, while were here let’s try it. First drop two scamp! Next drop two more scamp! This has turned into our go to spot to pick up a few scamp on most trips. Nothing huge but generally a good bite with a few fish in the box.

Better lucky than good! What’s your unusual story in finding a new fishing spot?
 
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#3 ·
about 4 years ago we were heading back from the "O" i think, saw a bag floating and you know we just had to check it out. pulled up noticed fish under the bag. we got ready to put the hurt on some mahi and swung back around. My brother says those fish aint mahi they look red. Sure enough i pulled over and the FF lit up turned out to be snapper. We've caught several over 20# and none under 10# at that spot since, only fish it once or twice a year as its small. But to think how a floating ice bag, lined up over a small spot and we just by chance happened upon it, is pretty wild.
 
#4 ·
We found our best snapper spot years ago by accident. We were running from one spot to another when somebody needed to pee ,so we slowed to an idle speed. I just happened to see an old pennzoil quart oil jug floating but was held by a string to the bottom. Somebody forgot to pick up their homemade reef marker. We got it up for them. Lol ! We have caught some mighty fine snapper at that spot. We named it the pennzoil.

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#5 ·
Around 5 years ago coming in from fishing my wife had to pee so we slowed down. While we were drifting I saw a piece of pvc floating vertical. Found a nice fad with bait and chicken dolphin all over it. It lasted one season and was gone. Not sure if it was hit, picked up or just destroyed by weather.
 
#7 ·
Great stories! Reminds me of one a friend from Alabama had. He showed up at the bi-weekly poker game all excited. He had been out fishing the deeper Alabama pyramids with his wife to get away from the crowds. His wife was driving the boat and hit a wave a bit too hard. She got knocked into the steering wheel so she stopped to catch her breath and recover. While bent over in pain, she looks over the side of the boat and see big red snapper schooling in the water. They mark the spot and start fishing. Nothing under 10 lbs with most around 20 lbs.

He tells us the story but won’t share the number until he moves out of the area a few years later. He loved to send us all pics of the big fish he caught at his secret spot.

Its a long run but I’ve fished it a few times since he moved and sure enough this spot holds really big snapper. The strange thing about it is that there is no noticeable bottom structure that is close by. Maybe something today with their spawning?
 
#8 ·
About 3 years ago I was watching one of the fishing shows on WFN about snapper fishing out of PCB. After about 15 minutes of catching nice ARS the well known host points at the bottom machine and says "just look at that one big rock that's loaded with these fish". So I rewind and freeze the screen on the TV and they dont have the numbers blacked out. I copy them down and next trip check it out; not only that big rock but some great structure around the area. Great red snapper spot and rarely see other boats in that area.
 
#14 ·
Years ago when I started fishing out of Pensacola I wanted to fish the ledge but didn't have any numbers so I zoomed out on my chart plotter, pick a spot where the contour lines came together, and headed out. After traveling 20+ miles I arrive at the spot I had mark only to find no drop off or structure. After circling the area for a while and becoming discouraged I stopped the boat to stare at my screen and see what my next option was. Two minutes after stopping my sonar lit up with fish marking from top to bottom. This spot is still my go to big snapper spot.
 
#15 · (Edited)
During the oil spill we went to Panama City, armed only with public numbers. While idling around eating my Starkist tuna for lunch, we ran over a great spot. 25+# Snapper and a nice grouper.

Usually, I find them the old fashion way. Easy to find relief driving a head boat with killer electronics. Here's a few. o_O Got around 300 in my photo album.
1070718
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1070720
 
#18 ·
I just watch where the charter boats fish and ping them with my radar.

Not really, watch the bottom machine. CHIRP is the shiznitz.
 
#21 ·
One thing I've done in the past is look at some of the hidden information (aka "metadata") included in certain types of photos posted by anglers. Many apps and websites will automatically remove location information from photo metadata, but some places don't. I've found a decent number of spots just from the GPS location embedded within the photos.

This was more useful a few years ago; these days, there are a number of apps where people voluntarily share their spots :)
 
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