Locating Fish

[soopd]

I have been fishing for about 1 year now.  I have been trying to increase my knowledge as much as possible.  I know on the water experience is the best type of expreience.  I am having a hard time locating fish when I am at a new place.  When I am at the lake I fish all the time I try all the spots that was good earlier for me.  If the fish don't bite I really don't know what to do from there.

I would really appreciate Any Advice.

[basspro215]

well for this time of year you want to find the warmest water in the aria with some kind of rocky muddy or maybe a visual tree if no dept finder

[SausageFingers23]

I struggle with this as well.  What I try to do is learn lessons from the water bodies that I am comfortable with.  I lean on my experiences locating and catching fish at my usual fishing spots during different seasons and weather conditions and apply them to the unfamiliar locations.  Granted, all lakes, ponds, and rivers are different but the same, general fish finding rules usually apply.  If nothing else, establishing some form of a strategy for my outing helps boost my confidence while Im on the water.  To me, thats the most important thing.  Good luck.

[brushhoggin]

where you from?

[NBR]

We need to know more about where you fish. Location, type of water, water clarity, water temperature if you know? It would be helpful to know the type of forage in your body of water and where on the water body you have been fishing and how?

[texanbassangler]

Lucky for you, this time of year (and summer) is pretty easy as far as locating catchable bass. Until about mid-May, you'll find bass in the shallows on beds, and they are easily catchable. As they move into the post spawn, look for them around grass flats and any deeper water near the spawning grounds. When hot weather rolls in, look for bass around any aquatic vegetation you can find, the shade any oxygenation they provide draws all kinds of fish here. Weeds also provide ambush points for bass. Remember: bass are preditory fish, and they will almost always ambush your lure. So, any openings in the weeds make good casting targets, as they are ambush points. When the bass are in the pads (lily pads) I'll either throw a topwater frog or a senko, just make sure whatever it is it's weedless. If you learn to be observant and look for subtle differencs in bottom composition, grass or tree type, or water temperature or clarity, you'll also find bass. Anything "unusual" will hold fish.

Hope this helps

Dalton

[soopd]

I am lucky at where I live.  I live in North Alabama only 15 minutes from Pickwick and Wilson.  I live only 30 Minutes from Wheeler. I can navigate a lot better on Wilson than Pickwick because I have only fished Pickwick 2 times.  I have always kind of been intimidated by Pickwick.

I have been fishing less than one year and I am not very knowledgeable about any of the waters other than WIlson.  I have increased my knowledge thanks to this website (been a lurky for a while, but just now started asking questions).

I have had luck the last few outings of locating small fish but no size. 

The way I have been fishing is I just go spot to spot that looks good.  I know thats not the best way to approach it.

I fish plastics more than anything and have a lot more luck with them but I want to learn a lot more.

Thanks for all the replies so far.   

[soopd]

Went out this afternoon for 2 hours on Lake Wilson and the Water temp was 58.  Water was lightly stained and I caught 2 decent fish.  I caught one by flipping a jig around boat houses and I noticed a stump on my depth finder that looked like fish.  So i backed off and through a rattle trap and I caught my second keeper. 

I tried to do the same thing with some other docks but I had no other bites. 

[bassman31783]

When I fish a new body of water I'll always start at the high percentage areas such as points, grass edges, humps, chanels, current. The best way to locate the high percentage areas is on a topo map.

Once I know what areas I'm probably going to end up fishing then I'm going to use baits that I have a good amount of confidence in.  Lipless cranks, & spinnerbaits are great fish finder baits because you can fish them at any depth.

That's just a very VERY rough example of how I break down new water, but it's worked for me pretty good. Once you catch a couple fish at one of your key areas then you can eliminate a lot of the other water & put together a pretty good pattern.

[RobbyZ5001]

I used to have a really hard time with finding fish when the known spots don't work. I am starting to get a lot better with finding fish, because often I have to find them on new water 20,000 acres plus in a day or less. When you are pressured to find fish you will learn quick.

I look at specific details before hitting the water. I think about what season it is (prespawn, spawn, postspawn, summer, fall, and winter). I think about fish movement in each of these seasons as well as prey movement. Next I think about the past week and the current air temps, weather, and water temps. I also take into mind what type of water I am fishing such as lowland reservoir, highland reservoir, river, tidal water, etc.. You also need to take into consideration as to where in the lake heats up first, industry on the water source, and what happens throughout the day to change fish movement such as change in wind/weather. Something as little as leaves blowing into a corner could hold a big fish.

I am sure I missed some thing, but this is a huge chunk of information to process. I think this is where experience comes into play the most. The hardest part is to find the fish. 

[Paul Roberts]

"There is only as much beauty available in nature as we are prepared to appreciate, and not a grain more." -HD Thoreau

A favorite quote of mine, which in fishing means, the more knowledge you carry onto the water with you, the more you'll see when are out there.

Read! Lotsa good articles on this site. And I suggesct you pick up the In-Fisherman Handbook of Strategies" -esp the LM bass one.

[Luke at Gouldsboro]

I've read in magazines to start at the NorthWest section of the lake, because it gets the most sun.

[soopd]

I went out yesterday evening and this morning.  I actually found some fish and was starting to put together some sort of pattern. 

I caught 8 yesterday afternoon in a 3 hour span and I caught 5 this morning in a 3 hour span.  I caught the fish yesterday off of laydowns.  The laydowns was halfway on the bank and decaying.  I tried it again this morning at different locations and to my suprise I found some more fish. 

This has me pumped and I ready to go back to see what I learn.