Fishing articles, Tips and Information Saltwater Fishing Articles
USING A LAKE MAP EFFECTIVELY Many years ago I discovered the usefulness of a lake map. A lake map usually has many characteristics on it. Mostly it will identify the depth of the lake. It will also identify structure points of the lake. Such as, sand bars, gravel pits and under water roads, rocky points, mud or muck etc. Some lake map companies even mark the best fishing spots according to the depth and structure within the lake or on top of the lake like overhanging trees, reeds or lily pads to name a few. When the best fishing spots are marked they are also identifying what species of fish might be at that particular structure point. The main reason you need a lake map is to identify all of these structure points so you can plan your fishing day efficiently. Knowing where to fish, even before you put your boat in the water, can increase your chances of catching fish greatly. Let me explain. Many fishermen and women start to fish early in the morning, lets say you start at 6am. If you were like me in the past, you would put the boat in the water and then motor to the other side of the lake or motor far away from the boat ramp wasting valuable fishing time. With a map, you will have the ability to plan where you will fish before you put the boat in the water. Then go to the nearest spot from the boat launch that has good structure. Chances are there may be 4 or 5 spots that have good structure for the fish you may be fishing for. If you only spend 30 minutes at each spot, after you have fished it hard, then move to the next spot, you could hit 4 spots in the first 2 hours of prime fishing time from 6am to 8am possibly doubling your chances of catching fish. I use to hit 2 spots in that 2 hour period, now I hit 4 or 5. The reason I feel comfortable leaving a spot after 30 minutes is because I fished it hard and did not get a bite, that means there are no fish there at that time. So I move to the next spot and do the same thing. I have told many fisherman and women about this easy technique to a lot of people over the years while I had my fishing map company. I would get numerous letters telling me about their fishing success. Jeff Bausch has been fishing for over 40 years. He started a lake map business with the best fishing spots marked plus a fishing newspaper many years ago. Fishing has always been a passion, now he is sharing his fishing knowledge about how to use lake maps and how to fish any lake with great success.
For More Articles, go to our partner site at LBF.COM 
Fishing Factoids Did you know that fish will avoid sunlight at all costs? Sunlight penentration into the water affects fish because they have no eyelids to shield the light away. Fish will retreat into the deep water to avoid the sunlight penetration. How deep depends on the degree of penetration, but usually they will go as deep as they have to and just below the level where the penetration ends. One other way in which fish avoid the sunlight is to retreat into cover of some sort, such as drop-offs, heavy weed beds, under docks, next to logs, under overhanging trees, under boats that are docked, etc, etc. Fishing with jigs - The importance of color selection. Did you know the visibility factors of certain colors? A study was done by a company in Michigan many years ago found that certain colors are more visible to fish in deeper water. Red is visible to 15 feet, Orange to 45 feet, Yellow to 80 feet, Green to 100 feet and Blue all the way to 180 feet! This subject has been much discussed throughout the years. To this day no one can really say, other than to speculate on possible reasons, just why fish, on certain days, under varied conditions, will accept one color over another, and then the next day prefer yet another color. The real key is that you must have a wide variety of colors with the jigs in your tackle box, because you never know what they will hit on next so be prepared.
How many times have you heard the phrase, "Man - you should have been here yesterday, the fish were just jumping into the boat!" You may think that it would be useless to try for the same fish that everybody else was pounding yesterday. However, that isn't always the case. Often times, when fish are "hit hard" on a certain technique or in a certain spot, they get smart and move somewhere else and stop falling for the old standby lures. But, it DOESN'T mean they have stopped biting completely. Start where the guy's were catching them yesterday, except instead of using the same lure, opt for something radically different, but that is still proven to catch 'em. Then work your way into non-traditional holes, because the fish may have moved away from the "zone" as a result of being over pressured. You just might teach your buddies that good fishing doesn't have to be for just one day! Here are a few techniques and fishing tips that you can use to catch even the most highly pressured fish. Lighten up! Use lighter line and smaller lures with a natural presentation. Move your bait SLOWLY! Some neutral to negative feeding fish will hit a slow moving lure and absolutely ignore on that's moving just a little too fast. If you have a high gear ratio reel, turn the handle extra slow. A good way to get an idea of how fast your lure is actually running is to cast parallel to where your fishing and reel at a normal pace. If your trolling, just run the lure beside the boat at normal speed. (This is also a good way to make sure your lure is in tune.) Sometimes live bait is the only way to get a fish to strike, especially in ultra clear water. I don't make a habit of using live bait all the time though, because it is important to be VESATILE! Last but not least -- be silent. A sudden sound can automatically give a fish "lock jaw" that would normally be happy to eat your bait. Well maybe not happy, happy ;o) You might be asking yourself, " If these slow techniques will catch fish even in tough conditions, why not use them all the time?" Well, because your wasting time! When fish are in positive mood, fish fast. When they're negative mood, fish slow. It's that simple! If you would like to know more, visit my website. On it you will find a wealth of information about the sport we all love -- fishing. You can also ask me a question on my forum! So go ahead and LEARN! Until next time, have a great day -- and remember -- unless your line is wet, you ain't gonna catch no fish! Sincerely, Nicholas Cudzilo
| 
