I see people in here always talking about forage fish like Shad and Shiners. My question is how does everybody know these fish are in the water bodies they fish? Do people just see them near the surface or what? The only places I usually fish for bass are man-made reservoirs.  I know there are fish such as trout, bluegill, crappie and perch in most of the lakes I fish, but I'm not so sure about other things.

Just ask a local.

Cast-net.

Just ask a local.

Pretty simple.

I was in the same boat when I started bass fishing.  I knew most of the species in my lake: bass, gills, crappies, perch, cats, sunfish, carp, and pike.  We don't have shad in this lake but I have many patterns to choose from by just observing over the last year.  Craws, frogs, gills, crappies, minnows, perch, baby bass, and worms.  So I would also explore shallow areas of your lake to see if you can spot any baitfish and go from there.

I was in the same boat when I started bass fishing. I knew most of the species in my lake: bass, gills, crappies, perch, cats, sunfish, carp, and pike. We don't have shad in this lake but I have many patterns to choose from by just observing over the last year. Craws, frogs, gills, crappies, minnows, perch, baby bass, and worms. So I would also explore shallow areas of your lake to see if you can spot any baitfish and go from there.

Alright, that's what i wanted to know. Thanks. I'll probably ask one of the guys I always see bass fishing there too.

If it's a lake managed by a state fish and game department your best bet would be to contact the person(s) responsible for managing the fishery.  They usually have a pretty good idea of what's in a specific lake and may be able to offer some valuable tips on how the bass population relates to the food sources.  

Just ask a local.

I've lived on waterfront property a couple times in my life, which is about as local as you can get.

However, I'm afraid that locals get their information in the the same manner as everyone else.

About 90% of the lakefront landowners had sketchy or downright erroneous information.

A reliable source of data regarding the status of gamefish, baitfish and vegetation are the extension services

(Dept of Conservation <> Dept of Natural Resources). It's your license dollars at work, so why not exploit the benefits?

Roger

I hadn't thought of contacting the department of fish and wildlife. I know there's a website that lists what species of game fish are in a lake, but it doesn't have baitfish. I'll try emailing them. Thanks for the help guys.