Ledge Fishing - Tips and Tactics
Where to start has to be the hardest question for me when it comes to ledge fishing. If you have a spot you know fish live on that is one thing, but to go out there blind and just start looking is tough without a game plan. I know some people love to do this and I am learning to, but I find it very difficult to get started. I grew up fishing shallow water all year round with spinnerbaits and jigs, so sitting in the middle of the lake casting to open water is a little tough at times for me. The reality though is to be competitive, now a days you have to add ledge fishing to your techniques and plans. I am by far no expert at ledge fishing, but will list here what I have learned and look for.
To start, get a map of the area you want to fish and use that to begin to start planning your approach to the area. Another tool I use is Navionics on my ipad and iphone to study from and get ideas of where to start. It is nice to use for mapping, and can be used on the water in combination with your boats electronics in locating points, ledges, and creek channels in the vicinity of where you want to be as a starting point. I will usually try to pinpoint three to four places in each area I am planning to fish and will route myself down the lake trying to find areas based on where fish should be positioned at the time. Be flexible though because as we all now they don't always do what we think they should. Areas and Breaks When looking over maps I am looking for ledges or breaks that are close to creek and river channels. Depending on the time of year, I look for ledges based on where fish should be positioned. Pre and Post spawn you should be looking at breaks closest to spawning flats and creek mouths, 2-3 weeks postspawn mid lake to river ledges, and in summer river and main lake ledges should be the primary target area. Look for the obvious breaks then expand out from there using your electronics and by fishing to see where they are located and to find the sweet spots. Your electronics don't have to be the best in the world, but the better they are the quicker you can search and figure an area out. But fishing the area is the only way to be positive of what is there, and the quality of the fish. Find the breaks and points on the map that give you the areas fish will congregate on and that they will follow and travel or live on. Put together a plan, and don't give up on a spot the first time you fish it because the school just may not be active at that time. Plan to come back over and over to see when they feed best and are most active. When looking at your graph you are looking for fish stacked on top of each other to find those active feeding fish. Dots along the bottom indicate fish holding to the bottom and a jig or carolina rig may be your best choices. Breaks or ledges can be found in a few different kinds of places, points, and channels. Both of these have their own time when they are most productive and sometimes you just have to go fishing to figure it out. There is no substitute here for time on the water and graphing areas to find the schools. Ledge fishing is different from our normal fishing in that graph time is as important as actual fishing time. You have to fish to catch fish, but the best ledge fisherman can graph a school and tell you if they are catchable! |
If you want images like the ones below on your graphs or just to learn to better use your Lowrance equipment contact Randy at Precision Sonar for one of his On The Water Classes. If you need mounting brackets for your graphs that work and are functional they should be your first call! Click the Precision Sonar logo above to go directly to their website.
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Lures - What Baits to Fish and When
1/2-1oz Football Jigs
There are a lot of different baits to fish on ledges, and ways to catch fish. There are a few primary tools to use and sometimes trial and error is the best solution. What works one day may not work the next day or even the next hour. The following is a guide, but I keep all of these on the deck when I am fishing ledges.
Football Jigs- This is most people's first choice just due to ease and versatility. A jig can be crawled, swam, hopped, or stroked! It can be used for active or inactive fish based on their mood. Color can be a factor, but everybody has their favorite and every lake seems to have a local favorite. When I am going to a new lake I do two things, interview local fisherman on their colors and search the local tackle shops as to what colors they stock. Invariably they have some crazy color you have never seen that is the local favorite. I also carry other styles of jigs including Flatlands Custom tackle Football Jigs and flipping jigs.
Crankbaits - This is the school activator that is used to quickly get a school to start up or to find schools of fish by allowing you to power fish your way down a ledge in order to cover long lengths of ledges or points in less time. The downfall is fish need to be active, but deflection and reaction strikes work in your favor and then you can slow down with other baits to fine tune the area. Some great tips is to make sure you are bringing the bait in with or across the current to make the bait look more natural and to make sure you are using the right depth crankbait so you are hitting the structure in the transition area or deflecting off the available cover in the area you are fishing.
Carolina and Texas rigged plastics - I am going to combine these two though they could be separated. Plastics are an alternative to bulky baits like jigs and crankbaits and they provide different looks like lizards, creature baits, and big worms, etc. They can be great alternatives to the baits fish see so often from other fisherman. That little something different can make the difference. I carry several different styles of plastics from creature baits to lizards and finesse worms.
Swimbaits - These to me are the most realistic item you can throw and have their own special place in any arsenal. These are very regionalized and should take into consideration what area you are fishing as well as size and styles. Swimbaits provide a realistic alternative to crankbaits and come in sizes from 3-9" in plastic baits and 3-11" sizes in hardbaits. Baits like the BullShad in a hard bait attract some big fish and the Major League lures Boom Shad in plastic baits give you some great choices for offshore ledge fishing carried by our partner Primary Tackle. Keeping the bait close to the bottom is the key to success with these baits targeting those active fish feeding just above the lake bottom and structure they are working on.
A-Rigs - Umbrella type rigs have really taken on their own place in the last few years and come in countless variations with numerous baits to be used and thrown on them. They are primarily used in colder temperatures, but can be utilized in all time frames in certain instances. With much controversy it will be interesting to see how long lived and how they will be used in tournament fishing as the years go by.
Dropshotting - This method is another of the numerous methods available to fisherman out there. I have seen it used in many different ways and styles over the years. In some instances, places I would have never thought about! (Ross Barnett) This is what a lot of people call video game fishing, using your electronics locating a school of fish and dropping a bait down to the fish and enticing a strike using a variety of baits from finesse worms and lizards to shad baits.
All this being said, keep an open mind and be willing to experiment and spend the time to research, locate, and fine tune you deep water fishing. This is a relative term! Deep to me here is 15-30' in Cali or Michigan it may be 50 or 60'. Time on the water is key, if you are like me that is in short supply so make the time count by making good decisions in planning and then spending your time wisely and being efficient.
Thanks for you interest and let me know your thoughts and if you have anything to add I would love to hear from you!
Tight lines,
Football Jigs- This is most people's first choice just due to ease and versatility. A jig can be crawled, swam, hopped, or stroked! It can be used for active or inactive fish based on their mood. Color can be a factor, but everybody has their favorite and every lake seems to have a local favorite. When I am going to a new lake I do two things, interview local fisherman on their colors and search the local tackle shops as to what colors they stock. Invariably they have some crazy color you have never seen that is the local favorite. I also carry other styles of jigs including Flatlands Custom tackle Football Jigs and flipping jigs.
Crankbaits - This is the school activator that is used to quickly get a school to start up or to find schools of fish by allowing you to power fish your way down a ledge in order to cover long lengths of ledges or points in less time. The downfall is fish need to be active, but deflection and reaction strikes work in your favor and then you can slow down with other baits to fine tune the area. Some great tips is to make sure you are bringing the bait in with or across the current to make the bait look more natural and to make sure you are using the right depth crankbait so you are hitting the structure in the transition area or deflecting off the available cover in the area you are fishing.
Carolina and Texas rigged plastics - I am going to combine these two though they could be separated. Plastics are an alternative to bulky baits like jigs and crankbaits and they provide different looks like lizards, creature baits, and big worms, etc. They can be great alternatives to the baits fish see so often from other fisherman. That little something different can make the difference. I carry several different styles of plastics from creature baits to lizards and finesse worms.
Swimbaits - These to me are the most realistic item you can throw and have their own special place in any arsenal. These are very regionalized and should take into consideration what area you are fishing as well as size and styles. Swimbaits provide a realistic alternative to crankbaits and come in sizes from 3-9" in plastic baits and 3-11" sizes in hardbaits. Baits like the BullShad in a hard bait attract some big fish and the Major League lures Boom Shad in plastic baits give you some great choices for offshore ledge fishing carried by our partner Primary Tackle. Keeping the bait close to the bottom is the key to success with these baits targeting those active fish feeding just above the lake bottom and structure they are working on.
A-Rigs - Umbrella type rigs have really taken on their own place in the last few years and come in countless variations with numerous baits to be used and thrown on them. They are primarily used in colder temperatures, but can be utilized in all time frames in certain instances. With much controversy it will be interesting to see how long lived and how they will be used in tournament fishing as the years go by.
Dropshotting - This method is another of the numerous methods available to fisherman out there. I have seen it used in many different ways and styles over the years. In some instances, places I would have never thought about! (Ross Barnett) This is what a lot of people call video game fishing, using your electronics locating a school of fish and dropping a bait down to the fish and enticing a strike using a variety of baits from finesse worms and lizards to shad baits.
All this being said, keep an open mind and be willing to experiment and spend the time to research, locate, and fine tune you deep water fishing. This is a relative term! Deep to me here is 15-30' in Cali or Michigan it may be 50 or 60'. Time on the water is key, if you are like me that is in short supply so make the time count by making good decisions in planning and then spending your time wisely and being efficient.
Thanks for you interest and let me know your thoughts and if you have anything to add I would love to hear from you!
Tight lines,