Unlocking Unfamiliar Waters

Shorten your learning curve to new fisheries

By Gabe Bolivar

 

How many times have you been stumped on an unfamiliar body of water? As a rookie on the FLW tour, I was faced with many lakes that I had never seen before. Before you hit the water on a strange lake here are some techniques that worked well for me. The very first thing that I do is purchase two different maps by two different map makers to compare the differences. Another very useful tool is a GPS loaded with a map card of the lake you are going to. This will allow you to pin point offshore structure much more accurately and also it will make navigating the lake much easier. The Internet is also very useful for gathering information, I like to look at past tournament results and weights that can date several years back. This will give you a strong idea of seasonal patterns and what you’ll need to catch to do well.

 

After studying your maps and gathering your information its now time to float the boat. I recommend filling up both tanks and taking a drive. This will allow you to get a good over all view of the water and the structure that lies within it. It also will allow you to see what section of the lake best suits your fishing style, and this will help lead you into the next step of picking a small section to learn. I found from past experiences that learning the whole lake is extremely difficult. The lake will seem less intimidating and more fishable once you pick yourself a smaller section of it.

 

Now it’s finally time to wet your line. Here are a few lures ideas to locate fish, reaction baits such as a crankbait or a spinnerbait is good because you can fish it fast and cover water effectively. You will be locating aggressive feeding fish. Be sure to pay close attention to where the bites are coming from: color of dirt on the bank, type of wood, shape of rock, water temperature and water color. These are the clues that will help unlock the pattern. Finding a solid pattern will always yield more success than spot fishing. During pre fish it is ok to fish fast and not as thorough as you would during the tournament. The active areas, areas where you get lots of bites, can be revisited with a worm or jig during the tournament. The active fish that you have found will seldom leave the area, you just may need to change techniques during the tournament.

 

I know that fishing unfamiliar water can be very frustrating. I believe that if you follow all of these simple steps you will find success. The system I have described has very seldom left me fishless. After a few long hard days of practice this system will most of the time produce a pattern and fish. Remember if you want to be the best you have to fish harder than the best.

Good luck and good fishing!