how do you know?

[tincansailor]

This post is probably in the wrong catergory but hear goes anyway. I have read and heard a lot about fishing structure, dropoffs, roadbeds, channels, points that drop off into deeper water, etc., etc. My question is, I do not have a depth/fish finder or any other electronic gizmo so how does one know where these things might be? Are there any things to look for on the bank or in the water to help identify some of these things that are said to produce fish? I just take my boat to someplace that might look promising, like weedbeds, overhanging trees, and just hope for the best. Don't catch many fish but I sure do like going out in the boat and casting a lure. Would like to catch a few fish every once in awhile.

 

[russ010]

If you can find maps of where you're fishing that would definitely help... Google Earth could be your new best friend. It will allow you to go back in history and look at pictures of where you're fishing from years past.. it could have pictures of when the lake was low, which will show you creek channels, submerged rocks, trees, brush piles, etc.

Without electronics, it's kind of hard, but you can sometimes you can find humps just by seeing how the wind blows current. If you see wind blowing current out in open water, then find a spot that seems to be still, there is something going on there. It could be a hump, brush, or something else causing water to move around it and breakup the current. Doesn't make since, but it does.

Winter time is also a good time to go and scout shallow water.. many time it will be low and you'll find logs, stumps, rocks - all of these places will hold fish... especially if the grass has died down so that you can see into it. That's where I get my success for finding fish.

Going to new lakes that I don't have maps for, I'll hit the points with a texas rigged worm, and just feel out the bottom. You can find rocks, logs, stumps and all that jazz just by fishing SLOW with heavier weights than you would normally use. Heavy Jigs (1/2-1oz) are great for this too, and they'll catch fish in the winter time while you're searching.

Another good place to hit is a point where wind clashes from 2 different sides. Picture that you're facing a point. You have wind coming from the left and from the right. You look to your right and notice the wind is heavier on that side. Normally what I will do is move to the left side of the point, and cast straight out into the heavy wind.. let the bait sink right where it hits the water (leave your bail open, or feed line off your baitcaster). Fish normally (in my experience) face into the wind because they are lazy and don't want to work hard to get food. The lure coming in from the wind is "natural" to them and they are more likely to hit something coming at them as opposed to something sneaking up on them from behind.

Very seldom will I fish perpendicular to the bank... I like fishing at 45* angles. I'm trying to find out where exactly the bait is getting picked up. If I'm casting at an angle to the bank, and they keep picking it up 10' off the bank, then I'll move the boat 10' off the bank and begin casting parallel 10' out. Now I know where their strike zone is and you can rack up a good sack from doing that. If they quit hitting, I'll stay where I'm at and cast 45* back to the bank AND out to open water. They aren't going to move far and you can usually find them again.

Fishing under overhanging trees is a good tactic as well... you might just want to change up lures. My #1 lure for that is a texas rigged lizard. If possible, I'll pitch it in and create the loudest splash I can (I use 1/4oz tungsten bullet weights) trying to mimic a lizard falling out of the tree.

Another bit of advice is stick to the basic colors... Black, Green Pumpkin, Watermelon Seed, and White. I use these colors in clear to slightly stained water. For dark or murky waters, I don't use anything but Black, June Bug and Red Shad. June Bug and Red Shad are universal for clear or dark waters and you can't go wrong. 85% of the time in clear water I'm throwing Green Pumpkin. If I make any changes, the only thing I'll do is spray the tails with chartreuse garlic spray or dip. Or, I'll put some other bait attractant on them. I don't fish without something. MegaStrike is another thing I'll put on my lures - it works for me. In dark water, I don't do much of anything to the baits except to spray Yum Ribbontail 7.5 worms in JuneBug color with some Yum Shad attractant (cheap stuff at Wal-Mart)... again, this works for me.

Sorry this is long, but I'm trying to give you any possible tips to get more fish in your boat! I've had pretty good success with all these tactics and I'll do anything I can to pass the knowledge on. You learn more about fishing from other people than you ever can on your own!

 

[Jim]

Good question and response! :beer:

 

[Captain Ahab]

There are several ways to find structure not readily visible;

1. Feel for it - use a weight and a rod that is sensitive and just drag the sinker around. Braided line is a must for this. What I feel for is the type of bottom (ie rocks, gravel, soft mud, hard mud rotten debris, weedy or sand). Once you determine what the bottom is like, then look for areas where the bottom changes, fish seem to like the transition area. Also, any larger snags are always a plus, big rocks, logs, think weeds submerged, etc.

I use a 1 or 2 oz bank type sinker to do this

2. Once you get a mental picture, then look at the water surface and shoreline for "clues" If you see a muddy bank with weedbeds, the bottom in that area is likely mud for a ways out - then it will likely change to either hard clay or rock depending on the lake. See swarms of tiny water life that look like a "bloom" they are the basis fro the food chain - and where you see small food you will find small fish followed by bigger fish

3. Get used to judging depth by how long it takes a "known" bait to git the bottom. Know you baits sink rates by observing it in an area where you can see the bottom. Drop the bait under you and see how long it takes to hit. Once I figure out how deep i start looking for areas that change, either deeper or more shallow. Again, the fish like an area where they can hold an ambush prey.

4. Surface activity - know what different fish look like when they are hitting the surface, Carp will jump randomly anywhere so they are little help. they also make a huge splash so, unless syou are carp fishing, do not chase teh carp splashes, it is worthless. however, Crappie love structure and often surface feed at dusk - look for the tell tale dimples - find an area where there are feeding crappie and fish that during the day - there are usually nice bass there as well.

5. Time on the water. Take your lake and concentrate on small areas and fish those areas for extended periods of time so you get to know them. There is a medium size lake a few miles from my house that I spent 100 of hours wading, boating and shore fishing. I can go to various spots and have a real good idea what the bottom looks like. I did this by fishing the same 100 yards of shore line out for many many nights before moving on.

Oh yeah, wade the lake - you will find all sorts of interesting structure and depth changes with your feet. A trough are only a few feet deeper then the surrounding bottom can be a fish magnet. Does the water depth drop off sharply from the shore line or is there a gradual point? Learn where and what is down there by getting in the water.

6. Feeder creeks and man made structure. You can see this stuff and know there is a channel or piling - fish it hard

 

[russ010]

something else I forgot and thought about while reading Capt's response.

Looking at the banks will pretty much tell you how the bottom contours. If you're on a bluff wall - it's going to be a bluff wall under water. If it's sloping going into the water, it's pretty much the same. Drag your lure on the bottom and when it suddenly pulls just a tad, you found a ledge.

Also look for creeks feeding into the lake. You might not be able to get back to those areas with your boat, but you'll know that you're in an area where water feeds in and you'll find the bass that your looking for as well.

 

[poolie]

Where are you located tincansalior? Maybe someone on here has knowledge of lake close to you and can give some pointers.

The advice above will help you out a lot. Good info.

 

[bassboy1]

I am still a deepwater newbie like you. I can pound shoreline all day long, but when the fish are deep, that doesn't work for me. This summer I am really trying to work on deep water a little better. Because I am a shoreline pounder, I like you, look for shoreline features, and fish them. So, I am pretty useless when it comes to fishing with my sonar. Also, I can't tell squat from fishing search baits.

Thus, I have been mostly fishing points. The thing with a point is, you can usually visualize it by looking at the shore. You can see what direction it slopes off in, how steep it is, what material it is made from, how high from the surrounding landscape it juts etc. My suggestion would be to start looking at points, getting a visual of what it looks like underwater, then fishing the whole thing. Pay attention to where on the point the bites are coming from. Work the whole point, continuing on numerous yards off the bank. Often, especially in the deeper lakes I live near, they will go for a long time, and sometimes after a point fades into the bottom, there will be a hump. Not sure why, but there usually is.

Without electronic gizmos, it will be tough to find ledges, drop offs, etc, but points are easily found just with your eyes, and since they usually cover both shallow and deep water, they will hold fish in all but the spawn. And, even then, you can usually find fish that have spawned early, or will spawn late, so I guess you could say points hold fish year round.

 

[tincansailor]

Wow, what good reading this has been. I am located in Van Buren, Arkansas on the Oklahoma border. There are numerous lakes real closeby and the Arkansas river. I fish mostly on Lake Dardenelle but also on a number of the local lakes. I have done some of what has been said but most all of this information is new to me. Thanks so much guys. I hope to put it to use and will be expecting to catch more fish because of it. See ya on the water.

 

[ben2go]

Buy a quality pair of polarized sunglasses,I prefer an amber lens,and that will help you to see into the water if it's clear.I have caught more fish with these than with a fish finder or knowing the bottom topography.