mapping

[John Bales]

Just a few thoughts. My green book has never been very far from my favorite chair. For over 45 years that book has been picked up and re-studied over and over. There is rarely a time where you do not take something in that is like a slap in the face. Mr. Perry always said that much of what is in the study material will not be totally understood until you experience those things on the water. A short note first. My time on the water especially last year has made a difference in the amount of fish caught and more of an understanding of how weather and water effects the fish and also what is needed to control depths and speeds in order to catch the fish.
When I look at the total picture of what is involved in spoonplugging, see those that are having success and those that are not, the difference in the fisherman is those that catch fish know what the structure they are fishing looks like. They have mapped it either with the lures or have followed the breaklines around the feature and have set up what they need to do both trolling and casting. Mr. Perry used his lures to map, observed the shoreline features to help to know what might exist under the water and then used markers and shoreline sightings to make passes. Then before he left the area he wrote down his findings so that time that it took to map the structure was not wasted. You do not read anything in the green book about locating a major breakline and following it around the structure to find the size and shape. This was Dixons thing and I agree with that method and it should be done before ever putting a lure in the water. When I was 18 years old I fished with a guy , Denny Coulardot and on that day, he showed me how to follow the base of the weedline and find every good fishing spot in the lake. From that day on, I was never lost and could map any structure in a matter of minutes if not too large.
At our last meeting, I drew a bar up on the board with several fingers. I asked all the member if they could map this bar , throw markers on the fingers, and then show me the contact point. A few actually said that they couldn't do it. My next question was if they don't know exactly what is there, how do you expect to fish it correctly either trolling or casting. In my opinion, the inability to map is the reason so few find success. Even having the ability to map, it may take years to find out exactly how the fish use a structure during all of the fishing seasons. This is why the learning never stops. Mr. Perry states in the green book that the most important thing in your future as a fisherman is your ability to interpret bottom conditions. Without this knowledge , a fisherman has no chance. There must be a reason for every trolling pass or a cast. It is to eliminate the unproductive water and end up catching the fish. If you do not have a reason for every move you make, you might want to think about how you are going about your fishing. John

[ltharley]

Excellent post John. A great reminder for us all.
Dennis

[Steve Craig]

Wow John!
i just saw this.
You are correct about Buck not telling or showing us how to follow breaklines.
You were also very blessed to have Denny show you how to follow them early on. Myself, I didnt have anyone like that.
That is until I went to one of the schools, and got to fish with Tommy Ferencek my first trip and he showed me how to follow a breakline in a Florida lake on Little Lake Harris. This breakline was easy to see as it was a good one from 11 to 17 feet.
The next year I spent a week with Don, and he taught me how to follow those 6 inch breaklines.
Up until that time, I was very confused by what Buck was telling and saying in the book. When i finally figured out the difference was, he was using the lures and Tom and Don were using their Meter.
Then mapping became sooooooo much easier!
It still took me quite a while to do my mapping, but at least I knew the best way for me, and over time, it only takes just minutes to do what it used to take a long time.
A guy just gets better with practice.

It is sad to know that guys can watch all the videos, read the material, study the diagrams, and yet the light bulb never comes on.
Don always hammered all the time......"follow the procedures"!!! This is true. When we get away from them,( and i certainly am guilty of this once in a while), our fishing suffers. When a guy goes about doing his fishing in a methodical way, then success comes pretty quickly.

Good post!

[spoonplugger1946]

John that was a great article that explains how important detail mapping is to find the contact point on any given structure. You are the real deal and thank you for sharing. I have been spoonplugging and structure fishing for 40 plus years and still learning every time on the water. I try hard to not assume anything and to keep an open mind while following the procedures that Buck gave us. I am picking up refreshers on Don Dickson's current teaching and I thank Don and his wife Ali for sharing and giving their time and effort.

[John Bales]

Thanks but I am still learning also. Never stops. John

[tdub77]

I have a question for you guys. A lot of lakes near me don't have a very easy to identify breakline. Its more of just a gradual slope and then just flattens out. Have you run into lakes like this and if so where do you decide to place your lures, at what depth?

Tim

[John Bales]

Sometimes it helps to run from the shallows to the deep at a faster speed. May show up a little easier for you. John

[Steve Craig]

What John said.
Also do it using a Flasher.
The old Needle units would show you even a 6 inch breakline.

If you still cant see them, then do it like Buck used to do before depth finders. Run the Spoonplugs from shallow to deep in each size, and use each size with different line lengths. ( short, medium, long).
The fish will show you where they are.

This is exactly what you must do on a Florida Type lake.

[tdub77]

Thanks

[John Bales]

Like Steve said...….. All of my serious mapping and finding breaklines is done with a flasher. Why???????????? Because that is what I am used to. Can you look for breaklines with sonar or downscan……..sure but instant readings from the sonar shows things better and again, its what I am used to . John

[Team9nine]

Mr. Perry states in the green book that the most important thing in your future as a fisherman is your ability to interpret bottom conditions. Without this knowledge , a fisherman has no chance. There must be a reason for every trolling pass or a cast. It is to eliminate the unproductive water and end up catching the fish. If you do not have a reason for every move you make, you might want to think about how you are going about your fishing. John

The best guys I found were still the guys that could interpret; you know, just like Buck. Buck could interpret the bottom of the lake better than anybody else. Those are the guys who caught the most fish.

All these years later, and little has changed on the path to successful fishing.

Brian

[CHAMP]

For Tdub77
have a question for you guys. A lot of lakes near me don't have a very easy to identify breakline. Its more of just a gradual slope and then just flattens out. Have you run into lakes like this and if so where do you decide to place your lures, at what depth?
If you don't mind my asking where are you located and what lakes r u referring to?

[tdub77]

Champ, I am located in Mn just south of the twin cities. We have nothing but natural lakes. Some are glacier type that do have very defined structure and some are what Florida sounds to be like. It seems to take moving water to create a defined breakline. There is a river near me and when ever it comes up and then drops back down you can really see the breaklines that the current created. With that said the lakes I fish will have some moving water from wind or maybe a stream but I don't think there is enough movement in the water to form a defined breakline like I see in the river or what is found in reservoirs. I don't have any experience in reservoirs so I can not say this with certainty though.

Tim

[Bink]

For Tdub77
have a question for you guys. A lot of lakes near me don't have a very easy to identify breakline. Its more of just a gradual slope and then just flattens out. Have you run into lakes like this and if so where do you decide to place your lures, at what depth?
If you don't mind my asking where are you located and what lakes r u referring to?

Champ
On lakes like that I’d be looking more for a break the a actually breakline. Find a area that has a different bottom hard/soft, different weeds anything different.