The 15-minute rule for new fishing spots🇬🇧

When you arrive at a new spot, give it exactly 15 minutes of focused casting before you decide to stay or move on. Follow this system during the quarter hour: Minutes 1–5: Fan-cast the area. Make casts at different angles to cover as much water as possible. Start with a search bait (spinnerbait, crankbait, or a medium-sized jerkbait) that covers water quickly. Minutes 5–10: If you had any follows, bumps, or short strikes, slow down and target that specific area with a more finesse presentation (smaller jig, drop-shot, or slower retrieve). Minutes 10–15: Try a completely different approach. If you started with a fast-moving lure, switch to something slow. If you fished the surface, go deep. Give the spot one more chance with a different look. If nothing happens after 15 minutes, move. Too many anglers waste hours in dead water because they keep thinking "one more cast." The fish are either there or they are not. Your time is better spent finding active fish than convincing inactive ones. Exception: if you are fishing a spot that is known to produce at a specific time (dawn, dusk, tide change), it is worth waiting. But in general, keep moving until you find fish, then slow down and work that area thoroughly.