Finding Fish in New Water

[fmoore]

So you have a tourney on a new body of water and have ONE day to prefish. If the is no chart of the area, how do you efficiently find areas that will hold smallmouth?

It seems like largemouth are easier to catch at a new body of water. They seem to relate more to structure that is more obvious to the new guy on the lake/river.

This time of year, at least in my neck of the woods, the smallmouth love structure in the middle of nowhere (humps, etc) which are obviously harder to find. Thus the reason for the question.

As you can tell I'm new here. Excuse me if there have been threads on this topic before.

Thanks

Fintan

[GRiver]

I like to look for water at the edge of the swifter moving water. throwing a jig with a trailer up into the rapids and work into the slower moving water.... I try to think were the water would bring bait getting washed to them....I also look for deeper holes and just work my bait in a pattern through them. Trying to get a fell of the bottom and make a mental note, a map in my mind, so to speak. That's how I fish new to me rivers.  If I'm doing this wrong or anybody can tell me something to try as well....please tell me.

[Crestliner2008]

Water temps are dropping quickly this time of the year and the smallies have a tendency to move from their deeper summer time haunts to shallower areas populated by the largest supply of bait. During your pre-fish, look for points that extend out along a feeder stream. If no streams, then I'd target those humps which come to withing 10' of the surface. Fish shallow and work your way deeper. Stay on the down wind side of the hump, casting up to it. The smallies will be facing into the wind, catching struggling bait as it drifts over these humps, into the deeper water. This would be my approach; however, water clarity, frontal weather conditions and forage base has a lot to do with making those kinds of decisions, once you get on the water.

[bassnleo]

To add to what Cretliner said, cover water quickly. I like to throw a crankbait in those areas and see if I can get bit. Once I do, I slow down throw a tube or a jig and work the area over.

If you do hook a fish, watch closely when your reeling it in. This time of year your hooked fish will often have chasers.

Wind.......fronts can get a little nasty this time of year BUT, wind blown shorelines and points often hold the most bait and feeding fish will follow.

I like to cover rocky flats near deeper water this time of year. Seems that fall smallies will gravitate to those flats to feed up. Some days they are really shallow, other days they may be on the edge of the deeper water.

Again, alot depends on existing and recent weather patterns.

[stepchild]

I would typically start by finding flats or humps that top off around 8-10 feet. If there are boulders, rocks and some weed clumps, you've got your work cut out for you. Start with something like a jerkbait to see if you can get one to show up or even get bit. Then slow down and comb through as they might not be as active as you'd probably like.

At this time of year, I would look for the first drop-off near an adjacent flat where the smallies would come up to feed. If they're active, then you'll get them all over the flat on horizontal baits like cranks, jerks and spinnerbaits. If they aren't, then you can likely find them in a tight school where jibs and senkos can get you a limit in a hurry...you just have to watch your sonar closely.

As a side note, I was dragging a coffee tube off a break this weekend when I noticed a bunch of fish on the bottom. It was actually a school of smallies mixed in with some large rainbows just sitting there waiting to be picked off!

[fmoore]

Thanks for all the insight guys. Much appreciated