Ledge Fishing Tips Part 2

Here's part 2 Which ledges produce? Just as with shoreline fishing, there are ledges or areas on ledges that tend to produce more fish than other areas. I have found that it is imperative in my guide business on Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley that I be able to identify potentially productive ledges. The key to identifying these offshore productive areas is to apply the same rules as you would if looking for productive shoreline areas. Structure and cover are the primary factors in finding likely ledge fishing areas just as they are primary factors in finding likely shoreline fishing areas. Structure being the bottom composition such as rocks, gravel, mud, etc. and topographical features such as points, cuts, creek junctions, gradual dropoffs, steep dropoffs,… etc. Cover being that which allows the bass protection from light, camouflage and concealment from the prey, and physical protection. We all know that bass will orient themselves to cover such as stumps, laydowns, brush piles, vegetation, man made structures, overhangs, etc. When you take these two factors (structure and cover) into consideration when searching for productive ledges you can eliminate a lot of nonproductive water just as you can when applying them to traditional shoreline fishing. How to find productive ledges. Just like shoreline fishing, preparing for the search of productive ledges in open water begins with a good topographical map reconnaissance. Pick an area of the lake you are going to target for your search and then by following the old creek channels and main river channel on your map, note those areas that have prominent structure variations such as you would do if looking at the shoreline areas. That is, look for points, cuts, creek channel junctions, channel bends, etc., These are the areas that have the possibility of holding fish if there is good cover available as well as food supply near. The next obvious step is to get on the water and go to those likely areas and check them for cover and food supply. Finding these prominent underwater areas on open water is not as easy as finding them on the shoreline where you can use the naked eye to assist you with visual reference. A good set of electronics such as a flasher, lcr, and/or graph recorder plus being familiar with how they work is a must in finding productive ledges. Assuming that you are familiar with your electronics, finding these spots then just becomes a matter of following the edges of the channels with your electronics and comparing the feedback you are getting from them with the map you have already marked. Take note that while doing this you may find some cuts or points or irregular features that are not printed on your map, especially if the map is a few years old. This is because floods, current, etc will change the channel edges over the years just as it does the shoreline you are used to fishing. You should take note of any of these "new" features on your map as they may be areas that have seen little or no fishing pressure. Once you have located one of these areas that you have identified on your map your next step would be to determine if there is sufficient "cover" to hold fish. Although your electronics may or may not show the cover, you should use a manual means of checking these areas for cover too. I say this because your electronics will only show you a small area of bottom as you pass over it and you can easily miss some cover or your electronics may not be sensitive enough to "see" the cover. This is especially true if someone has planted a "stake bed" in that location. Stake beds many times do not show up on your electronics unless there are cross members attached to the stakes. The best way that I have found to "search" one of these spots for cover is to use a Carolina Rig. The dragging technique employed in using a Carolina Rig will transmit to you thru feel the type cover if any that is present and even the type structure of the bottom such as rock, mud, gravel, etc….The more you practice with the Carolina Rig as a search technique the more familiar you will become with identifying the type cover and structure it is coming over and through. Another plus of using the Carolina Rig to check these spots for cover and structure is that you may just catch some fish too. Once you have found one of these spots that has good cover on it you need to mark it on your map and make notations of what you found and how to locate this spot again. If you have a GPS unit, finding this spot again becomes simply a matter of marking the spot with your unit so that you may return to the spot using GPS navigation. If you do not have a GPS unit, then you can pinpoint the location by using the triangulation method of identifying the location. The triangulation method is no more than taking note of the location in reference to at least three or more shore line objects that are preferably close to 90 degrees in different directions from your boat. I have at least one last part may divide it up into two!!