Fishing a lake for the first time – or the first time in a long time – can be daunting. Whether no bank strikes you as interesting or everything looks like it ought to have bass all over it, figuring out where to begin can present a real challenge. Here are a few tricks that can help you shorten the search.
WORK FROM POINT TO POINT
A great place to begin fishing just about any waterway is over and around points. Points that jut out into a lake connect shallow flats with deep water and provide bass habitat in a big range of depths. Prime points for finding fish and figuring out patterns are those that are located at the mouths of creeks or coves because they connect the creek or cove with adjacent “bigger waters.”
A Carolina-rigged YUM Zellamander fishing lure is ideal for scouring points because it is equally effective in a foot of water or 20 feet of water. A Carolina rig also is useful for feeling brush or other cover that might be scattered along a point. Another outstanding search tool that can be worked in a wide range of depths is a Cotton Cordell Super Spot.
ANALIZE WATER COLOR
Water color can tell you a tremendous amount about how the fish are apt to behave in a body of water. In stained water, fish stay shallower overall and typically stay close to cover. They also rely on their lateral lines more so than their eyes to find food, so use wide wobbling baits like Heddon Swim’n Images or Cotton Cordell Wiggle Os and be sure to bump a lot of cover.
Beyond considering the overall color of the water, look at any color variances within a lake that might help tell the story. Stain up the creeks means heavy rains recently fell, and dirty waters can be a goldmine if a lake is mostly clear. If most of a lake is a mud hole, on the other hand, the clearest water you find might offer the best opportunities.
CONSIDER BAITFISH DEPTHS
Often the bulk of the shad or herring in a lake will suspend in the same general depth, and when they do, many bass will be at the same level in the water column. Use your graph to search for baitfish and find their preferred depth. Then use a topographical map to identify humps that top out at that depth or points that offer significant cover in the same zone. Run from structure and use your graph to look for baitfish and bass together.
When you find fish, go to work with a crankbait that runs do that depth. The Bomber Fat Free Shad series is ideal because you can hand-pick a lure that runs from ultra shallow (Fat Free Shallow) to nearly 20 feet deep (Fat Free Shad). If fish are tight to the structure, also try dragging a Carolina rigged Zellamander across the cover or jiggling a YUM Houdini Worm atop the structure with a drop-shot rig.