i don't yet have the fancy livescope/side imaging graphs yet, so i've been using free maps online to dissect some local bodies of water i will be fishing soon. there is this spot, pictured below and circled red, a ridge line fairly close to a point on the lake. the entire image is about 800 feet wide. the ridge seems somewhat of a nice drop off, but not as distinct of an underwater feature i have found at others lakes.



if you knew nothing else, do you think this ridge is sharp and distinct enough to hold fish? or should i try elsewhere?

What lake ? the image doesn`t seem to show very much GEO.Is there a flat or point above it??

^^^

What lake?

I cannot say I would not look for fish there.

Fish like ledges and edges to find food. If you notice that the contour lines are close together, then this would be a sharp drop from shallow to deep. At some time during the year, there should be fish looking in this area for food. I would check this area with a depth finder to see if there were any marks by going up and down the contour in a serpentine pattern. I would keep going in and out for the full length of the structure until I found fish or I didn't find fish. I would leave if I didn't find fish and try another area.

Your technique of studying contour maps is spot on. The first rule of catching fish is to fish where the fish are. Drops, ridges, and humps are great places to look for fish. Study the maps and try to get the GPS coordinates of features that may hold fish. There are APPs for your phone the can show GPS coordinates. Go to these spots and check them out with you depth finder. Save the location that hold fish. This can put you on the path to successful fishing trips.

If the spot looks good on the map and doesn't hold fish, then check it again later. Fish are constantly on the move.

It's possible, but you don't know until you try it. Even the best spots on the lake are a ghost town sometimes. What I would tell you is, "It's not the arrow, it's the indian". Whatever graph you have, get used to using the old style sonar. That is a very helpful tool, as it will allow you to see what is going on down there. Whatever model you have, read the manual twice on the sonar. There is typically down imaging, and sonar. I like the old style sonar myself. If you find the bait, you will find the fish. Just because you don't have FFS, or side imaging you can still find the drop and come back and fish it. I did that for 20 years at least, before technology caught up. GPS is your friend, as you can mark the drop and come back to that spot easily. Time on the water will help.

But if you will give us more info on the lake you are looking at, it will help us more.

Looks like an interesting spot.

“Sometimes” lol
Best way to know is to go and throw I have heard

You never know....There are no rules.

Fishing tip*** Fish like contour change but I wouldn't be looking there as much as the more gradual slopes in the south end of that picture. That underwater point (where you see "20") with gradual contour change is much more appealing to whites/hybrids/stripers than the sharper more drastic drop off you are asking about. I've found and caught a lot of fish in areas like you are asking about, but you'll more consistently find them on that type of structure i'm pointing out versus a sharper drop off. They typically don't prefer drastic contour change.