KingKenny04 Posted July 12, 2012 Posted July 12, 2012 Howdy folks! I've been picking up a lot of great advice here, but I'm having some trouble in one major area: figuring out where everything is. I'm located in the San Diego area and am limited to using rental boats as I don't have a bassboat. I've read a lot of awesome tips on here for catching bass in the summer time, the trouble is I really have no way of figuring out what the bottom of these lakes are like. I can make educated guesses based on dock talk and what the shoreline is like, but without some kind of lake map or fish finder, I don't know how to find grass-beds, drop offs, humps, flats, etc. My google-fu had been failing me miserably and the only topo map I could find that actually showed the depth of a lake was for Lake Dixon. I suppose I could just randomly throw a lure out, see how far it drops, and see if it snags on anything (losing all but one of my brand-new hardbaits was how I figured out Hodges was covered with dead trees), but this seems like quite a laborious process. Anyone know of any other methods that don't require me to shell out the cash for some electronics? Thanks! Quote
KingKenny04 Posted July 12, 2012 Author Posted July 12, 2012 Carolina rig Derp. Something painfully obvious that I never once thought of. Thank you! Quote
Super User Bassn Blvd Posted July 12, 2012 Super User Posted July 12, 2012 Look up portable depth/fish finders on Bass Pro Shops. I think they mount to the side of the boat, kind of like a trolling motor. Quote
Super User roadwarrior Posted July 12, 2012 Super User Posted July 12, 2012 http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/carolina-rig-how-to.html Quote
Super User Nitrofreak Posted July 12, 2012 Super User Posted July 12, 2012 Get ready to spend a lot of time on the water. Finding topo maps just go to www.topomaps.com it's a pretty good one to start with, local areas will have detailed paper maps which are ones I like to use the most, they often have much more detailed information like, fish attractor locations etc...also you can ask if they have a guide for that body of water, they will be able to provide you with the most information on where a lot of things can be found for the body of water you are interested in. He/she will already have the expencive electronics and can show you some of the best structure and cover on the lake without having to shell out some big bucks right away, a guide will knock down at least half the time of you going out and doing it yourself, renting a boat for the day is already digging into the pocket, spend some of that money wisely and utilise a valuable resource. As far as exploring your body of water, yes, the c-rig is going to be one of your best friends, but the jig can also provide some really great information or feedback if you will as well. Once you find a good topo map you need to make sure you keep a log of what is in a particular area and mark that on the map or in a log book, yes I said a book, trust me the map is not going to hold all of the markings. Start small, go to areas and spend time with them, once you start to catch fish in an area look at the map closely, and keep this in your memory bank for when you visit other bodies of water, what works there will give you clues of how to break down other bodies of water as well. Hope that helps !! Good luck and be safe !!! Quote
KingKenny04 Posted July 12, 2012 Author Posted July 12, 2012 Thanks all, learning a lot. @Nitro: Not sure if I can afford a guide, but I'll definitely look into it. Also, that link you posted goes to a placeholder. Is there an alternate link? Quote
Busy Posted July 12, 2012 Posted July 12, 2012 Yes C-Rig and Jig will tell you what you are fishing on. With practice you can tell the difference in feel between rocks, grass, timber, etc. Drop-offs are a little harder. You may get an idea on the depth you are fishing by how long it takes the lure to hit the bottom, but telling changes in depth as you're reeling is more difficult. Look for hardwoods in your lake. If the lake is man-made it will usually be on top of a pre-exisiting creek (now a channel) that had trees growing along the side of it. The bigger branches on hardwoods tend to point towards the creek. So if you see some hardwoods in the lake like this: "I/ \I" there is probably a cut between them. Fish there and stay close to the trees. If you have rocky shorelines fish them out until the rock breaks into grass. Then you can stay on that line where the rock goes to grass and fish that line. Quote
Super User Nitrofreak Posted July 13, 2012 Super User Posted July 13, 2012 Thanks all, learning a lot. @Nitro: Not sure if I can afford a guide, but I'll definitely look into it. Also, that link you posted goes to a placeholder. Is there an alternate link? If you have access to google you can just type in "topo maps" and add your area and body of water. Yes C-Rig and Jig will tell you what you are fishing on. With practice you can tell the difference in feel between rocks, grass, timber, etc. Drop-offs are a little harder. You may get an idea on the depth you are fishing by how long it takes the lure to hit the bottom, but telling changes in depth as you're reeling is more difficult. Look for hardwoods in your lake. If the lake is man-made it will usually be on top of a pre-exisiting creek (now a channel) that had trees growing along the side of it. The bigger branches on hardwoods tend to point towards the creek. So if you see some hardwoods in the lake like this: "I/ \I" there is probably a cut between them. Fish there and stay close to the trees. If you have rocky shorelines fish them out until the rock breaks into grass. Then you can stay on that line where the rock goes to grass and fish that line. Nice post busy !!!!! Quote
KingKenny04 Posted July 13, 2012 Author Posted July 13, 2012 If you have access to google you can just type in "topo maps" and add your area and body of water. I've done this, the problem is none of the topo maps that come up show lake depth. They show the elevation of everything AROUND the lakes, but the lakes themselves are just flat blue. Quote
Super User Nitrofreak Posted July 13, 2012 Super User Posted July 13, 2012 Whats the name of the lake and where is it located? As much info as you can give would be helpfull. I will see what I can do to get you what you need to know Quote
KingKenny04 Posted July 13, 2012 Author Posted July 13, 2012 Actually I think I found what I need. Like page 4 or 5 on a google search for southern California depth maps: http://www.omnimap.com/catalog/cats/fish/fish-ca.htm Just ordered the hodges/Sutherland/Modena/otay map, we'll see how it looks. Thanks nitro Quote
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