When I was an avid bass fisherman it was important to learn the many tricks of the trade to locate fish and more importantly getting them to bite. Many times, I would arrive at a lake that I have never fished before and just look at the lake’s geography before heading out on the water. I would look for certain areas that I thought would hold fish or places that fish might congregate to. I had read articles and books on fishing by some of the older legends of the sport in Angling. This information really helped me catch fish and I started a nice little fishing book library in my home. "In Pursuit Of Giant Bass” by Bill Murphy was like the bible to me. That man knew his stuff. I learned a lot from that book and never fished the same way after reading it. I better understood where I might find fish. Then I would decide on the methods needed in catching them. Would it be better to troll lures? Or perhaps bait fishing along the shore areas? Casting live bait to certain structures like the reeds or rocky areas? The list of choices are endless so making the right decision is really important if I was going to make the most of my day and catch some fish. Most of the time I fished from a boat whether a rental or my own so I had access to most areas of a body of water when lake fishing. I rarely fished from shore which I felt limited me to one area of a lake and it would decrease my catch ratio so whenever possible fish from a boat, float tube, or kayak if available to you.
Another tool that’s really important to have would be a fish finder. It doesn’t have to be an expensive one but you need to be able to know the depth of water you're fishing in and be able to identify structures such as drop-offs, rock piles, etc.
A lot of times I would purchase topographical maps of lakes to identify spots that I thought would be key areas that fish might visit at certain times of the day. Knowing where fish might congregate at key times during the day is important to know. Early morning hours fish might have a tendency to cruise along shore areas as well as at dusk, especially at the mouths of feeder creeks and streams that enter a lake. During the mid- morning and midday hours fish might tend to swim in deeper waters. Knowing where drop-offs are in a lake or ocean can really be a benefit . One lake in particular is Gull Lake at June Loop in the Sierra. Directly straight out from the boat marina is a huge drop-off. It looks like a cliff on a fish finder that goes for 50-75 yards in the middle of the lake. Why would this be important you might ask? Looking on a fish finder you’ll find a lot of fish cruising at the edge of the underwater cliff. Drifting Berkley Pink Power worms using a #5 split shot and Owner size 10 mosquito hooks has made for some 25+ fish days in that one spot while drifting. Even in a white out snow storm blizzard! On a fish finder the edge of the underwater cliff looked like a highway of fish. Without the fish finder I would not have known the drop off existed.
The same principle applies to where an underwater spring might be. This would be an area that fish would gather because springs generate oxygen rich water similar to a sprinkler system in a small city pond. Underwater rock piles often concentrate smaller fish that hide from large prey fish so seeing them on your fish finder is generally a smart place to try fishing at. Fishing off points of land tends to be another favorite spot one might find fish.
Sometimes using a simple method of casting a soft bait onto shore and slowly reeling it into the water can yield some impressive catches. Such was the case for me at Vail Lake when I caught a 13 lb. Largemouth bass on a brown/neon blue vein (Otay Special) plastic worm. What a battle that was on 10 lb. test line pulling the bucket mouth through submerged trees to deeper water. I learned that casting the bait on shore trick from a fishing book and it worked.
Ever hear of Freeway trout? That’s what it looked like at a popular lake in the Sierra. Imagine seeing 20+ rainbow trout ranging from maybe 12-14 pounds down to three pounders swimming along the shore from the marina to a large patch of tule reeds and watching them swim directly into the reeds where they could not be easily caught. These fish swam so fast that they were not interested in any lure offerings, hence the name freeway trout was given to them.
Using a fish finder can help you locate underwater channels in a body of water. Those channels often are well traveled by fish and offer a good choice for fishing spots. Generally speaking, most feeder creeks are places you want to fish, as smaller fish tend to stay in creeks for protection from larger fish. After a rain storm, these places often see good fishing action so being at the right place, at the right time is important.
Areas where rock slides go into a lake often hold fish because the rocks offer hiding places for smaller fish as well as offer shade to larger fish seeking to ambush smaller prey.
Find areas where trees shade the water. These are good places to fish during the midday when the sun is shining on most bodies of water.
On one particular lake I have often fished with great success, the amount of boater traffic affected the trout bite. This particular area was where there were feeder streams and finding large brood stock trout throughout the day was once quite commonplace but everyone knew this so it had a lot of anglers coming and then going. The fish moved out to the deep dark waters where anglers could not sight fish them. Using my fish finder I located the fish. Then I fished for them using Berkley Mice Tails using a #5 split shot and two lb. Test. I caught some very sizeable trout up to seven pounds by casting into the dark water far from the feeder creeks. Knowing what drives fish to and from certain areas can be quite an advantage.
Another strange phenomenon that I have witnessed more than a few times is seeing a boil of bait fish balling up in the middle of a lake. These fish are balling up due to larger fish attacking them. Take a crank bait and cast into the balled-up bait and often times you will get hooked up with a very respectable fish. This happens fishing places like Lake Havasu with Striped Bass and even at Lake Hodges with Largemouth Bass. In the ocean its very commonplace to see bait balls of sardines and anchovies.
As kelp patties are good places to fish in the saltwater as there are many places where vegetation can hold fish in freshwater as well. Tules or stands of reeds that are submerged in deeper water offer great protection for fish both large and small. Fishing crank baits and soft plastics often can get fish holding up in the reeds to come out and hit your lures. Presentation is the key to success!
Another popular strategy when fishing lakes and the ocean is to fish the entrances to coves. Many times large fish will push schools of smaller fish to the back of a narrow cove. I’ve witnessed this several times and threw out some small crank baits and caught the larger fish.
Fishing successfully entails knowledge about your prey and where your prey is located and how to fish for them. This will hopefully make you a better fishing person. Find a good fishing magazine, books and the internet to maximize your fishing success. Who knows.... maybe something you will read here helps you catch the fish of a lifetime. Good Luck and tight lines,
Dave Finkelstein
