All the folks out there catching the blues, What makes a location a good location?
Are you targeting humps, flats, ledges?
Do you follow the bait? If so how do you locate bait?
What would one look for on their lake map and electronics?
I hear location is the far most important factor, just dont know how to determine what kind of location am I looking for?

Generally speaking find the bait, find the fish. As the water gets colder, the Shad go deep. You might go for two miles with bait 20 ft thick. You will come up on a ledge,channel etc where the bait is broke up with fish in them. Fish it!!!
Threadfins start dieing off at 41 degrees. That�s the period to really start deep fishing when the temp gets close to that

Being neither a Pro or Guru and still trying to learn this stuff and do not like pulling anchors (back problems) - I usually just drift structure -contour changes, river channels, humps, next to timber, ledges etc.....of course if the area has a blank screen on me Sonar I skip that area, I don�t always mark fish but if I see bait I�ll drift it.

If I see Sandbass or Hybrid/Striper Guys fishing an area and then move off - I go check out the area and drift thru it (if not shallow.)......

If birds are working an area - I�ll drift thru it.......

So it sounds like hunting sandbass.. I know sandbass like ledges, humps, structure, I assume so because that where they ambush the bait.
Catfish also like said bait..
So moral of the story here is follow the bait?

Yup. Big Cats like eating Sandbass, Shad, Crappie, Small Carp, Sunfish,Bass and all cats like the shad scraps that drop when Sandbass n Hybrid are whacking bait. Many Times Big Gizzard Shad are mixed in with Sandbass esp when on the bottom.........

Awesome advise...
Thanks Guys..

what lake are you generally fishing? what is the predominant structure and depth of that lake? I fish different lakes with different structures. One is solid timber, 2 others are pretty much void of any timber. The lake with timber, I fish the timber. The lakes without timber, I find ledges, points, drop-offs and fish those areas (as long as I'm marking fish). All the lakes I'm fishing right now, I'm still fishing shallow structure.