Hey, folks. Glenn May here with BassResource.com, and one of the questions I receive is, "Hey, you know, how do I find fish on a lake? How do I put together a pattern?" So I'm gonna take you through the steps I go through, the methodology, and hopefully, you can incorporate that into your style of fishing.
First off, I really can't tell you where to start fishing on your lake or how to do it, but if I were gonna start on a lake that I don't even know anything about, first thing I would do is just start fishing everything. I know that sounds obvious, but let me walk you through that.
Say, for example, I come across the dock. I'm gonna fish the front of the dock, the corners of the dock. I'm gonna cast midway, on the side of the dock, all the way to the back and run a bait alongside the dock. If it has anything like a ladder on it or a slide, or perhaps a boatlift, anything like that, I'm gonna fish that, and fish it very thoroughly, both with fast-moving baits and slow-moving baits. And move on down the line, I'm gonna - same with the weeds, any weeds that are pockets, points, anything - fish it very thoroughly.
Once I get a bite, I stop and analyze that. First, where on the lake itself is that dock? Is it on the main lake? Is it on a steep incline? Is it on a flat? Is it really shallow? Does it have muddy bottom underneath it or a hard bottom? Is it a rocky bottom? Are there weeds in there? What kind of weeds are they? Is it milfoil, hydrilla? Is it lily pads? That sort of thing.
Think about like where is that dock? And also, think a little bit more of like, is it on a point? Is it back in a cove, perhaps? Is it along a creek channel? Is it near deep water? Now, think about those things. Where is that dock positioned in that lake.
And then, think about it even further. Where did that fish hit? Did he hit it on the sunny side or on the shady side of the dock? Did he hit it on the deep side or on the real shallow side of the dock? You know, pretty soon, you'll start to pick this up. As you go from dock to dock to dock, pretty soon you might figure out, "Hey, it's only on floating docks" that you're getting bit, not on docks that are on piers, and there has to be weeds around that dock.
Then take it a little bit further. How was that fish biting it? Is he hitting it right when the lure hits the water? Is he hitting it as it's falling? Or do you have to jig it up and down on the bottom and maybe drag your lure on the bottom a little bit before the fish will bite? Again, if you're always getting hit while the bait's falling, then why waste time jigging it and dragging it back? You know, reel it in, cast back out there. Get your lure back in the strike zone, and get another fish.
After a while, in paying attention to this, pretty soon you're gonna figure that, "Hey, the dock's that are on points, that are near creek channels, or deeper water, that have milfoil on there, and they're only floating docks, and I'm only getting hit on the shady side of them." Now you can target. You can go down a bank and you know where to cast, and you can skip all the unproductive areas. And I know, as a tournament angler, I'm gonna catch more fish than my competitor who hasn't figured that out yet.
So pay very close attention, be observant, to what kind of cover the fish was on, how he was positioned on it, and how he struck that bait. And that's gonna put together a pattern for you. You're gonna be a lot more productive, and you're gonna put together a pattern where you can catch a lot more fish.
I hope those tips help. For more tips and tricks like that, and for the answers to all your questions about bass fishing, leave a comment down below or visit BassResource.com.
