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Locating Likely Spots: Talking with Locals

I can’t over emphasize the value of talking to with locals about what spots produce consistently. Information from local fisherman has lead me to my very best spots and these locations have provided my biggest catches in both weight and numbers of fish. It’s truly amazing that a fisherman will share this kind of information when you stop to think about how few and far between these kinds of places can be. I attribute this kind of generosity to a healthy mix of genuine camaraderie along with the less noble inherent need to brag that plagues most fishermen. I found the spot featured in this article while fishing one morning from the main public access to this same lake. I have been fishing this lake for years without any real success and this particular morning was no exception.

A truck pulled up and an older guy who looked like he just rolled out of bed, leaned out his window to ask how my luck was. I told him that I hadn’t gotten anything yet and in an attempt to protect my pride I added that I had “only just gotten there”…Thus implying that with a little more time I would have gotten a bunch of them. This wasn’t true and I knew it. The fact that I knew I wasn’t going to catch any was probably what lead me to ask if he had any tips for the spotHe said. “Nope, infact… my best tip for this spot is to leave it… and go down the lake a bit to the bridge and fish from there.” To my knowledge there was no bridge in the direction that he was pointing and so I became a bit skeptical. I was beginning to think he was one of those fisherman that intentionally mislead other anglers in order to protect their hard won honey holes. He went on to say, “ Ya, I just got a fish over 8 pounds outta there and have had bigger ones break me off during that last couple weeks.” I don’t mind telling you that I didn’t believe this guy.  I usually figure when someone in Massachusetts tells me that they got an 8 pound fish that it was really in the 6 pound range. That said I wouldn’t mind catching a 6 pounder so I continued to talk with this guy long enough to get some general directions.

It took me 2 months to find the time to try to locate this magical spot. I tried to follow his driving directions without any success. This only strengthened my suspicion that he had mislead me so I ended up forgetting about it for a while.

Locating Likely Spots: Pulling Out a Map

Then, one day in August during my lunch break I decided to go to www.mapquest.com and see if I could find the spot on a map.

I typed in “Orange” for the city and “MA” for the state and “01364” for the zip and up came a map. Not a very useful map but a general street map of the area. The Lake, Lake Rohunta, was not in view on the initial map that came up so I used the “Zoom Out” function to get a more comprehensive look at the area.

In this view I could see the lake but not all of it. To zero in on the lake I clicked the “Clicking on the map will: Re-center” option and then clicked on the Lake to center the view.

This is the resulting map view. I highlighted the lake here to make it easier for you to see.

Now that I had the basic map in view I looked for roads that crossed the lake and sure enough there was another road that crossed the lake at the far southern end. This spot was much further south than I had gone in my boat due to the shallow water and large amount of surface weeds.

Now that I had found the road I zoomed in on it to see if I could get enough information to find the place. Below is the resulting map view with the spot highlighted.

I headed there the next weekend to take a look.

Testing the Waters: Be Observant

OK, so you have found a new spot and are ready to give it a try. Good job, but before you go rushing in, fan casting like a mad man… stop for a minute and look around. 

In this case, upon arrival, I noted that the road splits the lake in half and on both sides are enormous Lilly pad covered flats. The lake has a deeper main river channel that cuts the two flats in half and goes under the road in a small concrete culvert. I usually think about how you would describe your new spot in one paragraph or less. When you I this just hearing the words in my mind will recall information I have read, seen, or experienced that include similar conditions and may provoke some ideas about how I might first approach a new spot.

A few other things to take note of when you first try out a new spot include:

1. The season (air and water temp / weather trends)
2. The path the sun takes across the sky (and the resulting shadows)
3. The general wind direction and speed
4. Water movement? If so how strong and in what direction?
5. Wild life activity (I watch for birds, baitfish, and insects mostly)

Testing the Waters: Choosing Baits

All right, we are at our new spot, we have had a look around and have considered the conditions. It’s time to rig some poles and give this spot a try.

Before I choose my baits I remember one simple rule… That rule is:

They (the fish) will be on top, on the bottom or somewhere in between. Sounds simple, sounds a little stupid even, but many times realizing this can help save an otherwise terrible day. Try it the next time you are not catching anything, you’ll be surprised.

OK all that in mind I almost always choose the same three basic baits to start out.

My first pole is always rigged with a black on black 3/8 oz jig and pig combo because I catch fish with it in almost every conceivable set of conditions.

My second pole is usually rigged with a Gold 3/8 oz Colorado blade Spinner-bait because I catch a bunch of fish on this bait and because I can fish it almost anywhere in the water column and through most types of cover.

My third pole is usually rigged with a small chrome colored floating Crank-bait. It’s important that the crank bait float since part of the reason I have it tied on is to determine if there is any sort of surface bite happening.

I know not everyone is as sick as I am and therefore may not have three poles. Considering this, if I had just one pole I would rig it with the gold spinner bait for the following reasons:

• The Spinner bait can be used as a drop bait like the jig. It’s not as good as the jig but can do the job well enough to help you get an idea of what the fish are doing.

• The Spinner bait will catch most of the fish the Crank bait would if you are fishing from shore. The surface bite is not in my experience a high percentage pattern so losing that presentation, as a possibility is OK unless the conditions are begging for it.

• And lastly, The Spinner bait won’t get hung up in most types of cover…so your chances of ruining the spot by needing to go retrieve your bait is lower.

Presentation: Putting Your Observations to Work

Now that the finer points of why choose certain baits are out of the way let’s talk about how to present those baits. This is where most people make the mistakes that prevent them from getting bit.

The new spot that I found is a perfect location to learn some of the more advanced techniques of lure presentation.

The first thing I try to do when presenting a lure is have a look at the spot (from as far away as possible) so I can determine where I think the fish might be and how best to get my lure in front of its face.

I mentioned before that this spot has a culvert that carries the water under the road and indicates where the main river channel is at that point.

The area closest to the culvert is usually the best spot to cast. The bigger fish sit just outside the current waiting for a meal to swim or float by. Most anglers who fish this spot walk right up to the culvert and start fishing from there. By doing this they scare the bigger fish out into the deeper water of the river channel and I believe that when the other fish in the area see this they get spooked also.

My approach is to park down the road a bit and then walk as quietly as possible to within casting distance of the culvert. My first cast is always to a spot just beyond the far side of the culvert and as close to shore as I can get. This cast allows me to work the primary spots on this cover in one cast. I then will proceed to work my way out from shore with each successive cast unless I catch a fish. If I catch a fish I always cast right back in the same spot because a lot of the time there will be another fish sitting there.

One time on a spot very similar to this one I caught 15 bass off the exact same spot within 20 minutes. There was a woman there waiting for her daughters school bus to arrive. She watched me make cast after cast into the same place and after my fifth fish in as many casts she said, “I didn’t even think there were that many fish in this place…”, “ I’ve seen people fish here for hours without even getting a bite.”

If I don’t get bit on that side of the road I head straight across the road and repeat the process. I will only walk up to the culvert and fish from there after I have exhausted these primary spots.

Even when I am ready to fish from the culvert I don’t just walk up and start making big arching casts. I usually let out about five feet of line on the pole that has the jig tied on and walk over to the edge as quietly as possible. Then I gently lower the jig into the calm spot right at the edge of the culvert. I lower the jig a couple feet and bounce it a couple times and if I don’t get bit I go to the other side of the road and do the same thing.

Hold on tight when using this approach and be ready to set the hook. Hold the rod with both hands because it’s easy to loose a fish to a poor hookset. When you first try it you won’t believe it could catch a fish but I have gotten many this way and a couple over five pounds.

After I try dipping the jig near the culverts I start making long casts out into the lake and retrieve my baits parallel to the weed lines on each side of the river channel. During the end of summer when the weeds are very thick I’ll cast into the weeds and quickly drag the bait across the surface and when the bait gets to the edge of the channel I stop reeling and let the bait fall straight down.

This will often times provoke an immediate strike.

I once got a 7.5 pound largemouth using this presentation with a large gold spinnerbait.

If all else fails I’ll begin the standard practice of fan casting. I start with a surface bait and then switch off until I finish up using a bottom bait like a Carolina rig or Jig and Pig.

This process usually takes about a half hour or so. You can and should do it more slowly but if you’re like me, time for fishing is usually in short supply.

One important note on fighting and landing fish when fishing areas like the one I’ve described here. If you hook a fish out away from the river channel it is going to be heading towards the deeper water as fast as it can. Be careful not to let it get ahead of you and cause slack to form in the line. Also, make sure you have thought about how you are going to land a fish once hooked. Rocks, brush, and all sorts of other things can get in the way when you least expect it and ruin a good opportunity.

Best of Luck,

Kevin Braun

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