The answer to the question has to be that it depends. I can't say I like one over the other. What I do like is planning for my outing and catching fish based on my plan. It's cool to think ahead about wind, weather, history, events like dogwood blooms or hatches, or fish biology and putting those facts to use in my hypothesis. I also take into consideration with whom I will be fishing. I agree with the previous posts about kid fishing.
Some people chase success. They hear that CR is hot so they fish it. For me, last year, when everyone was giving up on CF, I knew there were fish there, so the fun was figuring out how and when to catch them. I feel I learned an awful lot about that lake in that time. The catches felt like accomplishments.
It also makes you more efficient on the water. You head out set up for your plan and you are fishing quickly.
I don't always think that it is only success that determines your preference. At certain times of the year, I catch more fish on LC than bait. I enjoy the rowing with LC but find the fish fighting superior with lighter action spinning reels.
I still go back to having a plan and knowing the plan worked. I encourage everyone to take a minute and try to speculate about what they will find on the water. Sometimes you are dead wrong but you learn from that as well.
That is what is truly amazing about some of these legendary fisherman we talk about occasionally. It's not really the fish they catch, it's their knowledge. It could take you years to learn one lake for one species ( I mean to truly have a mastery of it, not just to have caught large fish) These guys know 5 or 6 species in 10 to 15 bodies of water. Think just about Kensico for a moment. You would probably need at least 5 boats to effectively cover the whole reservoir. Knowing how and when to fish each of those areas correctly over a calender year would alone be a lifetime accomplishment.
