In a post I just made I asked about pitching a big weight in deep milfoil looking for schools. I’m wondering if anybody here is good at reading maps and could help me iffnetify some key summer spots to start “dropping grass

I'm probably not the right guy to read your map, but I can offer a couple of things I learned, mostly from here. 

1) pretend like there's no grass - what structure would you fish? 

2) look for structure transition spots - like a nice feeding flat next to some deep water. Doesn't matter that it's covered up with grass. Or look for composition changes - dirt to rock, gravel to dirt, etc. Might carry out to inside the grass. Or look for grass type transitions. As an example the last two weekends I found isolated pockets of a different kind of grass and there were nice fish there. 

3) Fish a frog until you get a strike, or go to places where you know a frog would produce, and punch there. This is what changed things for me. 

This should help

 

 

7 hours ago, txchaser said:

I'm probably not the right guy to read your map, but I can offer a couple of things I learned, mostly from here. 

1) pretend like there's no grass - what structure would you fish? 

2) look for structure transition spots - like a nice feeding flat next to some deep water. Doesn't matter that it's covered up with grass. Or look for composition changes - dirt to rock, gravel to dirt, etc. Might carry out to inside the grass. Or look for grass type transitions. As an example the last two weekends I found isolated pockets of a different kind of grass and there were nice fish there. 

3) Fish a frog until you get a strike, or go to places where you know a frog would produce, and punch there. This is what changed things for me. 

Thank you!!!

7 hours ago, Glenn said:

This should help

 

 

Thanks Glenn! 

Glenn I did not watch your full video because what you were teaching I am already familiar with. So I don't know if it has been said by Glenn here or others, but concerning bathymetric maps and their use, Denny Brauer gave some great advice decades ago that still bounces around in my head just about every fishing trip. It was that important of a tip. And I still use it to this day all over Florida.

 

Denny Brauer said with bathymetric maps you can eliminate upwards of 90% of the lake just by reading the map.

 

Denny said that the biggest bass live in the deepest holes and try and expend as little energy as possible so when these large bass feed, they rise up out of their holes and begin to move towards shallow water or shoreline with cover that is closest to their living spot in the lake. Shortest distance between the two places.

 

So Denny was saying to focus fishing on shallow water with cover that is closest to those deepest holes of a lake to increase your chances of catching the larger fish.

 

One thing Denny did not say that I observed him doing in the past is that if Denny was focusing on that targeted shallow area where he thinks the larger bass are feeding, he would sometimes turn around and fish that pathway back to that deep hole.

 

Denny used these maps to target the big ones!

Every lake fishes differently in regards to big bass. 
Reading topo maps (I use topo in lieu bathymetric) because it’s a common term in bass fishing underwater terrain to relate to above water terrain in map reading.

Denny Bruaer is primarily a cover flipper vs an off shore structure casting jig fisherman. 
Deep is relative to each lake, could 20’ or deeper or 10’. In general big bass locate where the prey they prefer is concentrated and at that depth. 
Big bass may move from a sanctuary location into cover areas when they feel safe and active to hunt prey. The key word being active. You can’t read the activity level on a map, it’s time on that specific water to know the rhythm of the bass on that lake without being on it.
In general the structure element big bass locate are funnel zones that concentrate prey. The most common funnel zone is a saddle where the tappers deeper then rises up before dropping down deeper. The saddles can be on the point, between islands or humps etc.

Another favorite location is on small flats protruding out along a steep drop at the active depth zone. This is my favorite structure to target, they are isolated and over looked, but easy to find on a topo map. Bass angler s are looking for a larger areas but big bass prefer areas that concentrate prey. 
I am not a believer in path ways for bass to follow, they can go over deep water to where they want to be without pathway to follow. Big bass often swim across a lake to the opposite side if the wind conditions has relocated the prey they want. The phytoplankton drifts with the wind and Threadfin Shad follow their food source the bass follow the Shad schools. This is why funnel zones are important to concentrate the baitfish. Downwind funnel zones come into play, another factor to consider is the weather element in bass location.

I do believe bass follow break lines like weed edges, road bed with brush on the sides, changes in soil types etc.

Tom

 

 

@WRB-2.0

 

Would you say this little plot qualifies as one of those small flats out on a drop (assuming the life zone was in that 15-16' range)?

 

On 8/6/2025 at 7:48 AM, casts_by_fly said:

@WRB-2.0

 

Would you say this little plot qualifies as one of those small flats out on a drop (assuming the life zone was in that 15-16' range)?

 

I am in no way WRB/Tom, but if I saw that it'd get a waypoint. That whole flat and the area around it looks bassy. In fairness I have no idea where that is on the lake, what else is around it, etc. But I'd treat it like a very solid big fish spot in summer/winter/early prespawn.