What type of spots do you look for when?

[Agronomist_at_IA]

What type of area do you look for when

Walleye fishing

Perch/Panfishing

[reinhard1]

i have fished the lakes i normaly fish so many years now i go right to my "spots". in other words all a can say is get to know the lakes you fish on. everyone has their own "hot spot" wether you found it by accident or do research on the contour of the lake.

on mille lacs for example there are three places i go [although i dont go there that often anymore]. the flats, the graveyard, and a "saddle" where a buddy of mine has his perm and trailer. a saddle of course is a area between two rocky reefs in this case. on hard water i usualy fish suspended crappies in the deeper parts of a lake and weedlines for sunnies.

the lakes i fish up north for walleys are fairly shallow and stained. great day time action, with cloudy days being the best. there the bottom is full of gravel areas along with rocks, boulders, and wood. usualy in 10 feet of water or less. i have fished these lakes since i was a kid so over the years i head right to were i have had the most consistant bite. dont get fish every time, but being there is most of the enjoyment. it's funny sometimes, especialy on two of the lakes i fish up north there are over 3,000 acres of water. plenty more good spots, but i always go to the same places it seems.

then again i fish a lake just over 300 acres up there [stained water also] and the walley's and crappies bite only during December and then the action just seems to stop. now that may be true on a lot of lakes, but on this one it's a dramatic decline in bites. so i dont have all the answeres and have more to learn. this lake doesn't get stocked and the reproduction rate is good also. i usualy go there in late fall when the fishing is at it's best.

in general in my opinion, do some research on the lakes you have in mind. check the data at the DNR lake finder site and check the netting results. you can also get a look at the contour map that is provided. weedlines, points, reefs, saddles, and deeper holes for suspended panfish on hard water ect. good luck.

[Rippinlip]

Sunfish, I look towards the weedlines and pockets in the weeds.

Crappies I look on the edges of the weedlines out towards the sharper breaks heading for deep water and the basin, lot more running and gunning.

Perch early I will look the same as Sunfish and as the winter wears on I will start to look more towards the basin, looking for any difference in the bottom, like rock to mud.

I will catch some of everything in those spots I mention, just starter spots for me.

Walleyes.....I don't search much for unless I am up on Mille Lacs, just I just listen to the experts up there...

[Esox_Magnum]

Lakes I fish I know well and by trial and error have found spots that can produce all species on about any given day....Eyes, perch, pike, bass, gills, crappies all from the same hole and sometimes several different species under us at once....

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Lakes I fish I know well and by trial and error have found spots that can produce all species on about any given day....Eyes, perch, pike, bass, gills, crappies all from the same hole and sometimes several different species under us at once....

So what do you look for in a spot.

[Esox_Magnum]

Most are spots that don't jump out at you on a map, trial and error and alot of holes drilled and scouting....Some might be a change in bottom content, another is a place weeds meet rocks, others are just a big weedbed or a rocky bottom that just always seems to hold fish...

[robert aldrich]

just use your vexlair/marcum/HB to find the fish thats what i do.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Transition areas is that I look for.. Could be a change in depth or a chance in bottom content.. But if you find those areas, expecially if they have both change in depth and bottom content, you have usually found the fish.

[kapp]

I like a hard bottom hump rising out of a softer bottom. i will fish an inside turn or a point in the hump near the break line, a little shelf is even better. weedlines next to hard bottom can be good as well.

[crappiebuster]

Yep find the transition areas from hard to soft bottom and you usually have them. Depth changes usually occour within those areas also. Deeper during the day shallower during dusk/night at least for eyes.

[Stick in Mud]

I am not an expert, but with the wonders of technology, I find it much more effective for me to just drill some holes and plop down the vex transducer. Not to sound snarky or anything, but I look for the spots that have fish on them. That's about it.