Anglers who fish the same spots over and over again on every fishing trip are destined to be disappointed. Seasons change, conditions vary and fish climb out of bed every morning with one thing on their minds — eating as much as they can to survive in a ruthless world that couldn’t care less if they live or die.

That means predator fish follow prey fish, and they seek out the confluence of the bait and hydrographic anomalies that make it easy to capture.

When you find one of the specific features they’re using that day, success is almost assured.

So good anglers are on a never-ending quest to locate structure or cover that’s attractive to fish and will hold them under certain conditions. They load these “spots” into their GPS receivers, and return when conditions are similar during the same time of year.

After some COVID cancellations, Capt. Justin Bowles’ (jbfishingcharters.com) appointment book is beginning to fill again with anglers looking to get ushered to some hot fishing action, so Bowles last week wanted to ensure he could deliver. He lined up a scouting trip, and asked if I’d like to come along.

Scouting is my favorite style of fishing. I love targeting new stuff I’ve never fished, and trying to deduce from the conditions and on-water observations where fish might be holding. That being the case, I eagerly accepted Bowles’ offer.

With nearly perfect conditions, other than a meager tide, we fished new water, and although it took us a few stops to get dialed in, we eventually located a big school of speckled trout.

Check out the video below to see all the action.

Like the video? Please give it a thumbs-up, and subscribe to the Marsh Man Masson channel on YouTube. Also, leave a comment below or on the YouTube page. Do you fish only new stuff on every fishing trip, or do you tend toward spots that are familiar to you? What do you see as the advantage to your strategy?