Map it!

If the key to real estate is location, location, location, then fishing is just like owning a home. Every lake contains a majority of empty water and only a small percentage of fish-filled water. Knowing where to fish is the difference between having a bad day or a good day. This is where a good map comes in handy.

Using a quality map can mean the difference between getting skunked (very bad) or bringing home a stringer of fish.(big smiles) Contour maps are designed to help increase your catch rates and should feature coordinates of latitude and longitude. When entered into a global positioning device, maps help pinpoint likely attractive areas for fishing. Use high tech to get the low down on fish hiding in drop-offs, sunken islands, holes, and lumps. Using a handheld GPS device, you can record the coordinates to productive weedbeds, channels, and points. Thereafter, when you fish the waters, you will be able to zone in on the spots that produced for you on the last trip.

Adding GPS waypoints to your map is the equivalent of hiring a guide to the most likely honey holes. After all fishing is really about location, location, location. A good source of free maps are the state Fish and Wildlife services. Likely, your fishing spot is included in their offerings. Download the maps, usually as a PDF file and print them out in a size that allows you to read small detail easily. Record your favorite fishing spots. A good spot lasts season after season.

You have to find the fish in order to catch them. Maps will be a huge help in finding their holding and feeding spots. Combine maps with a good depth finder/GPS device and you are well on your way to lugging home that big stringer of trophy fish.