Help needed locating fish

[Guest basskid17]

i have been on many bodies of water from okeechobee in florida to small lakes of less than 10,000 acres here in ohio and still have one problem. i have difficulty locating the fish.  yes i can catch fish but only one or two per spot.  any advice on where to look or what to look for or how to find that "money" hole.  how do you go about preparing to fish a tournament and looking for spots?

[Aaron_S]

I think this is the question we are all asking and wanting an answer to.  Thats what makes fishing, fishing the challenge of finding the fish.  Anyway when I am trying to locate fish I look for structure because that's what I have confidence in fishing.

[jignpig]

Think about the time of year you are fishing (pre spawn, post spawn, summer, fall, ect.). Then think about what the fish "SHOULD" be doing that time of year. For instince, summer heat usually meens the bass want deeper water near shallow water so they can move up shallow to feed and then get back to the deeper water where they are more comfortable. If you work those areas near the drop offs you "SHOULD" be more successful then just working a shallow bluff without a drop off close by. Once you find a spot where they "should" be then watch your electronics for fish. If you see fish in that area then go to work to find out what they want. I suggest starting out with a crankbait or spinnerbait to look for reaction strikes. After you start getting the reaction strikes then go find what the bigger boys want. I suggest trying jigs, soft plastics, and jerk baits. Notice I said "SHOULD" a few times. Thats because nothing is for sure when you are bass fishing. But doing these things "SHOULD" increase your odds of finding more fish. Good luck!

[Phishn_Phool]

Thats where I am having trouble.  

[Phishn_Phool]

That's where I am having trouble.  I previously fished Mo/Ark lake with lots of structure.  I just recently moved to Fl and live on the Harris chain of lakes and the "structure" is a little different.  These lakes are like bowls with weeds.  I know the weeds are the "structure". but they have not moved to the banks yet.  So what do I do??? Thanks

[Bud_in_OR]

Hey Basskid17,

You said you have no problem catching one or two fish but then the bite dries up.

If you get a chance watch Glen Lau's 'BigMouth' series of videos. He is the guy that has done most of the underwater stuff that you have seen in commercials on TV. In these tapes it shows, time after time, fish after fish, bass taking lures. More importantly, the tapes show the bass in the background.

These fish, sometimes schools of huge bass, watch a couple of their buddies bite and be dragged off. Then they watch, cast after cast, lures being pulled past their faces. They show no response, none, zip. Most fishermen (this time Homer Circle) would think they had caught all the bass. This was clearly not true.

What Mr. Circle caught were the ACTIVE bass, at that time. If one were to find a few places where they caught bass and marked the spots, gps, marker buoys, whatever and then did a 'milk run' at time intervals.... Well, these videos and my own underwater camera have proved to me, there ain't no such thing as one or two bass. There definitely can be only one or two active bass in a school that you can't believe. Individual fish in a school can feed/become active at different times according to their digestion rate and how full they were when the lure went past their face.

Bud

[Guest basskid17]

good advice by all.  thanks and keep it coming