Story by Todd Goade | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
You’re headed to a new lake for the first time. What to do? Where to start? This can be overwhelming if you let it, but here’s a few things I always do when I go to a new fishery.
Stay open-minded
I do a good bit of research and map study prior to heading out. Based on time of year, I’m looking for those irregular features on the map that would concentrate bass. For example, in the spring, I’m looking for areas that fish will use to move in to spawn. In the summer, I’m looking for those offshore contours that bass will relate to. In the fall, I target the creeks that bait will migrate to, and so on.
Before I leave, I’ll sit in my boat at the house and actually mark waypoints with a red stop sign icon on my Lowrance HDS Pro 12 so I’ll have some areas to check when I get there. If I catch a fish or two on one of these waypoints, the red stop sign gets edited to a blue one.
Fill ’er up!
I like to look at a lot of the lake when I get there, so I always make sure my boat is full of fuel. I’m looking for things—irregular things—such as a single dock, a short section of riprap attached to a sea wall, a channel swing on a bluff, etc., and I’ll drop a waypoint on those as I’m riding by.
I’ve run as much as 100 miles in a day trying to see all that I can. Based on the time of year, I’ll pick an area where I feel like my strengths will best suit me and start there.
No pre-conceived notions
Even though I do a lot of research before heading out, I still don’t have any pre-conceived notions of the fishery when I get there. Every lake has its hotspots, and tournament fishing has exposed many of them over the years which tends to draw anglers to those areas. Most of the time, I’ll go my own way and do my own thing to try to find my own hotspot.
I remember specifically practicing at a lake where the water had a decent stain to it, which would lead you to think darker colors such a black and blue would work best. It turned out that the fish absolutely loved the “Morning Dawn” color, and I was able to catch key fish on that color and secure a top 10 finish.
Break the lake down into sections
Once I find an area that fits my strengths and the time of year, I’ll fish in that area to see how things are setting up. I’ll hit what I think are the best high percentage places. If I get a few bites, I’ll try to expand that area and see if I can duplicate the bite. I’ll also be looking for that special spot, such as a magic dock, a brush pile, rock pile, etc.
If I can put a few things together in one section, I’ll try another section that’s close to the first to see if the pattern can be duplicated. If you’re fishing a multi-day event it’s always great to have a primary and secondary area to help you manage your fish better.
Try these things next time you head out to a new fishery. Hopefully they’ll help you as much as they help me.
See y’all on the water!
Todd Goade – Angler Profile
