Fishing a new lake

[Brian_Reeves]

For the dog days of summer, where would you start off on a completely new lake that you've never fished before?  Points, islands, grasslines, laydowns, backwaters, timber?

So far 80% of my luck has been on dropoffs and points.  I am going to start really getting nasty with these grasslines and hydrilla on my home lake that way I know how to do it on other lakes when we start fishing tournaments again.  I actually plan on getting a pair of goggles and a snorkle and going down to look at them to get a better idea of what is going on down there in Rat-L-Trap hell.

But for me, on a new lake, I think I'd have to start on points or dropoffs adjacent to shallow water.  Seems to be the ticket quite often.  I like fishing timber and banklines too, providing there is deeper water nearby.  How would you approach it and why?

[Raul]

Fish what you are familiar with, find "your" lake in the other lake. The strcture and cover that holds fish in your lake holds fish in the other lake, the fish are the same, why should they behave different ? if dropoffs are producing fish for you right now then that 's what you should fish in the other lake.

[Brian_Reeves]

Trick is that I'm about to go to Louisiana on a 2 week leave in a little over a month.  The lakes I fish now are deep clear water man made reservoirs.  The lake I'm going to fish is a natural, swampy, stained water lake in central Louisiana.  I have no doubts that I can go and slaughter bass.  In my opinion, stained water is the best.  Clear is the hardest and super muddy is the second hardest.  

That lake I'm going to fish has a lot of bass in it.  A lot of good bass that the locals can't catch.  I'm sure every fish in that lake has seen a spinnerbait, jig, and texas rig.  I'm putting my chips on finesse jigs, topwaters, and shallow running crankbaits.  I think my approach is going to be shoot to the lillypads early in the morning with a jig, senko, fluke, and scumfrog tied on.  During the heat of the day I'm going to switch to submerged timber and any dropoffs or deep pockets that I can find on the depthfinder (there isn't many from what I understand) and hit those with finesse jigs and run shallow running cranks above their heads.  Later in the evening, I'm planning on switching to a slow topwater like a Spit'n Image, a Popper, still pitch the finesse jig, and a fluke.

The plan sounds good to me and hopefully it will produce.  After all, I'm going to be fishing with my Dad who almost believes that bass don't bite at all in that lake.  I know he's wrong.    How's this sound to y'all?  

[Muddpuppy]

With shallow lakes not all water even with timber and grass is productive, so even though it looks like a haven, the fish may think otherwise. I would focus on any weedbeds and timber close to channels working the sides outward.  Points are good, shorelines might be good in evening and mornings, pads are usually good for a fish or two. Rat-L-traps silver, silver/blue, Flukes should be good, senkos, wave worms brush hogs and kreatures of all kinds brushing the tops of weeds and sinking in pockets, try weightless and if that doesn't work add weight. Remember channels in low laying lakes may not be as defined as you are used too so I wouldn't expect much of a sharp dropoff and more of a slope. We are haveing pretty good luck on flats 8 -10 ft. water, up in N.E. corner of Texas right now.   Blue/black, junebug, watermelon, watermelon candy is a killer, cotton candy, smoke/ red pepper and shad at times. Chartruse spinnerbaits have brought in a few.