WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT A LAKE BEFORE YOU GET
THERE
Learning Seasonal Migration Patterns and Narrowing
the Lake
 EDITOR'S
NOTE: According to Rick Clunn of Missouri, four-time
Bassmasters Classic winner and the newly-named best
bass fisherman of all time by bass fishing fans across
the world, "How to fish a new lake is one of the
most-common questions asked by anglers.” “I
particularly hear this question when I'm giving seminars.
I never remember having a seminar where someone didn't
ask me how to fish a new lake," Ken Cook of Meers,
Oklahoma, former fisheries biologist, Megabucks tournament
winner and Bassmasters Classic Champion in 1991, told
me. "If I had to pick one question I can bet on
being asked at any seminar I go to, it is about how
to fish a new lake," Larry Nixon of Bee Branch,
Arkansas, former winner of the Bassmasters Classic,
told me. Apparently everyone is seeking the answer to
the same question. But one question that always should
precede how to fish a new lake is, "What information
should I have about a lake before I go to fish it?"
If you have the proper knowledge about a lake before
you arrive at a lake, then your chances of successfully
catching bass will be far greater.
Bass do the same thing each year. During the winter,
they move out to the deep creek channels and river channels
and hold on cover in deep water. In the pre-spawn, the
bass will begin to move up the creek channels into some
of the  feeder
creeks or along the ditches that will head to the spawning
grounds. Just prior to the spawn, they will begin to
move on to the points and shallow flats. During the
spawn, they will move in to the shallow water, and after
the spawn they generally follow the same retreat back
to deep water. Bass also hunt water temperature that
is comfortable. They can't go deeper than the oxygen
level in the lake. They will follow the baitfish. To
begin your research on a new lake, you must decide where
the bass will be on their annual migration pattern during
the time of the year you’ll be fishing.
If you don't know this information, you can obtain
it in two places. First, call the local tackle store
closest to the lake. The tackle store owner makes his
living from successful fishermen. If he tells you where
the bass should be, and you fish that type of water
and catch bass, then more than likely you will buy your
tackle from him and rely on his judgment. The second
way to be informed about where the bass are is to contact
the fisheries biologists in the Fisheries Section of
your state department of conservation. These biologists
have a wealth of knowledge that often goes untapped.
There will probably be a district biologist in the area
where you want to angle, who  can
accurately pinpoint where the bass should be during
the time you plan to fish. Once you obtain this information,
you have narrowed your fishing water down from a lake
that contains thousands of acres to the areas in that
lake where the bass should be at the time of year that
you plan to fish.
Narrowing The Lake Down:
Now that you know what type of water the bass should
be in at the time of year you will be fishing, pinpointing
those regions so you will know exactly where to fish
is very important. You'll need a topo map of the lake
and a good lake map. If the bass are on creek channels
or river channels, a topo map should show you where
those creek and river channels are. If the bass are
holding on points, you can find these points on the
topo map. But if the bass are in shallow-water, you
must locate the shallow water structure that should
be holding the fish to be successful. For example, sometimes
bass will hold on buck brush in a lake,  milfoil,
blown-down trees and/or shallow grass flats. This information
may be most accurate coming from the fisheries biologist
or the tackle store owner. If the fish are in shallow
water, you can eliminate the creek and river channels.
If the bass are in deep water, you may want to eliminate
the shallow-water areas by studying a topo map. As the
time draws closer for the trip, lake conditions become
a critically important part of your research.
TOMORROW: RISING OR FALLING?
THE LAKE'S WATER SITUATION
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