Like A Lost Puppy

[5 Dollar Fishing Game]

Been fishing since 2011. The kind of fishing has been either bank fishing or by kayak or canoe, not the bigger parts of the waters because I didn't have a boat. Now that I bought my bass boat last month I had to sell the kayak (wife's orders lol) and all I have is tjr bass boat. I love it! Lots of fun to drive. However the fun can be better if I can catch fish!!!! The lake is huge, my electronics show MUCH more than it did on the smaller parts with my yak. I need help. I'm lost. Where do I start in a big body of water???? Are there books you all recommend? Videos? Etc. I saw bass boats yesterday all over the lake. Shallows, deep, even trolling the banks. Sure I can mimic them but I want to be on track though. Thanks!

Joe

[Senko lover]

Well, if I were in your place, I would start working points. This time of year, that is a good idea. That's what I'm going to be doing at Falls Lake from the bank in a couple of weeks. Get a Rat'LTrap or a deeper diving crankbait and work them. In the spring and summer, beat the banks.

[5 Dollar Fishing Game]

Well, if I were in your place, I would start working points. This time of year, that is a good idea. That's what I'm going to be doing at Falls Lake from the bank in a couple of weeks. Get a Rat'LTrap or a deeper diving crankbait and work them. In the spring and summer, beat the banks.

I live in Angier. Going mostly to Jordan and Harris. I like to use the lipless in the ponds because it is versatile. It seems to be an all year round bait simply because it can go deep or shallow depending on how I reel it in. I head aka ad say that points always point to fish. I will do some research and see what I can find to get knowledge in the area of points too.

[Ozark_Basser]

http://webapp.navionics.com/Learn to read a topo and do some reading on seasonal patterns. If you have a lot of heavy cover on your lake, there will be fish there all year day and night.

[5 Dollar Fishing Game]

http://webapp.navionics.com/Learn to read a topo and do some reading on seasonal patterns. If you have a lot of heavy cover on your lake, there will be fish there all year day and night.

Awesome thanks!!!!

[BassObsessed]

Do you have any type of sonar to see what the bottom looks like?

[5 Dollar Fishing Game]

Yes. I have a Lowrance unit.

[HardcoreBassin]

Like others have said, check out a topo map.  You'll learn a ton from it.  As for boats being all over the lake, that seems pretty typical for this early in the season.  I'm from PA, so the waters are a bit different at this point.  I'm still looking at ice on my lakes.  But the point is, right after they thaw, boats will be fishing everywhere trying to locate the fish.  From my experience, in early spring you can't go wrong working a craw colored crank at a pretty slow speed. 

One thing that I did this year was really watch other fishermen.  If I was catching and they were, I would figure out where they were fishing, bring it up on a topo and then try to figure out why that pattern was working.  In my opinion, thats not mimicing, that is observation.  Don't go sit on someones spot, but if you see someone catching fish off of a point near a main channel, try to find another point like that.

 

Good luck!

 

- Dale

[5 Dollar Fishing Game]

Thanks dale!! Got my map today. :-)

[Bamajoe34]

We have been using the pattern Dale mentioned with the red crawl colors near ledges and points and it has worked pretty well for it to still be cold. The weather has warmed up here but now it has rained all week and will probably be muddy this weekend.

[thomas15]

Joe,

 

I have read some of your posts and feel like we might possibly be long lost brothers! I basically have the same questions/concerns that you have.

 

I did a lot of bank fishing a few years ago and thought I knew how to catch bass. Then last year (late July) I got a boat and have had very little success on the water since. It's like starting all over again. Anyway, I'm determined to have a good year and would like to "figure out" my local mud-puddle. To that end I have watched a bunch of videos and read a number of books, in particular the In-Fisherman books. When I think about what I did last year compared to what I have "researched" over the winter I think I was doing it all wrong. I watched what others were doing and mimicked their efforts and have little to show for it. So if I learned anything last year it is that just because someone say's they know how to catch fish or have a lot of nice gear, it doesn't mean that they really are good at this. I actually began to think that the lake I fish had no bass in it. But I read the state biologist report that was only a year old and watched a weigh-in from a tournament in the fall so I know there are bass in there. Some nice ones!

 

One of my friends fishes weekly summer tournaments on this lake, he has a partner and have been doing it for several years. Another mutual friend asked him if he knew anyone that might be interested in fishing the series, someone that has a boat. My friend suggested that he talk to me. Long story short, I've agreed to fish with this person. One of the problems is that I know more about bass fishing than my partner does and that's not saying much.

 

My plan is to get out on the water as soon as the ice melts and try to figure out where the fish are, then stay with them as the year progresses. I think the main problem I had last year is I thought I knew where they should be but I had no real evidence that they were actually there. I think I was fishing in the wrong place and so were others on the lake. Some of those others had very expensive boats and tackle.

 

I'm going to study the topo maps, read the weather, try to match colors and presentations and most important, try to locate the fish before I spend a lot of time trying to catch what might not actually be there. I also have to be a little less lazy, meaning I sometimes use the same lure or presentation that doesn't work only because I'm too lazy to change it. Also, I'm going to try to watch from a distance others at a few tournaments that will take place before I fish my first tourney. See how others do it.

 

And that's my plan.

[Trenton]

Depending where your at in the states and your water temps really play a big part in where they're going to be as well. I got my boat last year and me and my buddy joined a small club series and we learned a ton. We caught fish but not as much as I thought i would. I really had to stop and look at my technics and tackle and what I actually knew and what I want to know. I have a sportmans club that is 3miles from my house with a small small lake that I go and practice new setups all the time and I'll go more this year. But it doesn't have what the big bodies of water have. Creeks, big drops, ledges, no points. Here soon the ice will be off and I'll be in about 10-15ft of water in the wide mouths of creek channels working jerk baits and jigs real slow till the water hits 55degrees then I'll start fishing moving baits spinners, and cranks and jerks still as they start to fatten up for spawn. After it warm and summer is here I fish finesse or flip and pitch in cover. Watch your weather and know your lakes the fish are every where.

[Slefler]

Whole new ball game isn't it? We got our boat in Nov and I'm still "lost in the sauce".