My PROCESS OF ELIMINATION: How to break down lake with efficiency // Project E 

I run cove and shade first the work my way out but im learning color of bait vs color of water thanks again

I live across the street from a lake in Florida and it has no contour map for it so I'm Autocharting the whole lake and trying to learn it as I go and find fish. It's also full of trees, I did find the deepest part being a 11ft creek running through it.

Great tutorial! Interesting on how you went through a progression of baits and depth.

Edwin, I haven't been able to fish for smallmouth. If fishing was slow like for you I would make sure I kept a Berkley MaxScent flat worm tied on. I have fallen in love with that bait. Another great project e. 🐟🎣

Edwin, you have taught us that fish are suspended this time of year so I would concentrate on that. 🐟🎣

I appreciate that! Thank You for your Support!

Glad you liked it Gary! Thanks for watching

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Glad it was helpful!

Thank you, I’m glad it’s helping you!

No problem, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Thank you Gene!

Nice 👍 tight lines buddy

I'm glad it has helped!!

The anglers that I grew up. Fishing around. They used a very careful rotation. Between spinner bait rods, lines and lures. And fly fishing lures and lines. And they'd constantly discuss. That exact time. Of day or evening. Or early morning. When it would 'change'. It's like you'd flick a switch. And suddenly. The fish were doing. What was known as, 'going on the fly'. In other words. They'd quit chasing after things. That moved and generated a lot. Of vibrations in the water. And they'd changed. To being attracted towards things. That they could see. Some anglers. Were just skilled enough. In using one or other system. Or technique. To fish further beyond. The end of the reactionary strike bite window. And longer into the visual strike and fly fishing bait. Bite window. Than others. As they had adapted some kind of technique and proficiency. That enabled them. To do just that. Other anglers, visa versa. Were anglers that could just begin fishing. Using the fly fishing rods. A lot earlier. And at a time. When there was still. A good spinner bait reactionary strike window. In existence. That is. There were always anglers. Who were able. To just blurr between the lines. And for whom. It really didn't matter. What the conditions were like at all. There were fly anglers. Who shortened their game up considerably (casting no more than rod lengths worth of distance ahead of them). Close to various bankside structures and features. Who were still able to operate. Even when the spinner bait anglers. Had practically give up (and it had changed to a bait or worm bottom presentation bite window).

And then there were anglers. Who were just able to manage. Even longer into the end of the cycle. When the rain fed, high gradient rivers. Or lakes had shrunk. To the extent to which. The fish were quite grouped together. In some very specific places. In that habitat. One of the ways. Those anglers were even able. To extend their fishing. On the fly fishing lures. Even further than anyone else. Was they were willing. To explore different sizes. They might do. The opposite of what anglers did. When the water conditions. Were very colored (and you could almost stand on top of fish near shorelines, cast to them and catch them). There were other anglers. Who were able to do the opposite. To lengthen things out. To an extent where. They were able to present. Something very innocent and plain looking. To a fish. On a longer and thinner line. That was stretched out very far. And did not draw. That much attention to it at all. When it was introduced. Into the 'zone' of the fish. Just because something. Is more restrained. Less active. Less flashy. Does not mean. That a fish won't notice that. In their zone. And it's something. That when fish turn to that thing. Of feeding and taking. From a visual point of view. That some anglers. Just fail to understand (especially those fish, who are permanent bass that live around those structures on shorelines). In lakes such as Champlain. If you introduce something. That is very much more subtle. Into that zone. It's surprising the extent. To which the fish. Will react to it then.

I happened to have looked. Not too long ago. At a map of north America. And specifically. At Champlain itself. Which borders on New York State and Vermont. Because of it's proximity. To the State of Maine. In north eastern Maine. Where a series of lakes existed there. In those northern areas. Alongside the borders with Canada. There were anglers there. Who were perhaps. Going back for seventy or eighty years ago. They were probably. Some of the anglers. Who used various self-made lures. They made out of feathers and materials. Even before. There were a lot of bait lures and tackle. That were available. They made things. Which were extremely 'flat' and one dimensional types of baits. That were intended to sit like that. In the water (where they showed a side profile to the fish). The fly lures themselves. Were not that three dimensional. They were just flat feathers. That were laid on top of each other. Which the fish would eyeball at. From the side. And looked sufficiently angry and crazy looking. As a target to the fish. That the fish would simply take objection to these flies. And strike at them. With agression. The same flies nowadays. Even work in tiny brooks and streams. The kind in which. I grew up fishing in too. Where fish in those waters. Are extremely aggressive. About their zone. Their territory. And there is something there. Which the anglers. On Champlain. Should consider too. When they think about this.

And then the conversation. As the century went on. It changed. In reference to the 'clear water' fishing situation. We had spent. Much of that century. Of the twentieth century (and it's a trend that really starts back as early as around 1850 and earlier). Working with baits. We didn't things such as 'reels' or good lines. Lots of things were used. Things as basic as long poles. With some kind of horse hair braided chorded. That was attached to one end. Given the constraints imposed. By the technologies of the time. A lot of the time. Anglers just relied a lot. On lures and baits. They would make. That were designed. Or intended. Such as those large flies used for trolling lures behind boats. In the States like Maine. We created flies. That emphasized. That presentation of a profile. Or a representation. Of some kind of 'target'. To the fish. From the side (it turned out to be extremely effective for that fish in August and September where the fish were suspended and scattered around these lakes). And the process of dragging flies that looked aggressive. From the side view of them. Turned out to be. A productive way to fish. In warmer months.

The problem with that though (and as I explained, about the relative progression of those 'bite windows' as the water colors, atmospheric pressure, temperature and wind conditions would alter). As the day light conditions themselves. Would change. And as the water level. In these northern latitudes. Dependent a lot on rainfall. To maintain water levels. As this all changes. It was discovered. That these baits. Which were very one dimensional. That worked extremely well. From the side profile perspective. And did not work very well. In terms of the fish. Who may have sunken back down. Into deeper areas. And was looking up. We started to think about. How to make those bait lures. That actually created a profile. In the horizontal dimension (in the same way, and with equal effectiveness). As those earlier baits had done. In the side profile way. One was called. Making a fly bait lure. From the fly bait lure maker's point of view (where the maker was seated in a chair). The hook was held in a steel vice. And the angler. Were looking at the hook. From a sideways perspective (which in turned, led to this bias of anglers where they had to make their lures look good from that perspective too). Eventually anglers. Found ways. In which to make their flies. Look the right way. When seen from what was called. A fish's perspective. The fish was underneath. And they looked at something. That was above their heads.