Fishing a new lake...

If you guys had a tournament on a lake that you have never fished before,
nor was given a chance to do any pre-fishing, how would you go about
disecting the lake? What would you look for, and how would you approach it?

This has nothing to do with Okeechobee... just want to see how you would
handle this scenario.

--
www.secretweaponlures.com
www.outdoorfrontiers.com

On Fri, 2 Apr 2004 15:22:53 -0600, "Charles Summers"
wrote:

If you guys had a tournament on a lake that you have never fished before,
nor was given a chance to do any pre-fishing, how would you go about
disecting the lake? What would you look for, and how would you approach it?

This has nothing to do with Okeechobee... just want to see how you would
handle this scenario.

In a nutshell:
Locate first major contour change and / or outside weed edge. Find
these both at the same depth and I've got a definite starting point.
In the absence of weeds I will likely look for bottom compostion
changes or significant structural elements like stumps, boulders,
ditches or holes. Points, I'd have to work across points. Keep an eye
out for baitfish or suspended fish. During the spawn or early fall I
would likely start shallower with laydowns, weedy flats and areas that
would funnel baitfish traffic; work more towards the inside weed edge.
I would initally arm myself with 5 rigs that should let me work
different depths and speeds (in no particular order).
1: SWSpinnerbait
2: Senko
3: Fin-S Fish
4: Drop Shot
5: Rat-L-Trap
All of these are baits that I have confidence in. Without knowing the
personality of the lake, I will try to find active and aggressive fish
first. Hopefully I would be able to load the boat on spinnerbait and
trap fish. Then again, when have I EVER put a limit of fish in the
boat...Never mind.

Harry J aka Thundercat
Brooklyn Bill's Tackle Shop Fishing Team
http://www.geocities.com/brooklynbill2003/products.html
Share the knowledge, compete on execution.

A few years back I traveled alot, and got to fish many lakes I had never
seen before...some I had the company of a partner that knew the lake, so
that was great. But on the ones I was on my own, I tried to compare the
features of that lake with one I was familiar with...depth, structure,
channels, creeks, weeds etc., Then I tried fishing it like the familiar
lake. Sometimes that proved very rewarding, others times I was
confounded g. I have some favorite structure and lake features that I
have confidence in...rocky ledges, deep weed beds, old creek
channels....that's what I try to find. I think just staying with what ya
know, and what you have confidence in is the important thing.....no,
take that back, the important thing is to ask some local "good" guy to
clue ya in grin.
JK

"Charles Summers" wrote in message
...
If you guys had a tournament on a lake that you have never fished before,
nor was given a chance to do any pre-fishing, how would you go about
disecting the lake? What would you look for, and how would you approach
it?

This has nothing to do with Okeechobee... just want to see how you would
handle this scenario.

--
www.secretweaponlures.com
www.outdoorfrontiers.com

I'm going to incoming water sources. Then I'm going to follow the channel
from the main channel up the incoming source channel trying to stay as
centered in the channel as a can and help my lures from shallow to back out
to the deep, until I start catching fish. Then I will focus on that depth
line and all the cover and structural oddities I can find on the line. If I
notice I'm catching more or better quality fish on certain cover or
structure features, I will start to only focus on those features. In this
way narrowing my pattern down and eliminating more and more dead water (to
me, not that the water is dead to someone else working a different pattern).

--
Craig Baugher
Be Confident, Focused, but most of all Have FUN!

Charles Summers wrote:
If you guys had a tournament on a lake that you have never fished
before, nor was given a chance to do any pre-fishing, how would you
go about disecting the lake? What would you look for, and how would
you approach it?

This has nothing to do with Okeechobee... just want to see how you
would handle this scenario.

Talk to the locals?

I don't usually fish tournaments, but when I get to a new lake, I do the
following:

First, try to find something out about the lake in advance. Talk to
somebody, find a map (the more popular the lake, the more likely you are to
find a Fishing Hot Spots type of map), Google for info on the web, etc.

Second, we've almost all got a lake we fish all the time. Given similar
conditions, fish will be in the same types of places on the new lake. In
pre-spawn, they'll be staging off spawning areas. In post spawn, they'll
scatter, then in summer mode, they'll hang out around cover...in most lakes
and assuming LMB. Adjustments have to be made for boat traffic, fishing
pressure and latitude ( Florida bass may have spawned by now, but the water
in Northernwestern Illinois was 35 degrees on Thursday). I watched a guy
throwing a spinner bait 2 hours and all he caught was a cold. I was using a
fly rod with a small streamer and caught 3 in about 4 hours (the "biggest"
one was about 13" and skinny). Another guy caught 9 in about five hours
using a Husky Jerk and Senkos. All of these fish were "cruisers" (randomly
swimming around in shallow mud bottom areas that got direct sunlight that
day). By mid June, we'll be having 50+ fish days on the same lake, with the
average being about 14-15" and fishing the weeds.

Third, spend the winter learning basic bass behavior. Read...everything you
can find. When spring arrives, you'll get to the lake and find places that
"look" like they'd be good for jig 'n' pig, or cranks or suspending jerks or
whatever.

I will admit that a tourny puts more pressure on the fisherman, but the goal
is still finding fish and getting them to bite. Throwing a worm into the
weeds works well in summer, but until there are weeds........Season, local
weather, time of day, water level, clarity and temp...all require making
adjustments, but If your local lake had fish in a certain place under those
conditions, the new lake probably will too.

Mark

I may work a "regular job", but only so I can afford to go fishing when I
get a day off.


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I first look for topwater vegetation,( lilliy pads, reeds, or grasses)
2nd, I look for submergent weedlines 3rd I try to
locate dropoffs close to shore If none f the above can be
found I look for marina with a bar. lol

Break it down to smaller portions, stop trying to take in the whole lake.
too overwhelming especially in tournament time, find an area and fish the
features of that area that appeal to you most based on past experiences on
other lakes, then move on and repeat, or go to the local tackle store and
buy two of the most overpriced items you can find. : )
wrote in message
...
I first look for topwater vegetation,( lilliy pads, reeds, or grasses)
2nd, I look for submergent weedlines 3rd I try to
locate dropoffs close to shore If none f the above can be
found I look for marina with a bar. lol

...
"Thundercat" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 2 Apr 2004 15:22:53 -0600, "Charles Summers"
wrote:

If you guys had a tournament on a lake that you have never fished before,
nor was given a chance to do any pre-fishing, how would you go about
disecting the lake? What would you look for, and how would you approach
it?

This has nothing to do with Okeechobee... just want to see how you would
handle this scenario.

In a nutshell:
Locate first major contour change and / or outside weed edge. Find
these both at the same depth and I've got a definite starting point.
In the absence of weeds I will likely look for bottom compostion
changes or significant structural elements like stumps, boulders,
ditches or holes. Points, I'd have to work across points. Keep an eye
out for baitfish or suspended fish. During the spawn or early fall I
would likely start shallower with laydowns, weedy flats and areas that
would funnel baitfish traffic; work more towards the inside weed edge.
I would initally arm myself with 5 rigs that should let me work
different depths and speeds (in no particular order).
1: SWSpinnerbait
2: Senko
3: Fin-S Fish
4: Drop Shot
5: Rat-L-Trap
All of these are baits that I have confidence in. Without knowing the
personality of the lake, I will try to find active and aggressive fish
first. Hopefully I would be able to load the boat on spinnerbait and
trap fish. Then again, when have I EVER put a limit of fish in the
boat...Never mind.

Harry J aka Thundercat
Brooklyn Bill's Tackle Shop Fishing Team
http://www.geocities.com/brooklynbill2003/products.html
Share the knowledge, compete on execution.