New Bass Holes

[santeebasser24]

When we are riding down the lake looking for a "new" spot to fish, what are we looking for? Are we looking for amounts of "exposed cover" ? Do we read the landscape near the water? See a great looking point, and decide to let the graph tell you if it is worth your time? God Bless!

                                                                                Steven

[smallieking]

when im new to an area and looking for a good spot i usally look for something different    for example if there is alot of grass in a lake im looking for a dock or laydown   if there is alot of docks i look for pontoon boats or laydowns   if there is alot of points and bottom contour i look for weeds or even rock piles on the points    i usally fish deep ledges and points though  hope i helped

[Crestliner2008]

Before I'd ever think about fishing a new lake, I would find out as much about it as possible. State DNR's usually have plentiful information on public bodies of water; as well as contour maps with docks, points, humps, etc. I study the map, then circle 1/2 doz. likely areas to try. One stop to a local bait shop will usually narrow the options some as well. Now that I have some spots to try, I'll start searching those with my sonar; looking for bait fish, drops, humps & weeds - as well as fish. Best way I know to put the odds in your favor.

[ba7ss3in]

i try to find some structure and cover, depending on the time of day and year

[tfisherman]

Look at the bank!! If it looks good, rocks, lay downs, stumps then that's a good sign of whats below. once you establish a pattern it'll be easier to pull out a map and look for other similiar spots on the lake.

I've never been one who could look at a map and pick a spot before ever fishing the lake. What looks good on paper could be a red clay bank on the lake or some guys cow pasture  ;D

[Tin]

Shoreline cover will always hold fish because there are always fish shallow. It is just a matter of how to get them in the boat. I have been getting away from shoreline stuff though because thats usually where most fisherman fish. The stucture off shore usually holds bigger fish that are not as pressured.

Or atleast thats how it is in most of the Northeast.

[HesterIsGod]

I take a quick look and try to find any signs of amount of fishing "educated"(advanced lures/ techniques) fishing pressure. If there probably is a lot I will ask look for less obvious structure and get a map is one is available. If there doesnt appear to be much fishing pressure then i just fish the obvious stuff, like stumps, points, laydowns, etc...

[Catt]

I be looking for structure  

If you are an angler after any species of fish you will need to understand structure. It is very important because knowing what structure is, how to truly identify it, read it, and then fish it effectively, is the quickest, surest means of consistently putting fish in the boat.

When the subject of structure fishing comes up many people incorrectly assume you are referring to deep water fishing this is partially untrue. It doesn't matter if you are fishing bank shallow or 40' deep you are fishing structure that is if you are catching fish.  

Never will fish be found that are not related to structure in some manner; this is why it is said that 10% of the water holds 90% of the fish.  

[cart7t]

If it's a lake I'm not familiar with and that has no maps available I'll find spots that relate to the seasonal position of where the bass should be and go from there.  I normally will target areas with cover first.

If it's a lake I'm familiar with or I have maps for I'm usually looking for a spot I already pre-selected.  I'll refine the search by finding stuff that usually isn't marked on maps, like cover of any sort.

[The Bass Guy]

Over the years, I have found that it really depends upon where we are and what type of waters we are on... If I am up North or Central or down South...  And it also may depend upon what type of information is available for the body of water that you are fishing...  I know that this reply is very general, but take a bit of all of them and then try several spots that you have pinpointed through them...  

I can remember quite a few years ago when I was fishing a tourney up North on a pretty small lake..  Even at that time there was lots of info and maps for the lake... and I had only fished it once before...  To no avail as everyone seemed to be finding those "great" spots....  I was cruising down the lake and graphed something that looked strange, in the "middle of nowhere"...  Funny thing I landed several very nice fish and ran my silly self right up the leaderboard...  

Again, it all depends upon the water you are fishing on...  

[tfisherman]

If your fishing the lake for the first time don't get rapped up in whether or not you're fishing a "community hole". I know obvious stuff gets beat to death, but there's also a reason it's a community hole, it holds fish!!

I've caught many a big fish from holes I know everyone fishes. It's also nearly impossible to fish a lake and not fish behind someone regardless of how deep you fish.