So just how do you catch fish?

Here are the keys:

Go where the bait goes � and all the others (fish) follow. It�s just like golf - learn the fundamentals � proper set up, body alignment � square the club � the proper back swing � in the proper swing path- and finish the swing extended right down the target line.

Fishing is just the same � learn fundamentals � where is the bait fish (I over looked this fundamental for way to long � look for them but I also look for them to not be happy shad/baits - but frightened baits with predators looking and chasing them with your electronics- I learned this looking for the Biggs (trophy blues during the winter).

During the spring � it�s all about the bait - and they go shallow and the Blue Cats � Big Hybrids/Stripers follow right up next to that bank with them � if you see shore birds there � and you can catch shad there � guess what - the others are there also. (Hint � if you pull up to birds sitting on shore � or in the trees over water � and they easily fly away � then they really don�t have fish there anyway � just move on as the birds did. But if they are hesitant to move from that spot � then they have fish right there).

Of Course � always watch for birds (feeding and/or looking) � first and foremost � but you already know that.

Learn to know how to work your baits � if they are active and getting with the program � then you should move that bait quicker. If they are not active and slow � then you should slow way - way down on moving that bait.

Of course - get the best electrons you can afford � Side Image units are the ticket and get the best maps for the lakes you fish � that will cut down your learning time (Navionics for me).

Keep moving and looking � until you get on em (and if they stop where you're at � move - know when it's over and move on).

The more you go the better you will get and obtain a feel for them (Stripers/Hybrids, White Bass, Crappie, Black Bass and Blues � they are really all the same � just get on em - Keep moving untill you get on em - they are all there waiting for ya - Keep what you need and release the rest),

Thank You Mark for taking the time to type all of this info.

+1

Pretty solid advice. I have always liked the KISS method. Keep it simple stupied.


Thanks Mark.

Great advice Mark!

all true..(from what I have learned so far)

Ok Mark. First off, we've met and talked a couple times on RC. I think you're a great guy and hope you dion't think I'm picking on you. I just want to expand on your thoughts and perhaps spawn ideas from others. You said here are the "keys", but I still see doors with locks.
1st, just where does the bait go? How do I follow. Personally, I chase the wind on a lake with the floodgates closed. Birds are a bonus. But the baits food source is current driven and current influences the bait migration. Wind blown shorelines, points or coves usually hold bait. Also, a point to mention is shad will migrate to shallow flats at night for sanctuary. When the sun rises, they head for deeper waters. Game fish know this and will wait at the drop offs for the shad to come over the top. This is why flats are usually good in the morning.
Next, how do know you if bait is nervous? On the electronics, I've always thought balled up bait would have fish feeding on them. Nervous defense mechanism to ball up. Bait strung out in a cigar shape are relaxed but if fish arches are present, don't pass them up. An easy sign for nervous bait will be breaking water. They try to grow wings when charged by hungry predators. I've seen big gizzards jump on top of bimini's and T-tops prior to hooking up on hybrids.
Lastly maps. How will my Navionics Platinum help? I am fairly new to this technology and still learning. I know from experience, that temperate bass in summer will migrate to an approximate depth of 25ft on a 50ft lake to find the perfect balance between oxygen enriched water and cool temps. The maps help me find underwater humps that meet this criteria. But just how else, besides navigation will a map enhanced GPS help me?

well I can tell you that with my Navionics chip I learned a ton of new features about my home lake (Joe Pool) just by sitting in the garage and looking very intensely at the lake and its under water structure and contour lines this helped me a lot and gave me great clues on where to begin looking, also with gps it makes it so much easier to not only find places but also to make sure that you stay in the right place. Another big bonus is say you find a piece of structure under water that is not widely known or is very obscure, or possibly hard to find in the first place well with GPS you just mark a waypoint and you can always find your way back any time you like. I also have a question, when the fish "move on" where should I start to look next deeper, shallower near by or far away. I find it strange because I will notice that the predatory fish will leave at times but yet the bait is still there what does this mean, or how do I interpret this info? and I agree with sasquatch I believe that balled up bait is nervous bait going into defense mode, this is what I have always heard/been taught. Thanks for any and all help with this, of course I realize these aren't easy questions to answer because if you always know where the fish are you stop learning new ways to find them.

I think by nervous he means busted up balls of shad. If they are in a tight ball they are not being harrassed. If the balls are busted up they are being attacked. I know my navionics chip I use especially on lakes I don't know. It will show me where the humps, ledges, etc are on the lake. I've got the 08 version and it has 1ft contours on many of the lakes. I've grown very dependant on it. I don't really fish for the green trash fish but use mine for sandy and kitty hunting. Just my two cents worth. I'm still in the learning process and am by no means anything more than a beginner/amature. But I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express one time.

good bird on bank info. i don't use sonar much & so dont spend a lot on them. i have non on my kayak so watching & listening very closely for any signs can be key for me. either on the surface, in the air & or bank makes all the difference.

like to add. if i find gulls sitting on the water ill at least keep an eye on that area. i know they like to hang out in the areas where they last found an easy meal.

" think by nervous he means busted up balls of shad. If they are in a tight ball they are not being harrassed. If the balls are busted up they are being attacked."

Exactly - what I call fractioned out - Scared to death - busted up shad (not happy shad - all balled up and unmolested).

But my point is - just know where the shad go and all others follow. (Right now that�s shallow - where ever the wind blows into - the shad go there to eat all the microorganism that get blow in there and all the other fish follow them � this is going to last about two more weeks � till mid May tops). But when finding bunches of shad on your electronics in deeper water � that does not mean there are fish there � you need to see the fish on your electronics and really you don�t want so many shad there as to compete with your bait/lures (and yes - you do not want happy shad).

Really I look for fish on my electronics when fishing Stripers/Hybrids and/or White Bass (and not necessarly shad at all) � I look for Fish in the right formations first and fore most (by formations I mean tighter Striper/Hybrids White Bass Formations and not spread out Cats nor Carp Formations). Once they leave (and it�s over � they have moved on � then I move on. I might look around for that same bunch before pulling away completely � if not found quickly then just move on out to the next bunch).

Most of the time they are found on humps and or under water points � unless the birds tell you otherwise.

Why is Spring Blue Cats so � so good � cause the shad go shallow to eat (in the wind blow banks/points) and all the others are there also,

Good Luck � Have Fun � Keep what you need and release the rest,

Thanks for all your info Mark that is a big help to newcomers to sandy/hybrid game like myself. and the shad being shallow would explain why I see so many birds sitting on shore where the wind blows the baitfish right to them, does this mean that there is a good chance the predatory fish will follow them to shallower water say less than 8-10 ft.?? Thanks again for your help and info Mark!

Mark, Sasquatch, Joe Pool - thanks all, for this advice.

I'm a bank fisherman, so I can't apply everything in your posts, but there is good, solid advice here for any fisherman.



Spot on Mark, couldn't agree more, thanks for putting this together.

The wind does not really blow the bait fish to the bank - but it blows that tiny stuff that the bait fish eat right up next to the bank. Then the shad goes in there (very, very Shallow) to eat that - and all the others follow them.

Are the Predator fish in there? YES Sir! Right up there with them - this is Blue Cat Heaven - Plus Big Striper/Hybrids and Bass - in 1 to 6 feet of water.

Fish those shallow working birds in the Spring (got just a few more weeks) if you are a bank fisherman - do not over throw the fish from the bank - they are shallow - 1 to 3 feet.

Keep what you need and release the rest to make more (for all of us to enjoy and continue catching - for the sport of fishin- and for the kids and our next generation).

Thanks for opening up with all the help. Sometimes we need a little more info than others are willing to share or perhaps not sure how to convey. We mention structure (as an example) but some may not realize this is weed lines, timber, humps, ledges, points, one log, bridges, rocks among any other changes in the water.

Good advice on all the above.
No one mentioned time on the water. It seems that the more I fish, the luckier I get. Go often and you can keep up with the patterns the fish are on at the time. Every day is different on the water. However, you will at least know the general presentation the fish are wanting at the time. Also, I have noticed after no fishing for a while that it takes me a while to interpret what the graph is showing. Believe what the screen is showing you.