finding places where 2 different bottom contents meets

[rap]

when i fish eyes in the winter, i usually just find a good dropoff and either fish at the top or bottom of it. i never have paid attention to the bottom content transition zones... i was wondering how many of you find this important and productive? i've heard that is one of the main things to look for.. how do you guys locate it? i have a vexilar and aqua vu, and i think i could tell just by looking at the vexilar, but how do you know where to start looking? just start drilling and hope you find a transition zone?

[Guest]

rap,

This is a very good point. Whenever possible I try to locate as close to the transistion areas as possible. On some lakes its very hard to find this areas and others its rather easy. Sometimes you just get lucky and punch a hole in the right spot. You've heard of the stories about a fisherman that catches fish in one hole and his buddy ten feet away doesn't catch anything right? This is the answer to some of those situations. Fish relate to these transition zones and even follow them throughout the lake as if they are on a road. Depending on the transition it can mean a place to trap baitfish. ie:sand to rock can be used to trap baitfish. Also provides areas where roaming fish can come off the flats and invade the weed beds (sand/muck to weedy/mucky transition). There are many more explainations to why these areas produce. Everyone has different opinions, most of which are probably right. If you find these areas plot them on the GPS, you can bet they will produce again in the future.

Good Fishin, Matt.

[rap]

another question: say i am fishing an island that has a dropoff all along it's shore. would it be more probable to find a transition zone by searching parallel to the shoreline or just going deeper and going perpindicular to the island? also is it fairly easy to spot transition zones with aqua vu's? i know it would be obvious to spot sand meeting boulders, but how about sand to silt, silt to muck, and so on?

[This message has been edited by rap (edited 01-22-2003).]

[Guest]

I would punch holes going out from the drop-off. Sometimes the drop-off contains weeds and the transition point is right off the edge a few feet. Often times the area off the drop-off is similiar reguardless which way you head parallel to the drop-off. By heading perpindicular to the egde you can not only cover more water but locate other structure and drop-offs as well. Sometimes it takes 30 holes or so before you find the right spot.

As far as the aqua vu is concerned, I would check the hole with a Vexilar first to see if there's a school of fish down there. If there is then drop the vu down and look for transition areas. Sometimes a school of fish doesn't mean a transition area but a school of fish could be a good sign that there is one. If you find a transition area then follow it and punch holes over the top of it in both directions. Most likely you will find a better spot on top of the hot spot. The topic of "spot on the spot" now comes into play. Its not uncommon to be catching a lot of fish in one spot and then move 10 yards and catch even more and bigger fish. Its hard to distiguish between silt and muck on an aqua vu. You need to drop a lure down and let it hit the bottom. If the lure kinda sticks then you've found muck, if it thumps the bottom then you've found sand. Look for puffs of debris too, this can also determine the bottom type. Your vexilar can also take away some guess work. The length between bottom echos can tell you whether you're on top of hard bottom or soft bottom. It also shows you whether or not weeds are present.

Fish relate to areas that attract them and transition areas definitely do that. I was fishing Lake of the Woods two summers ago and we stumbled upon a school of smallies that only took up a 10 yard by 10 yard space. Everytime we passed that spot we got hits, if we missed by even a yard we got nothing. Come to find out (underwater camera) there was a huge pod of crayfish sitting on top of a boulder that the smallies were snatching up. Things like this happen all the time and locating these spots can be plain luck or time spent looking. Same as transition areas and ice fishing.

If you do find these areas plot them on a GPS or mark them some how. These spots will produce in the future throughout most seasons.

Good Fishin, Matt.

[Guest]

Rap. You fished the top and bottom of an edge? Fish right in the middle of that edge. The fish relate to that area the most because its their "highway" for baitfish.

Good Luck

------------------
MILLE LACS AREA GUIDE SERVICE
651-271-5459 http://fishingminnesota.com/millelacsguide/
click here

[rap]

thanks for the info matt

d-man and others,
where i fished last week, there was a drop off leading out from shore fairly steep, it leveled off at 32 feet and i fished right at the point where it leveled off. should i be right in the middle of the slope?

[This message has been edited by rap (edited 01-24-2003).]

[Guest]

Yep.... right in da middle!

------------------
-FNC

"Hell froze over last week... glad I brought the Vex"

[Guest]

Drill holes across the entire drop. Start over the deeper water, move to the edge of the drop, then up to the top edge as it gets darker. I you have fish in the area it is just a matter of staying on them. Usually, they will follow this pattern. Scott Steil

[Guest]

I've caught a lot of fish suspending on top of the actual decline of the drop-off. Crappies tend to do this a lot and so do roaming walleyes during seasonal moevments. This is when some of the action can be the hottest. Most of the time you will find fish either on top of the egde or at the bottom though. But don't let that stop you from punching holes over all spots. Fishing can change by the minute and like ScottS said, its just a matter of staying on fish.

Good Fishin, Matt.

[This message has been edited by MJ5 (edited 01-24-2003).]

[rap]

ok.. now i'm getting different answers i guess... ok, another scenario, a flat comes out from shore that is 8', then a dropoff from 8'-35' with no "stairsteps" on the drop off, and then the dropoff levels off at 35'. clear lake. during the day if someone were to setup a house, would you set it up right on the base of the bottom of the dropoff or would you go onto the slope? then once evening comes if you were to set up a house, would you set it up on the upper portion of the slope, or right at the top where it levels into 8'? i figured they only use the slope to get from deep to shallow when they'd feed, so during the daytime they'd make their way down the slope and stay near the bottom of it until evening when they'd go up the slope and stay at the top to feed, don't they just use the slope as a migration route then stay at the top and bottom generally?

[This message has been edited by rap (edited 01-24-2003).]

[Guest]

I would set up in 35 feet right at the base of the bottom of the drop-off. The top part of the edge in 8 feet might hold some crappies and gills during the day but I'd focus more on the deeper water. It might not hurt to place a tip-up over the slope incase a roaming walleye passes by. It's hard to tell whether or not this particular drop-off will produce without a lake map of the structure. If there is someway you can e-mail me a lake map I can help you a little better.

([email protected])

Good Fishin, Matt.

[This message has been edited by MJ5 (edited 01-24-2003).]

[rap]

matt,
thanks for all the info. i'm not really having problems catching fish and have actually been doing well in this spot for the last couple weeks, except for the very last time out, but i figured this spot would eventually die out since it isn't on the main lake and i'm sure the eyes will be out there since it is mid-winter, but since d-man brought this up, i thought i'd figure out what everyone else thinks about fishing dropoffs. i've always done that, set up on the base or top of the drop off and then put 2 tip ups out, usually one on the dropoff slope and one in shallower on the flat...

[rap]

another thing about this spot is i've been catching fish at night on the base of the dropoff instead of the top... i'd catch them there in the day, then move in at night to the top, but no fish, then one night it was to windy for me to move up shallow for the evening bite, so i stayed out in 35 and that's where they've been at night, i almost always fish 15' or less at night, but in this spot there not there, what depth ranges you guys like to catch fish at night?
---
just thought i'd add the lake i'm talking about is lake audubon in central ND, very clear lake, no gills or crappie in it, and i'm after the eyes

[This message has been edited by rap (edited 01-24-2003).]

[This message has been edited by rap (edited 01-24-2003).]

[jigglestick]

one of the lakes i like to fish walleyes on has a weed that runs close to the bottom. kind of like a carpet. the bottom for the most part is sand, gravel and or rock.over the years i have noticed if i set up over the carpet, i don't do nearly as well as if i set up over the gravel. iven if the fish house is set up over partial sand, partial carpet, the holes over exposed sand/gravel, will allways out produce. why? i do not know. i know fish swim more than 6 inches off the bottom, but i do know that when jigging i like to make contact with the bottom often. in the carpet i can't do that with out pulling up a mess. and the banging sound is gone. now i have caught fish over the carpet, but i keep the bait way off bottom, say 18 inches. still no way as productive. any insights here?
thanks,jigglestick

------------------
keep a firm grip on your jigglestick!......jigglestick