New lake - how should I fish it?

[EGbassing]

Going to a new lake today. I can only take one rod so I'm taking my Medium Light/Fast Dobyns Fury. I just tied on a Ned rig and I doubt I'll take anything else because the ned has never let me down. Unfortunately, I've only hiked around this lake before but never fished it so I don't have a lot of information about it, but I'll try to write down everything I do know. It's a 17 acre natural lake in the mountains with fairly stained water. As for structure/cover, there's a bridge over part of it in one corner, a small island about 20 feet off the shore, one of the banks is pretty rocky with a lot of weeds on the shoreline, one bank has some rip-rap, and the rest is mostly just laydowns along the shoreline. As for depth - no idea. Any of you have a guess? I know that isn't a ton of information, but hopefully it's enough. Does it sound like I should be fishing deeper water, or would the bank a better option? Sorry if that was confusing. Thanks in advance. 

 

 

Edit: here's a panorama photo of it I found online

 

[MichaelCopeland]

I would fish all the shaded bank line I could access. I don't own a boat or kayak, so it probably wouldn't be as much of it as I would like. If you have a boat or kayak, I would spend as much time out there as I could to fish all of it. That would help you learn it and find the productive spots. If I could only take one rod with me, it would be at least a MF. You can use more techniques than just finesse and throw a little heavier baits and/or use heavier weighted Texas rigs. If all you are taking is a MLF rod with you then you should probably fish more open water to prevent more hang ups and the chance for a nice fish to tangle you up in the cover and break off. If you can take 2 rods, I would take a MHF, also, in order to fish the laydowns and any other heavy cover. 

[geo g]

Go on line with Google Earth and study the lake for visible structure and vegetation, also look for recent reports of fishing trips.   Approach it just like they do with MLF.  Scan the entire lake.  Ride around using electronics looking for the obvious.  Look at the bank and the slope of the land above water.  It will often follow the same slopes under water.   Check all the veggie fields, and look for structure close to those areas.  Look for bird activity in the morning.  Good luck, these attention points will often give you a head start on your search.  Don;t be afraid of changing course as your day go on.

[EGbassing]

51 minutes ago, geo g said:

Go on line with Google Earth and study the lake for visible structure and vegetation, also look for recent reports of fishing trips.   Approach it just like they do with MLF.  Scan the entire lake.  Ride around using electronics looking for the obvious.  Look at the bank and the slope of the land above water.  It will often follow the same slopes under water.   Check all the veggie fields, and look for structure close to those areas.  Look for bird activity in the morning.  Good luck, these attention points will often give you a head start on your search.  Don;t be afraid of changing course as your day go on.

Thanks. Here's a screenshot of the half of the lake that I'll have access to from the bank. I have no idea how to find structure/depth etc. from this, but if you do, it would be greatly appreciated. 

[Glaucus]

It's not very big. Hit every spot accessible to you. It's the Ned, you don't have to do anything special. Just find them by hitting spots and you should catch quite a few. 

[looking45]

If i were fishing this lake from the bank, I would travel light and  bring a couple bags of senkos, some hooks and some insert weights. Fish the senkos weightless or with the weight inserted in the head, depending on the structure/weeds you find. Good luck

[geo g]

You can sometimes see points, drop offs, pad fields, and shallow flats sticking out from the bank from Google earth. Changes in depth will show up as  lighter or darker color.   You often see laydowns in the water, rip rap along the bank, where man made structures are located, and other things.  Just gather as much information as you can, from every available source.  Google being a valuable tool.

[haggard]

Half the fun of fishing new water is exploring and not knowing.

 

[Gundog]

3 hours ago, EGbassing said:

Thanks. Here's a screenshot of the half of the lake that I'll have access to from the bank. I have no idea how to find structure/depth etc. from this, but if you do, it would be greatly appreciated. 

Just my opinion, the bottom of this pic looks like a dam. Dams usually (but not always) mean deeper water. In the mornings and evenings bass like to come out of deep water and close to shore to feed. If I was fishing during these times I would start with a topwater lure parallel to the shore. You mentioned in your 1st post about lay downs. Those are good places to throw a lure, especially a jig or big worm. Don't just limit yourself to 1 lure. Explore and try different things. This place just might surprise you with its response. 

[Mobasser]

I think you should take a small box, with some other choices. Plastic worms, one or two deep diving cranks, a buzzbait and a popper for topwaters. And- don't forget to bring some soft plastic craws, and fish the rocky areas too.