Part 3: How to Find and Catch Bass on a New Lake

The final video in the "New Lake" series is here. If you've ever wondered how we go about finding bass quickly in a new lake, this is the series to watch. Matt goes on the water and shows you step by step what he's doing, as well as thinking, to quickly find bass in a body of water he knows nothing about. 

In Part 3 you'll see the same trends showing up that you saw in parts 1 and 2. Quickly identifying prey species and likely fish locations will allow you to load the boat and develop quickly. In the previous videos Matt found his best success with a 3 pronged approach to active fish. When the fish were most active he was able to get bit on a River2Sea Rover topwater. Once the fish began moving out he was able to catch them on a crankbait. He used both a Norman Deep Lil N and a Strike King 5XD. Lastly, he downsized to a small Keitech Fat Swing Impact to catch the remaining aggressive fish as the day warmed up. This bait selection let him continue to catch reaction fish long after the reaction bite had slowed. 

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Now as the sun is warming the air and surface of the water the fish finally go deep. Matt is forced to follow them down and change his approach. He targets them with a Casting Jig and a small dropshot rig. The dropshot rig featured a small Strike King worm on 8 lb fluorocarbon leader to finesse the last of the fish that were still willing to bite. Finesse fishing isn't glamourous but it works when everything else has stopped and can allow you to catch a few extra fish before heading home. 

We hope you're able to take these tips and tricks to a lake near you and quickly develop patterns to catch fish as you break down the lake. Don't let new lakes intimidate you! Make a plan, put it to action, and follow through until you begin catching bass. Good luck out there!

Part 2: How to Find and Catch Bass On a New Lake

Fishing new lakes can be very intimidating. The key is to quickly identify prey species and structure that should hold fish. Of course you also have to balance time of year, water temp, clarity, depth, weather, boat pressure, fishing pressure, etc... No big deal, right? 

With preparation, its really not a big deal. In this week's video Matt continues breaking down a brand new lake and takes you along for the ride.  From catching fish on multiple spots to eliminating water quickly, you'll see the steps and the mindsight behind developing patterns and dialing in the best spots on a new body of water. 

As you'll see in the video the key is to keep your methods simple while still keeping an open mind. Start with reaction and cover water. Stick to your game plan until the lake leads you in a different direction. If you find active fish, repeat the pattern around the lake for the remainder of the day. remember you aren't try to catch every bass in the lake, you can begin fine tuning patterns and locations on subsequent trips. 

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On this Lake Matt found his best success with a 3 pronged approach to active fish. When the fish were most active he was able to get bit on a River2Sea Rover topwater. Once the fish began moving out he was able to catch them on a crankbait. He used both a Norman Deep Lil N and a Strike King 5XD. Lastly, he downsized to a small Keitech Fat Swing Impact to catch the remaining aggressive fish as the day warmed up. This bait selection let him continue to catch reaction fish long after the reaction bite had slowed. 

We hope you're able to take these tips and tricks to a lake near you and quickly develop patterns to catch fish as you break down the lake. Don't let new lakes intimidate you! Make a plan, put it to action, and follow through until you begin catching bass. 

Keep an eye out for Part 3 later this week! 

How to Find and Catch Bass on a New Lake

Fishing new lakes can be very intimidating. The key is to quickly identify prey species and structure that should hold fish. Of course you also have to balance time of year, water temp, clarity, depth, weather, boat pressure, fishing pressure, etc... No big deal, right? 

With preparation, its really not a big deal. In this week's video Matt takes you out on the water as he breaks down a brand new lake. From first impressions, to finally locating and sticking a bunch of bass, you'll see the steps and the mindsight behind developing patterns and catching fish on a new body of water. 

As you'll see in the video the key is to keep your methods simple while still keeping an open mind. Start with reaction and cover water. Stick to your game plan until the lake leads you in a different direction. If you find active fish, repeat the pattern around the lake for the remainder of the day. remember you aren't try to catch every bass in the lake, you can begin fine tuning patterns and locations on subsequent trips. 

On this Lake Matt found his best success with a 3 pronged approach to active fish. When the fish were most active he was able to get bit on a River2Sea Rover topwater. Once the fish began moving out he was able to catch them on a crankbait. He used both a Norman Deep Lil N and a Strike King 5XD. Lastly, he downsized to a small Keitech Fat Swing Impact to catch the remaining aggressive fish as the day warmed up. This bait selection let him continue to catch reaction fish long after the reaction bite had slowed. 

We hope you're able to take these tips and tricks to a lake near you and quickly develop patterns to catch fish as you break down the lake. Don't let new lakes intimidate you! Make a plan, put it to action, and follow through until you begin catching bass. 

Thank you for your support of Tacticalbassin, we appreciate it!

Keith Combs' Crankbait Tips

Keith needs no introduction but for those Western anglers who may not follow professional angling as closely as they should, he's won the Texas Big Bass Classic on Lake Fork 3 times, fished the Bassmaster Classic 5 times, and set the record for the heaviest ever tournament weight with a 3-day total of 110 pounds! He's a legend with a crankbait, especially when it comes to Lake Fork, Texas. 

We were thrilled to have the opportunity to fish with Combs last month at the Shimano Content Creator's Conference on none other than the famed water he has made his name on. Watching Combs fish Lake Fork was very rewarding but watching him operate his Humminbird Onyx electronics was mindblowing! When we got back to our rooms we compared notes and were both agreed we were most impressed with how he fine-tuned his electronics, located fish, adapted his baits accordingly, and immediately put the fish on the screen onto the deck of the boat. 

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If you ever have an opportunity to fish with an "Elite" angler, you should take the opportunity. It was a very eye opening experience! 

Tim spent much of his time fishing with the Shimano Antares reel and was blown away by the performance! Its not for the faint of heart with a price tag of $599.99 but to our amazement, its worth the $$$ if you can afford it. However, for those that live within a budget, the Shimano Casitas at $119.99 held up extremely well, even when slinging a giant 10XD Crankbait all day. We'd both overlooked the Casitas in the past but will be taking a better look going forward. 

Combs on the other hand keeps his arsenal very simple. He preferred to use a Shimano Curado in 7:1 gear ratio, even when throwing a 6XD and 10XD. He explained that he can slow it down if need be but when he gets a big bass on he's able to power up that 7:1 reel and really keep control of the fish.