Okay so a little over a year ago the boat that I go fishing on, which is my borthers, was stolen.  Ofcourse everything was stripped off of it, seats, seat mounts, rod holders, lights, electircal wiring, trolling motor, and ofcourse the sonar.  I know this because the cops actually found the boat.  The funny thing was the guy who stole the boat, was a drug dealer and one day he got shot!! So he called 911 for help and the sent some police over there, well low and behold they found not only our boat but fourwheelers and lawnmowers etc...  Anyway back to my question, If you do not have the electronics to see temp, depth, bottom structure, etc.. What can you do to find the fish.  Wether it be prespawn of spawn.  

You can always target visible cover, deadfall, stumps, rocks, etc... You can also make an educated guess on structure by seeing how the shoreline transitions into the water. Dragging a Carolina rig along the bottom will also give you some idea of what's down there. And keep your eyes peeled for schools of baitfish...Plus, don't forget to fish the points and along weedlines.

Electronics are great, but people were catching bass long before depth finders were invented.

Spawn should be no problem, ie....... go up the creeks and look shallow when the time comes.

Walmart and other places sell temp gauges that float and can be tossed over board for surface temps.

What do I look for without electronics.

Grass always dies in the winter, but if you find coots feeding in the shallows, you can always find the greeniest grass with the aid of coots. Grass = bass anytime.

Birds are a good sign of some type of bait fish being driven to the top. Presence of baitfish is good sign of bass won't be far off.

A good string line on an old Penn reel with knots tied in it or painted makes an easy depth gauge. Paint or tie knots in intervals of 3 ft or five feet.

This time of the year when shad are deep on Tx lakes, look for school of Commorants feeding in open water, they will also mark deeper schools of shad.

I also like to observe the surrounding area of the lake. If I can drive a road that covers the area of the lake, I can get an idea of what the lake looks like from observing the outlying hills, where a creek inters the lake, and old road bed that ends in the lake.

Where powerlines cross, pipelines, old roads, there are usually rightaways that have been cleared before the lake was filled, so be observant of what lays outside the lakes can give you an idea of what is where.

Learning to identify dead trees can pinpoint creek channel, humps and other contours just by knowing thatcertain trees grow in sandy soils, or along the bottoms of creeks.      Learning what tree grows where can save you lots of time when looking for a hump in the middle of the lake and only a grove of dead tree is above water.

The biggest, fattest trees most likely will always be next to an wet area ....ie a creek channel or old river bed.

There is lot of info that can be deciphered before ever looking at a map or electronics.

Use the wind, if its been out of one direction for days, then the wind blown points would be good starting spot.

Also, in our neck of the woods, you can almost look at the trees, when dogwoods start bloosoming in East Texas, the bass are on the beds about the same time.

Hope some of these tips helps.

Matt

Very good advice given here. One thing I'd like to add is to watch the sun. I have always had success when fishing the sun beaten bank early in the morning, especially on structure such as boulders or rip-rap.  ;D

hey thanks alot!

One other thing that I learned this last year from a guy who has been fishing for longer than I've been driving is that when looking at a lake full of standing timber, the "biggest" tree will always be on the edge of the channel.  By looking close you can follow the channel edge and locate swings even without a depth finder.

While you can map a bottom with a jig through the count down method for depth, and feel of the jig dragging on the bottom for content -- and that is the way the OLD GUYS did it once upon a time -- it is slow, tedious.

You can also use the REAL OLD pole method, which is quite ingenious, by clapping a pipe (you can use PVC NOW) to the bow of the boat, create a aluminum Skid Plate, and then measure from the top of pipe to normal water level (draft), use that to start mark depth on the pipe and as you move along the pipe slides up and down telling the the depth. I made a quick picture to show ya, and it WORKS! Ugly, but works.

IT JUST A MAPPING TOOL, THEN TAKE IT OFF, and you have to go slow or the pipe will tilt and hang up.

When I quit counting fish when I was around 30 yrs old I had caught over 100 - 10+ lb bass and never had any electronics except a trolling motor. I also kept logs of all my trips (still have them today) and fished 100 - 150 days a year.

Sight fishing, knowing the right vegetation, watching the birds of prey, where the bait fish hang, and looking at the shoreline can all give you a good mental map of where the big ones are.

The truth is that I was probably better off with out electronics. Studying nature and your surroundings is better than staring at a little screen.

Badhabit I agree.  To be honest I never fully understood the thing anyways.  I guess I just needed some confirmation on my own ways.

100+ 10lbers, thats crazy, where you from?

Mr Matt Fly is correct and is now in control of the trolling motor  

Before my dad bought his first flasher we would anchor on points (usually next to the bank) and fish split shot rigged Fliptails in deep water.  When we had covered the point, we pulled up anchor and moved to another point.  We caught fish.  Try steep sloping points and shallow points until you find which one the fish are using that particular day.  Also learn from local fisherman the local migration patterns of the fish (they follow baitfish) in your lake and fish accordingly for the time of the year.  You can also use a cheap thermometer and find the warmest water in the winter and early spring and fish there, usually shallow coves or flats.