Breaking down lakes

[YaknBassn]

I'm trying to spend the winter season better educating myself and learn to efficiently fish.  I'm trying to learn to eliminate water and fish where the fish may be. 

 

I've attached a picture of a lake that I'd like to fish soon, probably early spring.  This is Lewis Smith Lake in Alabama.  Im interested to know what route you guys would go during early spring.  I'd probably launch from the park, which I've circled on the picture. 

 

 

[Bluebasser86]

How early in the spring? You're either going to be dealing with late winter/early prespawn fish, or prespawn/staging fish I would guess. Just from that map, I would go across and head left. You have a steep bank with a creek channel swing close to the bank (I'm assuming probably a bluff type wall), that you can start on. If your fish are in a winter stage still, you'll find some there. Then it shallows up as the channel swings away from teh bank and there's some docks and small pockets. These are going to be areas where you can find prespawn/staging fish if they're in that phase. So you can quickly fish one bank and try to determine at what phase the fish are in and then concentrate on those areas. 

[scaleface]

Looks like a nice structure lake . There are points with nearby coves .   I like to find areas like that start deep and work my way to the back of the cove . Simple as that .

[TnRiver46]

Early spring on smith lake is tomorrow! Get out there and fish! I've never been there but I think that's a deep clear lake dominated by spotted bass. I would fish that hump right out from the boat launch with a jigging spoon! Do you have electronics? That area to the right of the map with no contour lines near the island is about the weirdest thing I have ever seen on navionics 

[WRB]

There was a FLW tournament on Smith Mountain lake during early prespawn recently, watch that event!

Tom

[TnRiver46]

10 minutes ago, WRB said:

There was a FLW tournament on Smith Mountain lake during early prespawn recently, watch that event!

Tom

Different lakes, smith mountain is in VA

[WRB]

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

Different lakes, smith mountain is in VA

I see said the blind man.

 

[th365thli]

A general rule of thumb is as you go from early prespawn to spawn, you start deep and outside the coves, then slowly work your ways shallow and into the cove until you find them. Then you reverse the process spawn to postspawn. In the Summer they'll either be really shallow or in deep cover. Fall, you look for the schools and bait. Winter, you pray (haha). 

 

Without being able to see the actual structure and cover, there is one spot that stands out to me. In that picture at the bottom there are two "Shallow" labels. To the immediate left of this is a steep ledge. And there's some fallen timber to the north too. That's where I'd probably start. That steep ledge that's right next to shallow water looks super juicy to me. The docks on the left side also look good, but I bet everyone fishes those. 

[Bankbeater]

I would go across the lake to the left. It looks like the creek channel goes deep near some timber. I’d fish that area slowly with a jig and craw.