Where The Fish Are!

 

Contour Maps Made Easy (1971)

Editor Don Woodruff takes a detailed look at the best areas to focus your efforts on in a typical lake by using contour maps. Fishing Facts was one of the earliest proponents for anglers using these maps to help them eliminate empty water and locate key fish holding structure. With Hi-def mapping software available these days, everyone can find the obvious structures in a body of water, so locating nuances (“sneaky spots”) has become much more important.

FISHING STRUCTURE 1️⃣ - This is a long bar, fairly shallow on the east side, with a gradual sloping descent to deep water on most of the west portion. On the northwest tip, however, the contour lines come close together, dropping steeply from 5 ft. to 40 ft. Somewhere on this northwest tip, the schools of fish in that area will have their migration route. Here with one exception, the fisherman should concentrate his fishing time.

FISH STRUCTURE 2️⃣ - Here is a good structure because there is only one potential migration route from the deep water hole of 50 ft. All of the schools of fish using that section of deep water for a sanctuary, will migrate to that area. Fish WILL NOT move across wide expanses of gradual sloping shoreline. If a fisherman caught a fish in the area marked (A), he can rest assured that it came around the lake from the "scatter point" in area #2. That fish was probably one of dozens that actually moved up. As a structure fisherman you can see the benefit in concentrating your fishing in area #2, presenting your lure or bait to not one, but dozens, maybe hundreds of fish, instead of waiting and hoping for one or two fish to scatter from the migration route, eventually finding their way to wherever you might be.

FISH STRUCTURE 3️⃣ - This is the classic underwater island, a high knob or raised portion of the lake bottom. Frequently these structures are small, some measuring in feet rather than in yards. For this very reason, you should check them out carefully. Many, if not most fishermen, may not even be aware of their existence, providing you with virgin fishing as you would only expect in a fly-in area of Canada!

FISH STRUCTURE 4️⃣ - A typical finger-like bar, attached to the shore, running far out into the lake, then dropping suddenly to the deep. These are probably the easiest structures to find, and the greatest fishing pressure is usually to be found here. But don't write it off! Because it is far from shore, most fishermen without depth finders cannot locate the break to deep water, and many fishermen do not feel at ease fishing mid-lake structure. They have been brought up to the tradition of fishing shorelines. Without that physical presence of the shoreline, they cannot feel at ease or have confidence in their ability to catch fish… On a structure such as #4, be alert for breaks, and migration routes along the entire periphery of the structure. Although this map would indicate the break is on the tip, at times it will be on the sides, not near the end of the bar.

FISH STRUCTURE 5️⃣ - This is just such a side migration route. More than likely, both areas #4 and #5, would be migration routes for two separate schools of fish, because of the distance between them. If casting artificial lures or live bait, I would suggest anchoring your boat in 5 to 10 ft. of water, making your cast to the deep water area. When your lure or bait hits the water, feed line freely from your reel by hand so the lure sinks straight down, (not swinging like a pendulum back towards your boat). When it has reached bottom, take up your slack and start the retrieve up the break or structure.

FISH STRUCTURE 6️⃣ - This one seems to be a good potential structure because there is no better structure in that area. The break is not as sharp as I would prefer to fish, as is #7, but it is the only noticeable break in the area, and fish in that section would use it.

FISH STRUCTURE 7️⃣ - This is similar to #4 in that it is a finger-like bar structure. It is the sharpest break in the lake and one I would certainly check out care-fully, starting in the hot months of summer and throughout the fall fishing season. Because of its deep break, this should be a particularly good structure to fish in the late afternoon and early evening, as its steep break provides early shadows from the setting sun, allowing the fish to move up earlier.

Water Depth Tutorial

 

Spoonplugging Concept: Bass, Weeds and Water Depth - 1981

✅ [The first] figure is a side view of a shallow section of a lake (could be a slough, canal, etc.). You will note the deepest water available is only 8 feet. In this case, weeds cover all water under 6-7 feet in depth. This "cover" could provide the fish sanctuary up to a point. If you remove this cover, you are not likely to find any fish here for long. If you are fishing such cover, you would try to find the deepest water under the cover. But when good movement occurs, the fish will move to the open water. This situation doesn't hold out much hope for good fishing or for many big fish over a period of time. It's just too shallow (for most of the country).

✅ The [second] figure… is another side view of a similar situation, but in this case the weeds go down to 14 feet. The "open" water (free of weeds) is only slightly deeper. Here again, the sanctuary is likely to be in the weeds. But if this open water gets beyond 20 feet or better, then you begin to figure the sanctuary is in the open water. 

✅ It's a simple case of the deeper water having a more "stable" condition. A fish can adapt to a changed environment, but the less changing the better. Deep water is the only reliable escape route he has from a changing environment. If he doesn't have it, he might survive in some manner, but it's not likely to be good fishing for you and me. 

✅ Fish in this situation have little escape from extremes of weather (and water conditions). They can become more dormant, and for a longer period of time, than those in the deep water which helps offset the effects of bad weather. We may have to go deeper for them, but at least they become active enough to catch. Whereas, in shallow weed situations we could beat our brains out until there is a great improvement in the weather.

Buck Perry - Home Study Series

Follow Breaklines

 Follow Those Breaklines!

✅ Some veteran smallmouth anglers have had successful outings turn even more successful employing the following procedure. When the school of bass stops hitting, the anglers pick up their anchors, turn on their depth finders and by following the breakline (drop-off) are able to find the entire school once again. In these instances the school had not returned to deeper water but merely moved further down along the breakline. The schools were large enough to be seen on the depth finder and therefore contact was made a second time.

✅ Normally we don't recommend using your depth finder to run around looking for schools of fish. It is wiser to locate good structure first. Don't worry, if indeed it is good structure the fish will use it. Once the shape of the structure is known and the fish have moved to it, it would be wise to check out the remaining area for any straggler fish before you go rushing off to another area.

Carl Malz

Fishing Facts

May 1973

Structure Fishing Profile

PROFILE OF STRUCTURE And MIGRATION ROUTE (c. 1968, Fishing News; excerpt)

Another Wiley Miller sketch to help you get a good mental picture of what takes place in a lake.

1️⃣  Forget the tantalizing proposition of trying to catch fish in their sanctuary depth, at least for the present. Sanctuary means safety! And it's quite true, too.

2️⃣  How about the 26 foot break? Well, some, not many fish are caught here. Here they do not "bite or strike" so very readily. Also, you will find, that fishing 26 feet of water; with some control, and some knowledge of what you are doing, is not easy. We do not recommend it. We don't condemn it either.

3️⃣  Next is the migration route from the 26 foot break to the 21 foot-13 foot level. Some fish are caught on this route. BUT they are passing fish, migrating, on the move - Not too good. Much too uncertain.

4️⃣  Now for the "pay dirt!" The second break at 21 ft! The Scatter point! This is where we and most others really make our heavy catches. When the school gets to this point they are on the prowl! They are ready to "bite or strike." Here is where you should concentrate your fishing. This is a "spot."

This spot is usually small. How small? Hard to say. There is one thing for certain though. These fish are grouped. On Okauchee the group is almost always quite tight - the spot small and packed with fish.

That is - it is while the migration is on. Then it can be one lunker after the other.

5️⃣  How about the weeds, and the waters beyond the scatter point (beyond 13 feet)? Well, under certain conditions some fish, front runners generally, do penetrate these waters. But even here these fish don't roam haphazardly. They will follow trails. These trails may be sparse weeds, gravel bars, stumps, etc. All of these things should be considered breaks of a type. A break means a break or change in the usual. Give this some thought.

Remember, though, big fish don't scatter haphazardly. Sure they spread out some after they leave the scatter point, and some times - not often, even the school will penetrate the shallows.

When they do, the group or school will be related to structure. When you fish the area, try to determine what it was that attracted them. Always ask..."Why are they here in this place?"

Often it is a change of bottom such as a gravel or sandy stretch. Figuring out such problems on your lake is the road to success. That's why we say "Catching Fish Is An Idea Based on Facts."

— These old sketches and diagrams are so fun to look at. Knowing someone had to actually draw this all out by hand just adds a different feel to these old articles. —

Bass Won't Cross Shallow

 Bass Will Not Go Shallow To Go Deep

This Buck Perry diagram (top) from 1973 is one of my favorites. It represents a "guideline" that a bass will not go shallow to go deep.' 

In other words, it won't swim over a shallow ridge just to go back down deeper on the other side and keep swimming toward the shallows. Why so fascinating?

(Not to mention that Mr. Bass has no clue that something might BE over there).

To build upon that, here is an excerpt from John Hope's highly regarded book, "Trackin' Trophies," originally published in 1994 and again in 2001. 

In case you aren't familiar with John, he placed radio transmitters in a bunch of giant bass and tracked their movements over the course of several years.

Excerpt from his book:

"On the Big Caney arm of Lake Fork, there is a submerged roadbed that crosses the north end of Big Caney cove. This roadbed is within five feet of the surface and will have moss growing all the way to the surface most of the year.

Radio tagged, mid-depth living bass were found to not swim over the top of this roadbed to the other side. When the mid-layer bass hits the side of the roadbed in eight feet of water or less it turns and feeds parallel to the roadbed."

Pretty amazing everything the early pioneers of the sport figured out well over 50 years ago, without any of the modern technology available today.

Wanna Catch More Fish?

 ... Fish The Bottom

(This is something I've adopted since I first spotted it in a very old magazine. It was then reaffirmed in the booklet that came with the early Flatfish lures. Yeah, it has been common knowledge for a long time. 

Then, I got into fly fishing, and I tended to forget it - since fly fishing is primarily a shallow water game. 

But it always stuck in my mind, and these days, Im going back that way again. Yet, to this day, many anglers simply ignore it. They flail a9way in the shallows and refuse to make it their main play)

One of the simplest, yet most powerful, statements of summary to come from the early Spoonplugging movement. If my memory serves, and paraphrasing just a bit, Ron Lindner once stated in response to the question of why the Lindy Rig was so successful, was that it forced anglers to fish their bait on or near the bottom where the fish were located. To this day, nearly every crankbait article since, some 60 years worth of print and advice, has at some point mentioned ”hitting the bottom,” or “deflecting off cover.”

💯 “Fish the bottom, not close but on the bottom. Disturb the bottom with your lure or bait. It's hard to get anglers to believe or do this. But this is where fish feed. How about weeds and snags? They won't bother you as much as you think. Get used to them. If you don't have this trouble, you won't be troubled by many fish either.”

Fishing News, 1967

Trolling: 3 Way Rigs

 

The other trolling method recommended by Bob Hollingsworth in the previous In’Fisherman excerpt is a slow trolled, or drifted, 3-way rig for trolling. 

Spoonpluggers, or those familiar with Don Dickson, will recognize this setup from his Minaki tapes and school. The only difference was Don used wire to get deep in the current. Don also called it, "a Wolf River Rig" at times, when used with mono lines.

👉 “[The other method used] is bouncing bottom with a red or blue No. 18 Rapala. The rig [3-way rig] is alternately lifted and dropped to advance it along the bottom. The lures are right behind or in the transducer cone.... Speed is very slow.”

👉 “This rig can also be used to run parallel to the drop-offs and weed lines. On sharp, broken structure, or shad-infested water, this rig really shines.”

👉 “Its only drawback is that it is of limited value in heavy current or high winds. The boat operator has one hell of a time managing the motor, depth sounder, his line, etc.”

👉 “We use five- to six-foot worm action-type rods and free-spool Penn reels for both of these methods. Bouncing bottom requires a short, stiff rod that won't wear your arm out lifting that sinker off the bottom.”

👉 “Trolling speed varies with the seasons and the fishes preference for the night. Twitching the rod as it is trolled will sometimes produce more strikes.”

🐟

Of course, the first thing you'll probably note is that the dipsy weights shown above are likely to be snag attractors. In that case you might want to try a banana type, "walking sinker," or one of the snagless slinky weights used by catisfishermen.
And, there's still another solution if you're snagging bottom...

In the post above, about Bob Hollingsworth’s 3-way rig, that rigs bottom weight could be a real "snag magnet" in certain conditions.
The simplest alteration to make to that rig, is to switch the dipsy-style weight to a bottom bouncer.
The bottom bouncer was created back in 1964 by N. Dakota angler, Bob Meter.
The bottom bouncer is slimmer and rides slightly higher above the bottom, compared to the dipsy/bass weight used in a 3-way rig - this makes it much less prone to snagging. You can still use the same lures or live bait as you would with a 3-way just as diagrammed in the post…and they are readily available in most good tackle shops, especially in the northern half of the Midwest.

Photo credits: various In'Fisherman, Fishing Facts

Trolling: Weight and Bait

 

Bob Hollingsworth of New York shared some specifics on local techniques used on Lake Erie as well as some Canadian lakes in a 1975 issue of In’Fisherman (their 3rd issue) that eventually ended up in a conversation about pressure, boat noise and conditioning (see last two highlights). Did this then eventually lead to a rise in the use of planer boards?

Here are some details on that method, which is probably adaptable to a variety of situations. Note the enhanced illustrations were from Edwin Lee Huff.

👉 “...walleye in Lake Erie are attracted to the surface...by the action of bait fish. As these baits feed on or near the surface, the walleye will cruise approximately five feet under the surface, using what light filters down to silhouette their prey....”

👉 “We troll for these fish using No. 11 Rapalas in silver or blue colors ...flat-lined behind the boat. We control the length of line...by counting the number of pumps, or pulls, let out.”

👉 “We find that the rubber core, twist-on sinkers are the easiest way to go. A ¼ oz. sinker, three feet ahead of the lure with 12 pulls of line out, will cause the No. 11 to run at five feet.”

👉 “Boat and motor noise seem to bother the fish... Because of this, we like to run the lures as far back of the boat as possible, sometimes going to 20 or 25 pulls.”

👉 “As word spread, this method has gained in popularity and the numbers of boats increased. As the activity of the fishermen increases, the fish are more reluctant to suspend. 

To counter this, we have used more weight to get closer to the bottom...A ⅜ oz. twist-on and 18 pulls will run the No. 11 Rapala at about nine feet.”

(Need more depth? Wanna get closer to tje bottom? There's your solution)

👉 “This year, possibly due to the conditioning factor, we have had good success using the jointed Rebels in the same sizes. Nearly all the fish caught come after sundown and before sunrise.”