Breaking down a lake 2024

RHuff reply :

My goal this off-season is to become more proficient when it comes to eliminating water when trying to figure out where to locate bass. I've really been studying on how to analyze maps, seasonal patters, and water temperate. I decided to test all of my knowledge in order to draw a sample map of a lake and to break down a good starting point of bass location based on the yearly season and of the water temperature. I broke down the lake into four "zones" if you will based on where I think the bass may be along with a description of what to look for based on the temperature of the lake.

For you veterans out there, would you mind to take a second and observe my map and see if I'm headed down the right path for locating fish?

I welcome any input you guys feel like giving me. I'm here to learn lol.

Sample Lake Breakdown.pdf

RHuff reply :

For those that can't get pdf I also included it as a photo below.....

Sam reply :

I would add fishing the banks, too.

Any way you can show anything on the bottom, like rocks, wood, blowdowns, humps, tires, trees, etc.?

Can you add a measurement scale by the mile so we will understand how long and wide the area is?

Thanks.

TnRiver46 reply :

They might want to spawn inbetween zone 3&4 also if there are smallmouth. They like to make their nest up against a random log out in the wide open flats

DropShotHotShot reply :

Search: breaking down lake maps with josh Douglas and seth feider. Its a great webinar on the subject

RHuff reply :

Thanks dropshot I will do that

scaleface reply :

I think it is unnecessarily complicated . Id have two zones the main lake and the creek arm .

ClackerBuzz reply :

I can really appreciate the time and thought you put into your 2018 season. most of us have been in your exact shoes. I can tell you from experience there are two very different roads to take which leads me to the million dollar question: are you using sonar or not? if not i'll introduce a secondary question: are you fishing from bank, kayak or boat? many will argue that a bass is a bass regardless of these answers. however spend enough time on BR, seminars or out on the water and you'll hear experienced anglers all say the same thing: catching bass is easy, finding them is the hard part. answering your questions and the road you take become extremely focused once you answer the above.

12poundbass reply :

On 1/11/2018 at 3:40 AM, RHuff said:

For those that can't get pdf I also included it as a photo below.....

Did you get this idea from Rick Clunn the other night on The Bass Pro's?

RHuff reply :

I did lol. I got the zone idea from him but I tried to go in to a little more detail and apply it into a full year instead of just the fall transition. Some of it came from KVD's 6-season bass strategy too. Also been reading in-fisherman's book on bass location, series 2. Tried to take parts from each and make my own thing into something I can use and understand.

On 1/11/2018 at 1:04 PM, ClackerBuzz said:

I can really appreciate the time and thought you put into your 2018 season. most of us have been in your exact shoes. I can tell you from experience there are two very different roads to take which leads me to the million dollar question: are you using sonar or not? if not i'll introduce a secondary question: are you fishing from bank, kayak or boat? many will argue that a bass is a bass regardless of these answers. however spend enough time on BR, seminars or out on the water and you'll hear experienced anglers all say the same thing: catching bass is easy, finding them is the hard part. answering your questions and the road you take become extremely focused once you answer the above.

I bought my first bass boat two years ago, but the electronics on it are out-dated. I am going to upgrade this spring so the answer is No I currently do not use much electronics other than to read the water temperature and very vague details about the bottom contour.

I absolutely love Bass U and have watched as many seminars on there as I can. I have caught a lot of fish over the last two years, but that's with spending two, sometimes three days a week fishing. I have never been in a situation where I have a time constraint on locating fish like tournament fishing will present.

Catt reply :

On 1/11/2018 at 12:18 PM, scaleface said:

I think it is unnecessarily complicated . Id have two zones the main lake and the creek arm .

Where do the creeks run through these two is #1 in my opinion.

scaleface reply :

Back in the 80's Bassmaster magazine had an article by Rick Clunn that broke down a lake in similar fashion . I tried his system and it just didnt work for me .

WRB reply :

Without knowing more detail and the size of this creek arm can't help you.

Tom

Catt reply :

On 1/12/2018 at 2:53 AM, scaleface said:

Back in the 80's Bassmaster magazine had an article by Rick Clunn that broke down a lake in similar fashion . I tried his system and it just didnt work for me .

I already know where the shallow water is...it's on the bank!

Now I wanna know where the deepest water is & then what structure connects the two.

At least that's where I'm gonna start, y'all can do what y'all want ????

senile1 reply :

If you look at any Buck Perry diagrams for lakes he analyzed they always had a lot of detail. I don't think you can make it too detailed when you are talking about the bottom of the lake as there are specific tiny structure features that you may not be aware of that could be very important to bass.

Your diagram is one way to begin breaking down a lake and I don't find fault with whatever method suits you. However, I would carry your analysis further as it currently does not provide enough detail for me, though I could work from your diagram to add those details. Your lake breakdown should eventually show you where the bass are likely to hangout in each season, or as @Catt stated the structure that connects shallow spawning flats to the deepest water. Bass will be found somewhere along this path, depending on the season.

Catt reply :

Most spawning flats will be located near feeding areas, pre-spawn bass are not gonna feed in an area & then swim long distances to spawn.

Those feeding areas will hold bait throughout the year ????

RHuff reply :

You guys are awesome. I made this entire thing from my head so lets pretend the closer you get to the main lake the deeper the water is.. the closer the creek arm the shallower with the spawning areas really shallow

WRB reply :

On 1/12/2018 at 7:06 AM, RHuff said:

You guys are awesome. I made this entire thing from my head so lets pretend the closer you get to the main lake the deeper the water is.. the closer the creek arm the shallower with the spawning areas really shallow

In your head how long a distance is this creek arm; 1 mile or 5 miles? and add a hypothical creek channel unless it doesn't exist.

Tom

Sam reply :

On 1/12/2018 at 3:05 AM, Catt said:

I already know where the shallow water is...it's on the bank!

Now I wanna know where the deepest water is & then what structure connects the two.

At least that's where I'm gonna start, y'all can do what y'all want ????

I would go to Toledo Bend!!!!!

RHuff reply :

On 1/12/2018 at 7:30 AM, WRB said:

In your head how long a distance is this creek arm; 1 mile or 5 miles? and add a hypothical creek channel unless it doesn't exist.

Tom

Let's say the creek arm is no more than 1/2 a mile

WRB reply :

On 1/13/2018 at 12:29 AM, RHuff said:

Let's say the creek arm is no more than 1/2 a mile

If thecsketch is the 1/2 mile longit's too small to break down into segments other than understanding seasonal periods; the spawn cycles of pre-spawn, spawning and post spawn, summer, fall and winter.

Tom

Catt reply :

On 1/13/2018 at 12:29 AM, RHuff said:

Let's say the creek arm is no more than 1/2 a mile

More than enough to breakdown!

Where's the creek channel?

Is it straight down the middle?

Is there turns?

Does it swing close to shore?

How deep is the mouth?

How deep is the middle?

How deep is the back?

What kind of cover?

Plenty to work with if ya know what look for ????

Bankbeater reply :

If the water levels go up and down a lot, you might want to check Google Earth. Sometimes it will have a timeline photo that shows the structure when the water is down.

WRB reply :

My guess is this is the OP's favorite lake Plum Orchard. He hasn't been willing to define a creek channel, he did define basic depths for each zone. The shore line cover in Plum Orchard appears to be Lilly pads in the shallow coves.

The coves would only be pockets or coves less then 100' back or a casting distance. Bass can spawn anywhere there is some cover or wind protected areas, not always the back of pockets.

Start at the points with pocket or cove located in zone 1 entry point, meter your way across to the opposite entry point looking for the non-existing channel, zig zag up the creek arm middle through zones 2 and 3 to map the non-existing creek channel, stop and fish the pockets or coves with multiple points. By now you should have a good idea what the bottom looks like and where any bait fish may be located and what depth the bass are at. Check out zone 4 to determine if a break line exist and work the thick cover if it has any signs of life.

Tom

RHuff reply :

It isn’t Plum but your right that Plum is one of my favorite little lakes. I truely did just sketch this up from the top of my head.

BassWhole! reply :

Braking down one cove doesn't really make sense. You have to look at the lake as a whole, unless you are dealing with a huge body of water, or are limited to only fishing this area for some reason.

ClackerBuzz reply :

I used to really love reading threads about seasonal movements, lunar charts, water/air temps, maps, structure routes etc. but as the seasons rolled on I found all the info was useless when I was stuck 4 hours into a fishing trip, without a single bite, scratching my head asking "what in the world should I do now?"

I'll break it down into 2 kinds of fishing: with sonar and without. This is trying to condense a lot of what I learned the last 5 years so excuse me if I lose my mind here and there (i don't think it was all there to begin with).

Fishing without sonar:

The goal is simple: become an expert at finding bass, that are relating to visible cover, in less than 10 ft of water. The hardest thing about this process is NOT fishing. It feels like moving mountains to stop casting. It's critical to stop blindly forward all day wasting time and hundreds/thousands of casts. Put down the rods, put on ur polarized sunglasses and troll 50-100 yards forward. Pick out 5-10 high percentage spots and turn back to only fish them. This one tactic alone will change ur game. Repeat every 100 yards.

I'm not a deer hunter but if I was I would kill it. I love to hike and I always spook deer while exploring woods. Instead of sitting for hours in a tree stand (like some of my buddies) I would hike for a few days beforehand and trample through every valley, ridge, pine/cedar patch, brush thickets trying to spook them. I'd run them out of every nook and cranny of the forest. Then I'd go back a week later and set up a tree stand where I know they are going to come out at dusk. You're basically doing the same with bass. Feel free to put the boat right on top of their heads b/c these aren't deer. Take confidence knowing that even if alarmed a bass will be relaxed and catchable within 20 mins. Troll all around the shoreline getting up close and personal with underwater stumps, brush piles, weedlines, docks, lily pads, laydowns to purposefully spook bass and find out what/how they are relating to. This sounds easy and like common sense but trust me it's hard enough to put down the rods let alone mastering how to identify and cast high percentage areas. You could spend an entire season just mastering laydowns. When a tree is lying horizontally on the bottom it still goes from trunk to tip top. Troll all around it and find out which direction it's laying. It's very important to make a mental note b/c when you come back you want to cast at the trunk and retrieve toward the top. You'll be able to effectively bounce a lure through the entire tree without getting hung up b/c you are reeling with the V's of branches. As opposed to constantly getting snagged if you retrieve crosswise or from tip top toward truck. Also think of a tree laydown like an iceberg: the branches showing above the surface only represent 10% of its mass; the other 90% is below the water. Most guys see the branch tips above the water and immediately troll close enough to cast them. After awhile you learn to first cast the 90% underwater. And after more time you learn there are even bass holding 25-50 ft on the perimeter of the tree. These are some of the most untouched bass b/c 99% of guys troll right on top of them to cast the tree top underwater or branches above the surface. On your home lake you should know the orientation of every laydown and which direction to cast. Sidenote: learn how to effectively use marker buoys. After you inspect a laydown back off with the trolling motor dropping a marker buoy where ur 100 ft from the top from the tree. park the boat on the buoy and your initial cast will be on the outer perimeter of the tree. work the front and both sides. Everyone in the area can see orange buoys which can attract too much attention so wrap them 90% with black electrical tape. They are harder to see for the untrained eyes you want to keep off ur trail.

These are just a few tips for laydowns but you can see how you can go into incredible depth learning how to master fishing visible cover. Put down the rods, get on the trolling motor, use polarized sunglasses and learn how to identify/inspect visible cover, spooking as many bass as possible, and effectively casting it. It's like being a blind man learning how to see for the first time.

I gotta get some work done but I'll post some sonar tips later.

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Breaking down a lake 2024

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