Lake Fishing Tips, Tricks and Techniques

Are you ready to get out on the lake and catch some fish? Before you go you might want to read and use some of our lake fishing tips below. While these won’t be specific to any certain fish species, they can be used in combination with our fishing tips to make you a more skillful angler.

• Inlets and Outlets are Your Friend – Like humans, fish like specific temperatures and will generally hang around areas of a lake that they find comfortable. Places where water enters or drains from a lake will generally be much cooler and favorable to fish. Bait fish like to hang around these areas, along with the big monster fish that eat them.
• Choose the Right Bait – You can’t go wrong with natural freshwater bait such as cricket, worms, minnows, and leeches. Live bait can also be quite affordable. For artificial lures, we recommend fishing jigs. They are the most versatile in lakes because they can catch just about any type of freshwater fish.
• As the Heat Index Rises – The hotter it gets outside the deeper you’ll need to fish. This is because fish tend to like cool temperatures and will retreat to deeper, cooler water as the temperature outside rises. During dusk and dawn fish will come to more shallow water to feed, some more shallow than others. You should research the specific type of fish you’re trying to catch in order to learn more.
• Find Sunken Structures – Fish like to hang around structures that make them feel safe and that provide the opportunity to ambush other fish. Structures such as downed trees, branches and even man-made fish habitats are a great place to fish.
• Look for Weeds – A lot of big fish like to ambush their prey from a nice comfy weed bed. Locate some weed beds in the lake your fishing in and try getting your bait and/or lure in that area to see if you can coax a fish to bite. The weed beds that lead to deeper water and create a break line are the best honey pots.
• Work with the Wind – On days with a strong breeze you can expect the bait fish to get pushed closer to shore, meaning the big fish will come closer to shore to feed. Watch for drift lines and follow them, they will lead to bait fish, which will in turn lead to big fish.