Hooked 0403_Hooked 0403- - Hooked Magazine
Hooked 0403_Hooked 0403- - Hooked Magazine
Hooked 0403_Hooked 0403- - Hooked Magazine
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How to Fish a New Lake?<br />
Do your homework before hitting the water<br />
The author uses a variety of maps and charts to help prepare for fishing new bodies of water.<br />
BY DAVIS VIEHBECK<br />
Going fishing on a new body of<br />
water can be a challenge for<br />
many anglers. Not knowing<br />
fishing spots, patterns, and navigational<br />
hazards can be intimidating,<br />
even to highly experienced anglers.<br />
As a tournament angler and one who<br />
likes the challenge of fishing new water,<br />
I’m often forced to fish new bodies of<br />
water that I’ll have a limited amount of<br />
time on to figure things out. Over the<br />
years, I’ve developed a routine that has<br />
helped me be a more efficient angler<br />
when fishing new bodies of<br />
water. Interestingly, a large component of<br />
my routine starts well before I ever put<br />
my boat in the water.<br />
The first thing I like to do is obtain the<br />
paper copies of the bathymetry maps<br />
(depth maps) and navigational charts of<br />
the new body of water. I’ll spend my winter<br />
months going through these maps and<br />
charts in an effort to familiarize myself<br />
with the body of water to make navigation<br />
less stressful and to help save time<br />
on the water searching for the fish.<br />
Another part of my routine involves sitting<br />
at my computer comparing these<br />
maps and charts in hand with Google<br />
Earth on my computer screen. Google<br />
Earth can be fantastic at allowing anglers<br />
40 | HOOKED | Summer 2011<br />
to locate and further understand potential<br />
areas. As an example, if you know there’s<br />
a great ‘dock bite’ for largemouth bass,<br />
Google Earth can show you shorelines<br />
that have numerous docks and boat houses<br />
in front of cottages and homes. This is<br />
the type of information that maps and<br />
charts don’t reveal. Combine these two<br />
resources, and you’ll have a great visualization<br />
of a potential fishing area.<br />
Kenora based angler Jeff Gustafson uses electronic charts to his advantage<br />
I’ll also use maps and charts to help<br />
identify possible starting areas for fishing.<br />
Understanding the biology of the species<br />
you’re targeting is critical. I like to have<br />
a good general knowledge of my target<br />
species in an effort to understand where<br />
they could be at the time of my fishing<br />
trip. Consider key characteristics such as<br />
spawning time frames (usually determined<br />
by water temperature and photoperiod),<br />
preferred forage, and habitat<br />
requirements. Knowing a little about<br />
each species of fish can go a long way and<br />
greatly improve your success on the<br />
water. As an example, if targeting earlyseason<br />
walleye, I’m going to focus my<br />
attention on spawning areas, or areas<br />
immediately adjacent to spawning areas.<br />
I might also attempt to identify areas with<br />
current or sand as these areas can be<br />
magnets for walleye during the spring.<br />
I’ll also want to try and determine what<br />
the forage base is in the new body of<br />
water and what type of forage the fish are<br />
most focused on. Some species will often<br />
be catchable in several ways applying<br />
completely different patterns. This is<br />
generally a result of a part of the population<br />
being focused on one foraging opportunity,<br />
while another group of the population<br />
is keying in on a completely different<br />
forage opportunity. Walleye as an example<br />
can often be found in thick, shallow<br />
vegetation foraging on yellow perch, cray-