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2,887 Posts
Those are really good choices already.
I find out whether water is let through a dam, and if they do that I'll look for narrow necks in the lake where current will be magnified. Bass line up along ledges facing up current, and will line up immediately upon sensing water movement from power generation. If possible I get the generating schedule from the dam operator. Sometimes two major ridges will almost meet across a lake where a small dam could have been built to make half a lake. A real hot spot any time of year.
Next, if I plan to be fishing shallow flats and main lake pockets I look for sharp arrow-like contour line stacked tightly indicating a ravine or ditch that drained a flat that might have been a corn field. I love to fish cut-throughs on the edge of a flat. I also want to mark wherever deep water >20' is within 50' of the edge of a flat. More mature bass will feed in those places, wanting a quick escape route to safety.
If fishing offshore I look for cones of contour lines indicating humps. Once in the area more humps usually show up on sonar than show on a paper map.
Any darker area on a map indicating contour lines very close together draws my attention, as bass relate to steep slopes where they can pin baitfish against the bottom more effectively. A prime one to find is a bluff on shore with a creek channel passing by, locating where the creek channel bends to a bluff, and bends away past the end of a bluff.
Jim
I find out whether water is let through a dam, and if they do that I'll look for narrow necks in the lake where current will be magnified. Bass line up along ledges facing up current, and will line up immediately upon sensing water movement from power generation. If possible I get the generating schedule from the dam operator. Sometimes two major ridges will almost meet across a lake where a small dam could have been built to make half a lake. A real hot spot any time of year.
Next, if I plan to be fishing shallow flats and main lake pockets I look for sharp arrow-like contour line stacked tightly indicating a ravine or ditch that drained a flat that might have been a corn field. I love to fish cut-throughs on the edge of a flat. I also want to mark wherever deep water >20' is within 50' of the edge of a flat. More mature bass will feed in those places, wanting a quick escape route to safety.
If fishing offshore I look for cones of contour lines indicating humps. Once in the area more humps usually show up on sonar than show on a paper map.
Any darker area on a map indicating contour lines very close together draws my attention, as bass relate to steep slopes where they can pin baitfish against the bottom more effectively. A prime one to find is a bluff on shore with a creek channel passing by, locating where the creek channel bends to a bluff, and bends away past the end of a bluff.
Jim
