When I get on a new lake I try reminding myself of all the lessons from my teachers - I want minimize the dumb mistakes I'll make. "Don't skip the first 3 lures;" "Only by trolling the shallows will the structures properly reveal themselves" come to mind on this day so I put on a 400 and contour the 4-5 ft weedline. The game has begun, what level will I get to today?
I find small changes in the contours. I catch a small northern on one and continue on my adventure after a few more passes yield nothing. I move out to the 6.5 foot breakline with a 250 and continue. Half way around I find something of interest - a very sharp, pronounced bar. Okay, let's get to work. Yet the bar's very defining features are noticeable only to 7/8 feet. The next breakline, the drop off - at 10 feet (not far away) - has a only a subtle curve along an otherwise straight path. The features of the shallow bar are hidden, secretly placed only for those with proper guidelines. I am going to fish the 10ft breakline for fun. The 100 goes in the water and is bumping at 10 feet. I pass the subtle change in the breakline where my sightlines tell me a sharp shallow bar exists. Suddenly the rod doubles over. I lose a nice fish. A few choice words and it's time for another pass. Next pass, whammo, a good northern in the boat. A third pass and low and behold, another one.
Lesson learned: I arrived at the tail end of a movement to catch good northern in an area where the drop off features are not otherwise noteworthy. I arrived there because of the first 3 lures. I may have fished this lake 10 more times without ever realizing this spot was productive. Think about it next time you drop in on a new lake.
Later in the day I arrived at the largest and most obvious point in the lake - a sore thumb on the Navionics and Lakemaster maps. There have been fisherman nearby all day. The chip on my depth finder must have this spot down to a tee. The end of this point is sharp. As I begin my trek down the right side of this long bar my teacher's lessons seep in, "straight line passes!" I hear in my head. The pictures in the green book of all the arrows next come to mind. Of course, I think to myself, "Do I try and contour troll the end of this point and go around and down the back side and continue on?.....or do I behave?" I'm well behaved today, so I continue straight off the end of the bar into deep water. I plan to hit this bar with 8 or more straight line passes and catch a fish. As I come off the end of the bar the graph reads 9ft, 10ft, 14ft, 15ft, 15ft, 16ft, 13ft, 11ft, 10ft, 14ft, 23ft, 28ft, etc. I look at the map on my graph - it shows only deep water, there is not supposed to be anything out here according to them! I pause...I smile...things just got interesting. Another hidden gem in our video game? I drop another layer of line and circle back for a kill. The graph comes up from deep water, 16ft, 14ft, 11ft, 10ft. Wham! A solid strike just before the lure hits the crown. A 20 inch post spawn bass in the boat and more lessons solidified in my head. Facts are facts, spoonplugging knowledge is the key to success.
Lesson learned: The obvious one, straight line passes. Let's add to it: many times humps are related to the end of a point. Remember they may be there. They are missed by 95% of the fisherman that will ever fish that lake. The ones I've found often result in a high score.
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