Hooked 0403_Hooked 0403- - Hooked Magazine

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