ORIGINAL: bradfordkay
I like to run my sub patrols into particular high traffic straits and then back out of them (no lingering). I have had excellent success with patrols that run from Mili to the strait between Formosa and Batan Island, from that strait to the approaches to Kyoto or Hiroshima, from Surabaya through the strait near Balikpapan to just off Mindanao. Open water straits don't hold mines very long so, unless my opponent is heavily (consistently) mining them it is not much of a risk (keep in mind that mining open water hexes is dangerous to TFs from both sides, so he is risking his own ships in doing that).
I have to concur with the "no lingering" doctrine. The more detection levels a sub builds up, the less effective it is and the more prone to ASW attack it is. If I want to focus an area, I'll set the 3rd waypoint 10-12 hexes out into deep ocean to ensure that all the detection falls off before going back in for another pass.
I do tend to avoid straights, or any area which could have mines.
I also tend to patrol longer sea lanes, such as between Truck <-> HI...or Borneo and Truck. The attacks may be rarer, but more deadly as there is usually no friendly ports nearby for the victims and I believe I see better attacks from those random deep ocean encounters.
