Breaking down a lake. (Pics)

[Craigums]

When going to a lake you have never fished (Let's say +1000 Acres) What do you target first on a lake map if searching for crappies.

I hear alot of talk targeting them in the 6-15 ft. range. let's hear why you target that depth and what type of structure you look for near by

[Craigums]

here is what i'm what im actually looking at....

If this helps

I think there was a seminar at Thorne Bros. on this same topic but i had to work.

Thanks

[Scott M]

Allright, some will disagree with me, but my search begins with a search for green weeds. This year, we got some pretty good snow cover right off the bat, so the depth at which plants haven't gone dormant is on the shallow side. Obviously a camera really helps in these situations, but sometimes you can eyeball things from inside a portable when you shut the light out. Hit a few spots looking for greenery, and if you are so lucky and so well-equipped, check the substrate. A muddy bottom holds more food than a sandy bottom.

On this particular lake you can hit some of those humps. Bald Eagle (The cat's out of the bag, but there are already a ton of crappie fisherman out there for the sheer numbers, not the size) has lots of those type of humps. There are so many in fact that you can pick which ones you want to go to-large ones, deep ones, shallow ones, subtle small ones....your choice.

The lake also has some great flats in the north end and right off the access. You can see it on your map. A huge expanse of 15-18 feet. Up on the north side not too far off that flat is a an outlet to clearwater creek. Big or small, if these type of outlets and inlets are running, even at a snail's pace, they will attract fish. I'll be honest I haven't fished near that outlet, so I couldn't tell you if its frozen solid or what, but on the map that catches my eye.

The focal point of the lake without a doubt is cigar island. There is a deep hole that early and late season holds crappies. In my experience it's been mostly little ones, but that is the whole lake. It gets pounded and a 10" really is a metro slab. But while targeting crappie I have stumbled into a few nice eater size walleyes. There are some humps and dropoffs that are depth changes and structure fish can relate to.

In general when reading a map, I'll print a few off if I'm using a paper map, and grab a highlighter. Highlight finger bars, dropoffs, humps and reefs, islands, submerged vegetation recorded at deeper points, substrate changes, rocks/navigational hazards, and flats. Depending on what I'm after, I can nail it down from there. Those with H2O's and waterproof maps of bigger lakes can do the same thing, and the detail levels are that much crisper. A map is a nice tool before you hit the lake to point you in the right direction, and with some on-ice adaptation (reading the fish, reading their habitat, reading the weather and thinking about seasonal positioning) you can ice more fish.

[Craigums]

Da_Chise Great information thanks you!

Lets try another one. On this particular lake I usually fish for crappies in the "Red" circle, However when looking at a map my intuition tells me to try the "Blue" circles. How would you break this lake down while searching for crappie?

THIS POST IS NOT ME BEGGING FOR SPOTS WITHOUT PUTTING IN MY TIME!

I'm just looking for patterns that I can apply to all situations and on all lakes.

Thanks,

Craig P.

[Kyle Sandberg]

When targeting the areas you have circled in Blue, those areas would most likeley be an evening/night spot. The crappies will come out of the basin and feed up and down the sharp breaks. The blue area on the norht end will probably be a good late ice spot as that bay seems like it would be the area where crappies would go to spawn.

[Scott M]

Looks like a nice jutting point, an inlet to a bay, and a little saddle between a point and a hump you've circled. All great locations and great intuition. Looks like some more nice flats-but I understand that you're looking for more specific areas. When I fish a flat, I will move all over it if I'm sorting fish, off it if I'm getting nothing.

Another place worth circling might be the sunken islands/humps/reefs (whatever the preferred nomenclature is) and that steep breakline near the top of this map. Those and the circles you have already made, would be my best guess at starting points. Others with ideas should chip in. You at least have a game plan, without any knowledge of lake bottom or underwater structure, to start with. Again, after that, it's on-ice adaptations.

This is a great post Craig. It's a great question that you are asking and hopefully all will read it as such. I wish everyone understood what an important tool lake maps are. Minnesotans are really blessed with lake maps available to the public at the DNR web page (http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/index.html. I've fished in a couple other states and tried to get online lake maps. I've called state game and fish agencies and they have no idea what I'm talking about on the telephone. Go ahead and try googling lake maps...you just don't find many states that put them up online. We are truly blessed to have them because they are a great starting point when tackling a new lake.

[Craigums]

Thanks Again... Please feel free to take a picture of the maps ive posted or any other lakes and circle areas that you would start your search for crappies.

Da_Chise you said:

"and a little saddle between a point and a hump you've circled"

are you refering to the bottom blue circle? What is a "Saddle"?

also "and that steep breakline near the top of this map"

does this refer to the area slightly to the right of my top blue circle?

"Looks like some more nice flats-but I understand that you're looking for more specific areas. When I fish a flat, I will move all over it if I'm sorting fish, off it if I'm getting nothing."

What are flats? This might sound like a stupid question but just so everyone's (including me) terminology is on the same page.

If I get time I'll even post a couple other lake maps.

Thanks for everyones input!

~Craig

[Craigums]

Two lakes I've never fished....With differant structure that what i've posted alread (especially "Lake A")

Once again I've circled what my intuitions would be in the BLUE,

How would you guys break down the lake and were would you begin drilling your holes?

------------------------LAKE A--------------------

------------------------LAKE B----------------------

[Scott M]

 Quote:

"and a little saddle between a point and a hump you've circled" are you refering to the bottom blue circle? What is a "Saddle"?

-Saddle...think shaped like a horse's saddle. A deeper spot between two shallow spots...a great come and go sort of area. Yes, the bottom blue spot.

 Quote:

also "and that steep breakline near the top of this map"

does this refer to the area slightly to the right of my top blue circle?

Yes...steep breaklines show up as bathymetric lines that are very closely spaced together

 Quote:

"Looks like some more nice flats-but I understand that you're looking for more specific areas. When I fish a flat, I will move all over it if I'm sorting fish, off it if I'm getting nothing."

What are flats? This might sound like a stupid question but just so everyone's (including me) terminology is on the same page.

Flats-wide open expanses of the same depth. Many times they are structureless areas that fish can just roam around on. Like a big shelf, or a kitchen table that the fish can eat right off of.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Fun post guys!!! I love reading lake maps and coming up with game plans...

that last map you posted has a lot of fun structure.. this time of the year I would plug holes in the farNE side of the map in the saddle in 35 foot of water.. .I would find both breaks and work up both sides as well into shallower water depending on light penitration and weed growth. I also realy like the looks of where you have the furthest north circle, but would probably drill holes in that 20' deep cut just to the south of where you have the circle. Although depnding on water clarity, fish could be anywhere on that 20' flat going out to the sunken island.

[Deitz Dittrich]

lake "A" is one of them drill till yu turn blue lakes... if you know of any special bottom features, like bottom content change, you can hit the gold mine.. but its more of a hit and miss...

[Craigums]

Da_Chise, and Deitz Thanks for the input guys...On any of the maps would you disagree with any of the BLUE circles? or can you point out any of my BLUE circles that would be less likely to produce fish than other circles?

[Scott M]

Lake A is a whole different ecological class than Lake B. To be honest, I'd be licking my chops to get on "A" in the spring. Flooded brush, a couple inlets and outlets, I'm guessing a muck, silt, or gravelly bottom, certainly plenty of spawning habitat. But come winter, I think its a different story. Featureless basins, comparatively speaking with B, can be tough to fish. You may have to hop around a lot to find the fish and focus on within lake conditions-vegetation, a piece of structure you stumble upon, those kinds of things.

Lake B is the opposite end of the spectrum. So much structure you're not sure where to start. A pair of humps next to an island of emergent vegetation, some nice breaklines, a couple deep holes, fast-drop shorelines, points that break fast. One overall comment is that the percentage of littoral acreage is probably pretty small. Littoral area are those areas under 15'. These areas are generally the nursery for the lake where a lot of production from plants and all the way up the food chain occurs. Come winter time, you might see panfish up in the shallows, particularly if they are weedy, because you won't get a lot of small fish working open water. They tend to stay shallow to be in their comfort zone. These baitfish spend their whole lives there and aren't about to move out of those areas. A lot of times you see this when you set up in littoral areas-crayfish, young of the year perch and bluegill, minnows, darters...They won't leave 15 feet because they have shelter and food. There will always be a few predators working those areas looking for food, and many times these areas are where you set up for the night bite on crappies or walleyes.

The blue circles look like good places to start augering holes, and hopefully you can find a few more places, particularly on lake "b" from the above info.

[Scott M]

 Originally Posted By: Craigums

Da_Chise, and Deitz Thanks for the input guys...On any of the maps would you disagree with any of the BLUE circles? or can you point out any of my BLUE circles that would be less likely to produce fish than other circles?

My reply to that Craig is on a new body of water, you can't help but try a few places. Do some spots look better than others? Certainly, but you can show bias for spots from previous experience, fishing technique, etc. So I wouldn't shoot down any of your spots or say one is better than another without knowing when you are going out and seeing what you see on the lake. Using a map can help you eliminate a lot of water that doesn't look too hot, I don't know if a first reading can help you prioritize spots unless you already have some biases.

Unless you've fished a lake for a long time, you will have a heck of a time predicting movement or location. There are certain seasonal movements that are predictable-spawning, staging, beating the heat/oxygen deficiency when the lake stratifies, early weed growth, turnover, etc. For some fish, like crappies, there are even predictable diel movements, like into the shallows to beat up on prey items with lesser night vision. But for the most part, I shy away from guesstimating one spot over another unless I've fished the lake a lot. It comes down to experimenting with me. I've fished with a lot of guys that look at a map and say "they'll be here" or "they'll be here because of x,y,z." I just go with "this looks like a good spot" and if they want to know why I'll say "because of x,y,z." It's less of a shot to your pride I guess...You get humbled in a hurry if you think you know where they are every time.

But that's just me. I hope this helps people read a map a little better and eliminate some dead water. Then make your on-the-water decisions and you can be in for pretty good fishing.

[giwoyna5]

Great topic Craigums! Great posts and insight fellas! I agree w/ Deitz on lake "A" about drilling holes. A guy could burn up a few tanks of gas if you don't know the lake. What helps me with this type of lake is searching for subtle structures and so called "gold mines" during open water season and mark them w/ a gps. I've found that comming back to those spots with ice on the lake can be very rewarding.

[350cobra]

Yes at times and no at others, it would be based on whether Northerns and Bass are major species in the lake and the classification and water quality. In general certain holes in a lake will attract the major schools but a hole closer to a narrows will be void, why you say, probably to close to a major population of Pike. Sarah is an example. I Have fished your first lake and structure attracts lots of predators pushing the panfish around the lake. The location relates to activity of zooplankton and minnows which as it turns dark pulls out away from cigar island. I've watched pike on an aqua view closer to the dropoff (crotch) , but suspended. The cleaner the water is the later into the nite they will bite, but it seems the more stained or fertile the more it relates to morning and evening bites with maybe a flurry during the day. I usually will start at the base of the drops lets say 20-30 as a target depth to fish and start near the holes closest to spawning bays and work in that direction, in general from the lakes around the cities here they do not seem to venture to far away, its just understanding the main depth most of the species of panfish are relating to during the winter, Spring lake in Scott co. its 16-25ft based on there activity on that day, but Spring has deeper water than 25ft and so does Prior but the fish do not seem to go any deeper, and this I attribute to the water quality. Sarah they do go deeper and Bald Eagle it could be 18-30 ft. There water quality is cleaner during the winter. Good discussion. Your Red circles first then work towards the blue circles or fishhouses.

[reelemin]

great topic and posts guys. I've got to come into the species forums more often, especially know that the crappies have stolen my heart

[wazz]

Its nice to see how other people approach a new lake, I think there are some many factors involved in fish movment and location that its going to change and be different all the time. I think at best you can elimanate the bad spots. Even if you find'em dosen't mean you can catch'em...

[Craigums]

Are deep basins always a good place to start when trying to locate winter crappies? I hear a lot of talk about people catching crappies in 6 feet of water. which goes against what I've always thought about crappie location. The In-Fisherman people even talked about basin fishing crappies....

Can anyone shed some light on this topic for me?

[Deitz Dittrich]

A lot depends on the time of the winter you are talking about. Right now, yes the basins are where the fish seem to be... Crappies anyway. Keep in mind that not all basins are crated equal. How deep the basin gets and what is around the basin is important. Also the size of the basin is important too...Today however, I did better in the weeds.. but then again, it was gills not crappie.

[Craigums]

Do crappies and gills hang out together? I was in 24 ft of water looking for crappies and I found about a million 5 inch sunfish but NOT A SINGLE crappie. Tried upsizing to a 2 inch power minnow and the flasher was swarmed with those little sunfish but no takers. Was I in the wrong spot or you think it was just the lake? Here is where I was....

[OLY]

That lake is totally filled with stunted panfish so I would say it is just that lake. I have actually fished all over that same area and never really caught anything worth keeping, small 5-6 inch crappies and gills and thats about it. Blue gills and crappies can generally be caught in the same areas on most lakes. There is a lake I fish in wisconsin were it is 25-30 ft deep and the fish suspend quite a ways up and its always a good mixture of gills and crappies together.

[Craigums]

That makes me feel better, I was starting to think it was my fishing ability

[Deitz Dittrich]

Crappies and sunfish will often school together. They will also at times school by size.. I had the same thing happen on Saturday.. found a ton of small fish.. Rather than stick it out catching a fish every 10 seconds, I choose to move.. eventually did find bigger gills but never did find bigger crappies.

Hard to say in your situation.. like the above poster said... could have been th lake.

[Craig Plummer]

When looking for crappies this time of year do you usually hit the Basins closest to the structure then?