Twells wrote:

"I would like to see more seminars on understanding your electronics or approaching a spot and things to look for. Mainly on the second one of why you fish a spot versus another and how you approach your set up on it."

I'll address the second part of the question on how to approach a spot.

There are quite a few things I look at when approaching a spot. The main thing is to have a visual picture in your head of what the structure is going to look like underwater. Basically you want a visual of what the lake would look like without water. After you have that, look for what breakline you are going to be fishing or what depth you are going to be fishing. You don't want to stop right on top of the spot or depth you are going to be fishing. On calm days stop out a ways further than you would on windy days.

Another way to approach a spot is to look for a certain weedbed that you know is in an area. Most of the time fish will relate to one small weedbed in a large area. If the area gets a lot of boat traffic like near a bridge or resort then you don't have to worry about your approach. You can stop relatively close to the spot without spooking the fish. If the spot is in the open or does not get much boat traffic then spot well in advance of the spot and fish up to it so as not to spook the fish.

If you are fishing at night try to approach the spots you choose very quietly. Most of the boat traffic will be gone so every boat that comes near a fish will make them weary of you. You should try to idle up to a spot as much as possible. You don't have to stop a half mile away from the spot but fifty to one hundred yards is fine.

The basic idea of how to approach a spot is to come into a spot knowing the structure you are going to fish and not spooking the fish to get to it.


Now for the second part of the question on "why I fish one spot over another".

There are a lot of reasons for picking one spot over another. Last year wind was a big factor. We had a lot of wind last year and the active fish seemed to be on the wind blown structure. We found fish on wind blown shorelines that I've never seen fish on before.

Baitfish is another factor that I like to try to utilize. Sometimes you can visually see the baitfish on the surface. Other times you have to use your electronics to locate the baitfish. Anyone that has fished the east basin of Vermillion know that the whitefish will show themselves on the surface from time to time. That is a opportunity to fish the closest structure nearby or even right around the whitefish.

Probably the most important factor on the Chip is weed structure. If you have fresh weeds you usually have at least one muskie relating to the weeds. Knowing the exact shape of each weedbed is important. you basically need to have an image in your head of what each weedbed looks like and approach every weedbed differently.

I think I'll try to do one of these seminar question per day. Otherwise I'll be on the computer all day. Thanks again for the input.