By: Ray Hansen
COVERING THE STRUCTURE
On a drop-off, start at some point upwind of the area you mark fish, and drift down through the spot using an electric trolling motor to slow your pace. Try to stay at approximately the mid-zone of the depth change, working both shallower and deeper as you progress along. Even if the wind is blowing straight into the breakline, you can use the electric motor to “zig-zag” up and down the depth change. On a favorite breakline of mine, I find fish at different depths on different days. Sometimes they are as shallow as eight feet, and at other times as deep as thirty-two feet.
A point that extends out underwater often has deeper water on both sides, so start on the upwind side, drift across the shallower part, and work the other side. Again, use the electric motor to cross and re-cross the structure.
A hump is basically the same. Start upwind, and run the motor in reverse to slow your drift. After crossing the spot, return upwind and repeat the maneuver over a slightly different part of the hump. You may want to toss out a floating marker, or note the position of the spot on a GPS unit to stay in the “strike zone”.
In all spots, watch your locator. If fish are hugging bottom, keep your bait down, touching bottom frequently. If they show as marks higher off bottom, raise and lower your bait in higher “arcs” as it moves along.
Above all, fish confidently. Visualize your bait bumping alomg among fish. Stay alert for signs of a hit. Pike and smallmouth bass often smash the bait, giving you a strong feel of the bite. Largemouth bass and walleyes often lightly inhale it, and all you detect is a gradual "heavy" feeling while drifting along. If you are moving through a spot and you suddenly feel your minnow struggling hard, a big fish is likely nearby and will soon hit. Be ready!
Use this fairly simple approach on larger lakes in your area that have a variety of bottom structure if one is available, but it will work almost anywhere.
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008
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