Ok, you have arrived at a new lake, and are ready for some high productivity bass fishing. You back the boat into the water and away you go. One question haunts you: where, pray tell, are the fish? You can arbitrarily work your way around the lake. You can navigate in the vicinity of other fishermen on the theory that they must know something you don't. Or you can think like a fish and head towards the sweet spots on the lake thus increasing your chances of landing a bite or two or twenty.
Look for Rip Raps. These rock wall formations along the bank of a lake are notorious hubs for prey fish that bass are attracted to such as bluegills, baitfish, and crawfish. Use lures that resemble the color and type of prey fish in those areas. A crank bait with a color scheme that is environment oriented, or a green pumpkin twitch work on a screw ball jig head should work in catching bass.
Unable to locate such structures? Head to the docks. Bass constantly loiter near boat docks. This provides the opportunity for you to circulate close to and around these docs with a mega weight jib and fork craw trailer or a baby hyper freak on your line. Spend a good amount of time throwing your line under docks and on the edges of docks, and probing for brush piles. You will find that this is an area for easy pickings. Experiment with your rig and try a spinning rod with braided line, a hyper whack'n worm on a weedless wacky jig head.
Another option is to head to areas of a lake where a shallow section of water extends out into deeper water. These are known as points and represent areas of higher bass population. It is in these areas you will find bass migration patterns from shallow to deep water and is where you should spend some time. You may need a topographical map or depth finder to locate such spots of course. They may be right in the middle of a lake or in coves. Make sure your lure is appropriate to the depth of the water. Use subsurface lures like spinners or spooners in shallow water. Then switch to deep diving lures in the deeper areas. Make a pattern out of this by patrolling from point to point and back. Notice which areas you seem to have luck with and linger there longer.
Of course if these points are in the middle of a lake with no easily identifiable navigation points nearby, it can be hard to remember which those great points lay. Enter technology. The Minn Kota i-pilot will make your life vastly easier. Think of it as a tape recorder. You push record path, throttle up your trolling motor and move out from point to point, all the while the i-pilot is recording your path. When you come back in a couple of months, you can replay the i-pilot and your trolling motor will self guide you through the same path you recorded. Using gps technology it will self correct for wind and current conditions. It is truly a convenience you must have.
Look for areas where a river or creek streams close to the shore in a cove or main lake. Known as channel banks, these are great places to find bass as they provide transitional areas from deep to shallow water. A good indicator for these channel banks is to look for sheer bluff banks. Use a topographical map to locate channel banks and zero in on where the channel approaches and leaves a bank. Also look for rockslides or pockets along the bluff. Throttle up and down these areas with the bait of your choice and see what happens.
Some lakes will have wide areas of barren water with no depth change, docks, rock or weed formations. Consequently you may not find many bass in these areas. Therefore try to find a lone object in the middle of this barren area such as a clump of underwater vegetation, pylon, or tree. or even garbage in the water. You will notice that bass tend to congregate near such areas. Launch a spinner bait, crank bait, baby fork creature, or flipper to catch bass.
Most of all think like a fish. With these ideas in mind you will look at your lake in a whole new light and approach the art of fishing in a more, say, scientific method. With persistence you will establish yourself in the fishing community as an expert. OK maybe not an expert but at least someone who knows what he or she is doing.
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