The Wrong Question vs. the Right Question - Finding Fish

After posting YouTube videos of successful fishing trips or Instagram photos of fish we've caught... the usual question we get asked by most fisherman is what bait or lure we used to catch the fish. If you're interested in catching fish, that is the wrong first question. Before worrying about what bait or lure to use, you should concern yourself with FINDING FISH. It doesn't matter what bait or lure you use if you're not fishing where the fish are! Once you've found fish, a variety of baits or lures will often work. We were fishing at a lake near Prescott a few days ago and we were catching trout regularly. So were many of the people fishing near us. And we were all using different baits. One guys was using a small minnow lure, another was getting them on flies, and still another was catching them on Power Bait. We were using Berkley 3" natural trout worms on a split shot rig. The key? We are all fishing in the right spot... where the fish were. Other anglers fishing other locations on the lake were not catching any fish.

It is impossible to cover in a short post how to find every fish species you might target in every body of water you might fish. But, do your research. Go online or talk to other fisherman. Learn about the habits and preferences of the fish species you are chasing. Learn where they might be in a lake or river during certain times of day or year. Learn how water temperature, oxygen levels, water levels and weather conditions might affect their location. Study the body of water you plan to fish. Learn where fish might hold in the lake or river. Find out if a contour map of the lake is available. Use it to search out points, creek channels, ledges, submerged humps, etc. Use Google Earth to search for deeper pools or bends in a river. If you fish from a boat invest in a fish finder.

A few brief examples: In Arizona urban ponds, stocked trout usually are found cruising nearer the shore lines. So casting to the middle of the lake will often be less effective. Or, during the winter time at Lake Pleasant, striped bass are usually found in deeper water in the northern coves and creek arms so fishing the main lake would be less successful.

Your first priority when planning a fishing trip is to find the fish. Then figure out how to catch the fish. My experience has shown that once we have found the fish, we can often catch them using a variety of lures or baits.

If you have any questions on finding fish, let us know and we'll do our best to help.