How many holes is too many? for success

[sparkster]

With the massive tents we can all get now, I've often wondered if the high density of holes and rods because of how many people we can fit into a tent, is detrimental to the fishing?
Example.
1 Father, 3 sons, all sitting in the largest Otter resort tent. Usually have 1 hole for each kid, and 2 holes for myself...
so 6 holes, 6 rods, and 6 lures/baits all within a 8ft radius. of course, all being handled differently. Some dead stick, some proper jigging, some constant random movement in the case of my youngest who doesn't know much what hes doing and can't stay still, haha
Combine that with a transducer and maybe even a fish camera.

Is this affecting our fishing in a negative way? Interested in peoples opinions and more importantly experience.
Do more lures attract fish into the area, or is it a red flag for them and they stay the distance?

What if in a scenario where they are all dead sticks, maybe sitting at different depths?

[TROLLER]

One problem which you may have already had is if 2 get on a fish at the same time their lines can become tangled.

Why not set up a few lines with a bell outside the tent. As long as none are more than 30 meters from you it should not be a problem. Then one or two of the kids can have fun going after the fish outside the tent.

Just an idea.

[sparkster]

One problem which you may have already had is if 2 get on a fish at the same time their lines can become tangled.

Why not set up a few lines with a bell outside the tent. As long as none are more than 30 meters from you it should not be a problem. Then one or two of the kids can have fun going after the fish outside the tent.

Just an idea.

the tangles haven't seemed to be too bif of an issue to date. but we have been dealing with smaller fish.
Looking to focus more on walleye and white fish.

I should have added, often we put tip ups outside the tent to fill the remaining legal holes we are allowed to have.

[Hunter4ever12]

I’ve never had any issues with having more then one line down at a time,most we’ve had in a tent was 5. Like mentioned earlier line tangles is the main issue so when someone gets a fish everyone reels up. The way I look at it is more options for the fish to bite at. Can’t ever say it’s effected the fish in a negative way,if anything it seems one line gets hit the most.

[AlbertanGP]

When I first read the title, I thought it was a reference to the total number of holes you drill in an area when fishing. My answer to that is you can't have too many. I punch a grid when I'm looking for fish. That might be 5 X 6 holes, or it could be 10 X 20 by the time I'm settled in. There is a reason I'm the only person on this forum that seems to be able to kill electric auger batteries no problem. ;)

In terms of lines in a close area like a tent, my vote still goes for the more the merrier...providing the operators can keep from getting all tangled up. It's no different than fishing from a boat in the summer. If I have a bunch of sticks with me in the Warrior on Williston, we might put a 4-6 rod spread out trolling. Would I try that with kids? Never. Regulations allow us to have two lines out ice fishing in Alberta. One of the cardinal sins of beginners is to not use both of them.

Think of multiple lines in a small area like chumming. There's a reason it's illegal...it works. I'd be more worried about the kids making noise than how many lines are in the water.

[58thecat]

In your case I would outside the tent have dead stick presentations in various depths to see what gets picked off more then adjust outside accordingly.
Inside all get one hole to jig etc just wouldn’t use a aggressive jig,spoon lure that radically travels a few feet either way when jigged as this might lead to tangling up with another line.
All would use a different presentation until one gets picked off more than adjust.
Your allowed two lines in each so I would do that again to increase your chances.
Good luck.

[New2Elk]

For whitefish particularly I always found I have better luck with more holes/lines. We’ll run different hooks/colors/presentations. I often see the whitefish coming in to a larger hook then turning at the last second and hitting one of the smaller ones. The larger ones seem to draw them in from further away even if they’re too big for them to actually hit. Then once in close, they will go for the smaller hooks. When I’m fishing by myself with only 1 to 2 lines, I seem to never do as well.