Fishing advice for jon boat on big lake??

Hey everyone, here is my dilemma...

I currently have a 14ft jon w/9.8hp outboard. The closest lake to me is Lake Lanier which if you are not from Ga is a huge lake. I have been going there because it takes 10 mins to get there and there are no gas motor restrictions and such. Problem is it's a massive lake so getting around at 14mph top steed is really tough.

I have been fishing within a relatively close proximity of the boat ramp so that I can maximize the time I have lines in the water. I do have a fish finder but have not used it much to actually locate fish because searching for fish on the finder on this lake could take forever in this boat . That being said, I don't rely on it much and have been going to nearby areas I think will hold fish like points, boat docks, fallen trees etc in the area.

This approach has been yielding a 2-3 fish avg in about 3-4hours of fishing which in my opinion sucks. Obviously not the most effective way to do things but again my thought process has been get to a spot ASAP and start fishing which is essentially fishing blind. Do any of you have any advice on what I could/should be doing differently? I would like to double my catch avg in the same time frame. Also, forgot to mention though I do have a fish finder it's not a good one and I'm not sure how accurate it is other than depth. Doesn't give a good picture of the bottom.

Any thoughts?

If you can't speed your boat up with a bigger motor, you might look in to driving to different ramps in order to fish new areas of the lake.

Fish move from one side of the lake to the other sometimes with seasonal patterns. Make sure you understand tbese patterns to maximize your time on the water. Beating the bank is a bust sometimes during post spawn and summer depending what time of day and other conditions. Having a good sonar would help you nail down what they are doing so you can spend time fishing instead of searching

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=355096#p355096 said:

JMichael » 08 Jun 2014, 13:01[/url]"]If you can't speed your boat up with a bigger motor, you might look in to driving to different ramps in order to fish new areas of the lake.

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I do that all of the time on the large lake that I fish ( Richland Chambers Reservoir TX which is 45000 + acres ) There 6 ramps and a few other areas that I can launch my boat at around this large lake. Knowing the seasonal patterns of fish & what they relate/do during certain times of year will help decide what areas of the lake you can fish to be successful. I'm a firm believer that 80+% of the fish are in around 20% of the water. A good way to find a pattern on a lake that your new to fishing is to find a large long creek arm that is connected to the main lake. It will allow you to cover many different types of cover, depth, & presentations without having to run all over the lake.
I fish out of a 14ft v hull with a 4hp on it & my main concern on big water is safety. Big lakes can turn ugly & unforgiving in a heartbeat. Make sure you have areas where you can duck out of the wind & waves quickly. Trust me 3ft waves are scary in a 14ft boat.

Thanks guys, good feedback. I will go to some different ramps in different areas of the lake but kinda felt I would be in the same situation to a certain extent.

I guess I just need to invest in better electronics first and
Foremost.

CCM, you are absolutely right about safety and that is another big reason I haven't gone too far from where I launch. After about 10am the lake gets very active and the main channel gets so rough that it is seriously scary. It makes traveling 10x slower than usual. Fortunately there are some nice coves in the backs of nearby marinas that stay calm regardless of what's going on in the main channel.

Think of your big lake as a lot of little smaller lakes and fish it that way. i like to work one area which has stuff i am looking for nearby - ie if I am fishing at night I want shallow water with weed beds, submerged grass and lily pads

If morning I want drop offs with deep water close by - looking for bass staged up shallower who will then move deeper as teh sun comes up.


if it is early spring - dark bottoms that heat up faster


anyway, break the lake down to areas near each boat launch and work those areas so you know them and what is there


BTW - use your FF not to find fish but to find depth (more importantly sudden depth changes), submerged structure (rock piles, trees, etc.) and for water temp

Don't forget both paper maps and the Fisherman's friend Google Earth. You can find tons of information out with an hour or two studying the night before your outing.

Just the other day, a very successful local fisherman spoke at one of our CCA meetings. He said that he would pick a new spot and fish it religiously for one month of weekends. That covered different wind directions, speeds and..in our case here on the TX coast..many changing tides. Sounded like a good idea to me. Rich

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=355217#p355217 said:

Captain Ahab » 09 Jun 2014, 14:48[/url]"]Think of your big lake as a lot of little smaller lakes and fish it that way. i like to work one area which has stuff i am looking for nearby - ie if I am fishing at night I want shallow water with weed beds, submerged grass and lily pads

If morning I want drop offs with deep water close by - looking for bass staged up shallower who will then move deeper as teh sun comes up.


if it is early spring - dark bottoms that heat up faster


anyway, break the lake down to areas near each boat launch and work those areas so you know them and what is there


BTW - use your FF not to find fish but to find depth (more importantly sudden depth changes), submerged structure (rock piles, trees, etc.) and for water temp

Click to expand...

Very good advice.

It can take awhile to learn a new/large lake and you will always be finding new things/areas to fish. For example my dad this past spring used Google Earth to put together a pattern on Lake Fork this past spring. Because of what the weather conditions were where we were , he was able to find calm pockets out of the wind that were not noticeable on a topographical map & we were able to key in on big fish. I caught my personal best, a 23 incher just a little over 10.5lbs. Maps are always a good tool they will help eliminate water & show things not noticeable from above the surface. Use your fish finder on such areas to find the depth & see structure somewhat. Anglers were able to find structure & catch lots fish back in the era of flashers so even a cheap modern graph is a leg up on how it use to be so use it to it's full extent!