After fishing shallow from day break to 9:00 on the best 3 spots you can find it is hopeful that it payed off enough to have 5 good fish in the livewell with at least one good kicker. You may reference my experiences here:

http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/11252435/#Post11252435

This Mid Range Depth is 5 to 15 feet right next to or on the side of the shallow feature leading to deeper water. Bass reside on ledges and drop-offs adjacent to shallow-water feeding grounds. They experience comfortable temperatures and better oxygen levels here. The depth provides shelter while the shallow side provides food sources. To determine where to start your search, look for ledges and drop-offs with a significant edge. The faster the drop from shallow feeding grounds to deep water, the more comfortable a bass feels in its environment. Experience has taught me that the fish will move off into deeper water after the early morning feed. Largemouths will not move any farther than they have to.

Start with your hard map looking in the adjacent places that your shallow water fish were. These are the first 3 areas on the list. I would do everything I could to make it work and find them. The major reasons that I couldn't find them close to some of these spots was because the drop was not adequate, bottom had no rock and the cover on the drop was not adequate. The reason the Bass were so bounden up shallow was because of the heavy grass. Now again this is going to take weeks to accomplish so mark 60 spots on that map to go and fish. The key here is you can do this all day every day and not just until 9:00 in the morning. Even with the use of the topographical map, it will be difficult to actually pinpoint intended structure with cover on them without a depth finder. Ledges are a strange feature; sometimes you can fish a mile without any bites, then find several quality schools of bass in the next mile. Drive, look and drive some more; but always fish it if possible. I find a lot more fish with a rod and reel than I do with a depth finder, I have scanned places that look okay without many fish, then turn around and absolutely wear them out. If I had driven on, I would have never caught them.

Start your map analysis looking for strong bottom irregularities and rapid contour/depth changes. Key on those that fall within the 5-15 foot range and mark them with a black pen. Now, survey the general area for indications of cover close by. A good map will show old timber areas. Mark these in another color. Take a close look at your work. Give added attention to those potential locations closest to deep water. The final step becomes to prioritize the list. To do this, select the locations with the sharpest drop-off and deepest adjacent water and number them. You now have a plan of attack which has been thought out in a logical manner.

I think isolated cover on these spots is always the deal; but that's especially true with a ledge of some kind involved. In every case, the bigger bass will be found on the best piece of structure that has cover and baitfish. A drop is a contour change resulting in deeper water and has a downwards angler of decent of 30 degrees, or more. Any change less is considered a slope and will not be as productive. Two of my best spots were where the timber had been cleared and the last bushes on the points were at 12 ft. and that is where the big Bass stopped each day.

In finding the sweet spot, I will circle the underwater structure, whether it�s a break line, ledge or even a hump�until I get consistent bites at specific angles. The most success comes when casting my custom 1 oz. spinner bait cross-current. As the bass are facing into the current, cross-current presentations allow the bait to cross through their entire field of vision, giving them ample time to react to it. When I start catching fish, especially on a DD, make certain to drop a marker buoy to give you a good frame of reference. Fishing these two baits will help you find the isolated cover; then pick it apart with the Crig..

Spend some time learning where they are on your favorite lake and start with small areas in the back 1/3 that you have selected from a map. There will be at least 3 good spots in the back of every cove worth looking at very closely. You cannot absorb the layout for the whole lake all at once, but remember few fish are caught while you are running the boat from place to place.

Great info, Donald! This is sure to help someone out!

Thanks guys. I want to add a couple of things about the best 3 spots on your lake.
- Number one if you will use a pH meter you will find that all of those spots will be in perfict range at a 6 on the scale.
- Second, although you can fish all day to cover more of the 60 spots that you have picked to find the best three; you may have to fish just one spot all day to find the fish on it.

Example of #2:
On Falcon we had 3 shallow water points on one small ditch. In my option they were the best 3 spots on the whole lake. When the shallow water bite shut down we followed the ditch out to the river channel. It took all day to figure this out. It was about 1/4 mile from the hot spots. The river channel bank rose to 6 ft. right next to the ditch as it made it's way to the river. It seemed that every big Bass in that ditch would move out there every day. Our biggest stringer of 54 lbs. came off the side of that hump next to the ditch in 15 ft. of water. Bass love current and there was plenty of it out there next to the river.

Get out your note books, or memorize this man's wisdom it works
on any body of water.