Help On Where To Fish?

[MrTexasRigs]

Hello, so we have finally got a boat after all this time, fishing from shore on this lake. Since i'm new to this, it would be great help if someone could examine this map and by what the map says tell me what would be the best places in pre-spawn, spawn, post, summer, fall. Im not planing on fishing in winter. But by what you see on this, could you try to be detailed/specific on the best places for largemouth during those times of the season, etc. There is one part of the lake that is weedchoked, (you will see on map.) If it is possible with our boat to get back in thicker weeds, what should i fish with? If it would be easier to help through email, i will reply with my email username, and we can go from there. I would greatly appreciate the help, because i like to catch fish "haha!" 

 

Thanks,

Zach 
 

 

I Had the pdf file attached but too many people downloaded it, with no help. So if you would truly want to help, just ask for the file. I will post briefly or find someway to do it 

[MrTexasRigs]

email is fe3tper2nd@aol.com 

[Chuck D]

Not knowing the lake if you put me out there this time of year I'd ask the following questions before I made a single cast and then make a plan...

 

1. What species of fish live there?   Largemouth typically live shallow.  Spots live mid depth to deeper.  Smallies live deep in most cases unless feeding up in the shallows.
2. What's the water temp?   That will determine the spawn cycle most likely (pre, current/spawning, or post)
3. What's the forage there, what do they eat?  Certain forage lives in different areas of a lake (Crawfish live in rocks, shad live in open water, bluegill live on the bank in the warmer months, etc)
4. What's the water clarity?  Dirty = fish shallow and close to cover.   Clear water means put some space between you and the fish usually and that's often done by fishing a little deeper in many lakes/reservoirs.
5. Is there vegetation emerging or on the surface?   

Get those points understood and it'll be a lot easier to look at that map and make sense out of it.    

 

Now if it's a really small body of water and you don't know the answers to these then consider starting on long tapering point early with topwater, spinnerbait, worm, or whatever you like to fish with and work your way in to the back of a cut and see where you run in to the fish.

 

Fish migration is not complicated.  Bass will live in the same places during Winter and Summer on most lakes.  Spring and Fall they move to spawn and feed which means they move shallow.   The points on that map are your road map to use to locate the fish.   Winter and Summer will probably have them offshore suspending and looking for schools of bait to eat.   Summer may find them near all of that vegetation if it's not too thick for them to move around in/under.  

 

Spring pre spawn they'll be on the point and secondary points.  Spawn they'll be in protected coves/cuts and looking for a hard bottom.  Post spawn they'll be back on the points/secondary points to recover (females) while the males guard fry and then follow the same migration back to their Summer homes.

 

Fall, they'll move up on points and try to "herd" their forage in to smaller places like the backs of cuts where they spawned, up against rocky shorelines, etc so they can eat early and often.

[MrTexasRigs]

the lake is 899 acres, water clarity is clear, not too much vegetation (that i know of). Its mostly warmwater/coolwater transition it's mostly pike and both lmb and smb, panfish (bluegill, etc) most likely some frogs around shore and crawfish. Not too sure of the water temp im in the northeastern part of US, but the map that i have shows the structure that was put in the lake, its not a road map. I was asking what structures on this map are the best around the times of year. it also shows depth.

[MrTexasRigs]

minnows/shiners/shad as well, it mostly has everything and also there are many different species in some parts there are trout (mostly brown), carp, catfish, some walleye, etc.. The map makes sense to me im just asking what structure i should fish around what times of year, u can see all this on the map

[Chuck D]

Structure is what's under water like points, humps, drop offs, etc.   

 

Cover is what bass like to live around like wood, rocks, brush, vegetation, etc.

 

Consider starting on a long point that the wind is blowing on if it's blowing meaning pushing food up on to and start with topwater and as the sun gets higher in the sky if the topwater bite is not happening or dies then start fishing the cover that you see along the shoreline like laydown logs, stumps, rocks, and weedlines/edges.

 

Largemouth Bass are ambush predators.  Think like they do, where would you hide to get your meal without having to swim a long way to do it or chase it down?  That's what Large mouth do and they live in the shallowest part of the lake almost always so long as there is food around like bluegills, etc they don't leave.

 

Smallmouth are more aggressive and likely to travel farther so that topwater approach may get you bit all day if they are feeding or you may have slow down and fish the bottom with a jig or a worm but fish for small mouth on points, they are an open water fish more often than not.

 

If you have a weedline and I bet you do as most Northern lakes do then fish the inside and outside edges of that as all species of bass like "edges".

 

I'd start right in the middle on that big point below the park office on your map and work my way back up to the right on your map past the ramp in to the shallows and see what the fish tell you.

[MrTexasRigs]

Thanks for the help

[jhoffman]

PA waters see some extreme pressure. Just think there are 800,000 registered hunters in this state, many who also fish. Probably even more who fish that dont hunt. Not all lakes up here have a topwater bite. My home lake(Sayers) you could throw topwater for a week and maybe catch one fish, go to a smaller lake and pound them all day. You must take other things into account also like pleasure boats, jet skis... they all have an effect on the fish.

 

I see you have two threads closely related, you can read all you want but untill you put the time in it doesnt mean anything.