LostAnotherOne Posted June 8, 2015 Report Posted June 8, 2015 Hey guys. Just wondering what you do when it comes to fishing in unfamiliar waters. Do you rely heavily on your fish finder? Do you look at charts or do you talk to a local bait store? I usually look at a hydrographic map if I can get one and scout out the possible areas, but that doesn't always work.
msp Posted June 8, 2015 Report Posted June 8, 2015 I guess it really depends on what you are fishing for and what time of year it is. I would recommend searching your lake on Google earth first. This will give you the general layout of the lake. From there, I would start looking for spawning areas ( usually shallow back bays ) after searching out those areas with some kind of horizontal bait like a spinnerbait , jerkbait or maybe a topwater. Good green weeds are always a good starting point. If you start finding fish using these techniques, you can slow down and pick apart the area with something slower and more vertical like a jig. Once you are done checking some of these areas. move out to the points outside of the bays. Start the search process over. After you have exhausted these areas, then I would suggest moving out to the main lake and use you electronics to find any main lake shoals , islands ect. Repeat the same process
manitoubass2 Posted June 8, 2015 Report Posted June 8, 2015 Im usually fishing smaller backlakes so it shorelines and vegetation for walleye, pike, bass and crappie. Keep and eye on electonics and mark deeper edges of islands or on bay point to. If im fishing bigger water like rainy lake or lotw im looking at reefs and structural changes But on the water, youll always catch fish off or near the shoreline
Raf Posted June 8, 2015 Report Posted June 8, 2015 trolling is an excellent way of covering a lot of water and finding places to pick apart with casts later.
AKRISONER Posted June 8, 2015 Report Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) being on georgian bay and only starting to take fishing really serious a couple of years ago its been an adventure...for me its deep weeds, if you can find deep green weeds, you are going to find fish. Especially anywhere a weed bed sits with deep water near by, you are going to find all sorts of fish. The interesting thing about this is that no GPS is going to find deep weeds for you, but a sonar will. Edited June 8, 2015 by AKRISONER
OhioFisherman Posted June 8, 2015 Report Posted June 8, 2015 I always like to see a map-chart before I even hit the water, not just for fishing, but for safety too. Raf, Akrisoner can tell you a lot of the places on the Georgian that may look safe? Might be a bad move? You have a heck of a lot more motor breakers than we do. Maps can give you an idea on places to start looking for fish, good electronics are also a big help. Talking to bait store owners here for the most part was kind of pointless, I don't know how many of them actually had time to fish, or if the information they received was accurate, not many people are willing to share their hot spots? Watching the shoreline and staying alert can help.
LostAnotherOne Posted June 8, 2015 Author Report Posted June 8, 2015 If I had more money I would invest in a guide cause they usually know where all the spots are, but are pricy. Hire a guide for every species and take out a portable GPS so you can mark it and come back with your own boat next time haha
mepps Posted June 8, 2015 Report Posted June 8, 2015 I've always used spinner baits (Mepps usually) to cover as much water as possible. As mentioned above, trolling and focusing on points, drop offs, bays, and weedbeeds will help you track them down.
mike rousseau Posted June 8, 2015 Report Posted June 8, 2015 I start by fishing the way I'm confident fishing on my home water... If that's not panning out begin experimenting from there... If a spot looks good it probably is... Don't give up on the first try...
fishindevil Posted June 8, 2015 Report Posted June 8, 2015 I love fishing new water !!! I try to fish new lakes everyear find structure and start there like points islands bays dropoffs it's pretty easy acually cruise the lake or shoreline look for bouys or shoals marked with jugs !!!! It's always a challenge sure maps are nice but you don't need them watch your graph and look for stuff !!! Even the lay of the land around the lake can give off clues as to what it might be like under the surface !!!! Pay attention to the details it's that easy
Acountdeleted Posted June 9, 2015 Report Posted June 9, 2015 Islands islands islands. Except at my parents cottage and Bernard Lake. Islands, weedbeds and where there is water inflow are my hotspots.
singingdog Posted June 9, 2015 Report Posted June 9, 2015 That really depends on the target species, time of year, and type of lake. If I am going in totally blind, I will try and find maps that show depth/structure. For some species, finding green weeds is key, for others, not so much. It really is species dependent.
muddler Posted June 9, 2015 Report Posted June 9, 2015 (edited) Buck Perry, George Pazik and Al Linder said it all, structure, structure structure. All fish relate to structure but all structure doesn't always have fish. That's what a depth sounder is for, Structure Hunting. Maps help a lot too to find structure. I catch ALL my fish in relation to structure. muddler Edited June 9, 2015 by muddler
Rizzo Posted June 9, 2015 Report Posted June 9, 2015 internet search! There aren't many secrets out there anymore. On a saturday? look where other boats are. On a weekday? troll around looking for edges/structure. Remember the first time I went after musky on St. Clair...we couldn't find any edge or structure after boating away from marina for a few minutes...so we said screw it lets just troll at 6 mph til we do find something. Bam 8 seconds later a musky was on the line. My buddies first ever, thought musky fishing was a breeze.
Joeytier Posted June 10, 2015 Report Posted June 10, 2015 Trolling! Googling the lakes around here is useless and there are no depth charts or crowds to follow... I usually start trolling with somewhat of an idea for what the fish are going to be doing (depth and what type of bottom they will be holding on etc...) and go from there depending on my relative success. Usually when walleye fishing I will simply cover as much water as I possibly can on unfamiliar lakes until I can pinpoint a couple of spots I want to target at dusk.
manitoubass2 Posted June 10, 2015 Report Posted June 10, 2015 Buck Perry, George Pazik and Al Linder said it all, structure, structure structure. All fish relate to structure but all structure doesn't always have fish. That's what a depth sounder is for, Structure Hunting. Maps help a lot too to find structure. I catch ALL my fish in relation to structure. muddler Yes! Just remember shoreline is structure, and so is the top water column. Sand is considered structure for me too, for walleyes. Up here they push right up on beaches, mainly at night but beforespawn and in the fall many walleye to be found in 3fow of less
DRIFTER_016 Posted June 10, 2015 Report Posted June 10, 2015 Charts, google earth and topographic maps are what I use. Mostly it's Google and Topo. Topo maps of all of Canada can be seen online here: http://atlas.gc.ca/toporama/en/index.html I use topo a lot because most of our lakes do not have charts available. Between this and google you can usually figure out where steep shoreline drops are as well as shallow reefs.
Joeytier Posted June 10, 2015 Report Posted June 10, 2015 Sand flats are my number one walleye 'structure' to look for in most instances too.
SHAD Posted June 12, 2015 Report Posted June 12, 2015 Just cast, get a line out there and feel and look at the structure. Don't leave fish to find fish
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