Bassin' USA - Bass Fishing Forum Archives

Asided from map reading what do you think is the most important thing for fishing a new lake for the first time

Carolina Fisher, welcome to the site.
When I fish a new lake I try to locate either visually or by map, any creek channels that are present. Creek channels will generally hold fish. I try to locate major coves with a prominent point and good secondary points. I also like to look for stained water if possible. I will check the headwaters and the area close to the dam for good strucure. I never pass up a good looking boat dock or even boat ramps, caught a lot of fish off these. If available, one of my favorite spots on new lakes are rock bluffs that taper at both ends and end up with chunk rock. In spring I look for flats and long sloping shorelines that are suitable for spawning. I also try to locate bait fish of some kind and find some good looking crawfish banks. If the lake is huge, I break it down into thirds. Upper end, middle and lower end. There may not be time to fish the entire lake. When faced with this situation, I will do a lot of point hopping with various lures. If timbered coves exist I concentrate on them also. Good luck and keep on posting. Johnnie

I think the most important thing when fishing a new lake is the time of year. The time of year can have alot to do with how you fish. Me I'm a shallow water fisherman (I have been working on deeper water but have built enough confidence in it just yet)

I like to find a major creek and depending on the time of year I either start out in the back of the creek and work my way out or start at the mouth of the creek and work my way in. You can section the creek off just like you would the rest of the lake and fish the sections..

I'll kinda outline here how I go about it..
1. look at map find major creeks.
2. consider time of year and weather patterns.
3. go to creek and check water temp.
4. look for any cover that can be seen (standing timber, boat docks, laydowns)
5. find creek channel and follow it back looking for places that the creek swings in close to the bank (always a hot spot no matter what time of year)Watch depth finder for bait fish. (a Must have)See what depth the bait is holding and find cover and structure in that depth.

After you catch a few fish make note of what type of cover and structure the fish were on and then search the rest of the lake for the same.

Hopefully you will catch alot of fish.

This is pretty much how I prefish for tournaments and so far (or at least last year) it works.

Thank you both for letting us pick your brains , information is the greatest tool in angling .