Well here I go. Im a relatively shallow water angler 6ft deep or lower I've never been a deep water guy, that being said I know there are big donkies out deep I'm just lacking the confidence to commit to it. I have a tournament on east lake Toho next weekend and will prefish this weekend any pointers on finding them deep? Its a soup bowl lake so im trying to get an edge

John, not sure how deep Toho is, but I have been fishing deep water holes on the Butler chain with success.  I've been throwing chatter-style baits with a 4" grub trailer and working the slopes up that have ledges.  I've been finding fish mid-morning to mid-day on these ledges.

 

Have you been fishing the Butler chain recently?  

Can you get a topo map of the lake? If so, find any points, humps, submerged islands, ANYTHING that the fish might cling to. Still no structure? You'll need one of them fancy fish finders with the cameras or what have you and go out and find the fish. Look for submerged vegetation, submerged trees, channels  and things of that nature. bass don't hang out in open water, so they will cling to whatever is our of the ordinary.

Toho isn't a deep structure lake, it is a shallow low land lake. Outside structure is usually clam beds, or harder bottom areas than the softer bottoms. The bass tend to be cover oriented and locate where bait fish are more condensed or where some slight current is created by wind pushing water.

There are man made channels, that's is about it in regards to any sharp structure breaks.

Tom

Anyone can fish shallow water while the bass are spawning, and holding shorelines.  Once that  is over and bass move from

shoreline to offshore ledges, and rock piles it is the most logical way to get limits.  80 pct of the bass in the lakes are on these

ledges during the warm months, doesn't it make since to learn how and where they are.  I have a lake near me that holds a

lot of underwater ledges, and rock piles that come within 10' of the surface, and most fishermen have no clue they exist.

More fish will be caught off these during summer doldrums, than off most shorelines.  Both LM and SM will be there, especially

the fat cows.

find a topo map and look for deep water changes that are located next to shallow water areas.  like said before rock piles will be a good place to start. normally marked on a map. late spring early summer also try those secondary points on the way out to deeper water