Viritual Pre-Fishing
A Guide to Finding Fish Before You Hit the Lake
April 30, 2009
In today’s age of technology many anglers are looking beyond a paper map to locate those fishing “hot spots” long before they back their boat down the ramp. If that’s you (that familiar clicking sound at your fingertips will give you away), you’re already familiar with looking up this information, but if you’re not, I’ll share some tips on where you can find out what these anglers are learning to give them that edge.
Today’s technologically savvy anglers are taking advantage of today’s get-it-now information by doing what I like to call, “Virtual Prefishing”. Read on and you’re sure to find a few ways you can obtain additional pre-fishing information, aside from your paper map, long before you hit the water.
Finding the Ramp
First things first, you have to get to the ramp. If you’re unfamiliar with the particular body of water you plan on fishing this could be tricky, so it would be wise to call up a road map to get there.
There are dozens of road mapping programs on the web these days. A few of my favorites are Mapquest (www.mapquest.com), Google Maps (http://maps.google.com), and Yahoo Maps (http://maps.yahoo.com). All mapping programs typically have the same basic features (directions to and from, distance, estimated time of trip, etc.) but I find myself using the ones that also offer satellite imagery as an additional feature. While the satellite images are not always ‘up-to-date’ they will at least give you the ability to see the lay of the land, terrain, lake layout, and depending on the season of the images, possibly some grass beds.
Lastly, if you’re making a long haul to your fishing destination, it would be best to reference your route with the U.S. Department of Transportation (www.dot.gov). The last thing you want is to be stuck in traffic or lost on some detour when you’re in route to your fishing destination.
Internet s
The next place to start looking is internet s. Many bodies of water have chat pages set up specifically for them, but some of the smaller bodies may be linked to larger area lakes or may not have anything at all. If the body of water you are heading to does not have a page, locate a body of water that is nearby that is better known. The information you are looking for will typically hold true in the smaller lake as well as the big lake.
While s are great places to look for useful information, you may need to weed thru some of the “bull” to find what you are looking for. Look for generalizations about the body of water rather than specific information. Avoid posts that say, “I caught five 6 pound small mouth bass in Norfolk Bay on a chug bug.” Odds are the information is simply not true. And if the information is true, the other 1,200 viewers who viewed the post before you have already been there and verified it. The information that you are trying to gather from s is general: What stage are the fish in? Are the fish keying on certain structure? What type of structure? What presentations seem to be working best? When you find the answers to those questions take note of them. That is information that will help you key in on the fish when you get to the lake.
Watch for photos while browsing internet s. Not only will photos give you an idea of the quality of the fish the lake is producing, but they will also give you clues to other things fish are keying on. Take a close look at the photos. Look for things in the background composition. If it’s a shoreline in the background take a close look of the structure. If it’s the boat deck in the background you can sometimes see what lures are tied on the other rods on deck or what lure is hanging from the fishes mouth. One can also typically see the weather conditions from the photos: Is it overcast or sunny? Is it windy? Is the water clear, stained, or tannic? Like the old saying goes, “A picture is worth one thousand words.” Just remember to look beyond the fish in the photo.
While you’re browsing the internet, check out area guides web pages. Guides are local specialists and they know what is happening on the water most of the time; they make a living by knowing what the fish are doing. Here again you may have to weed thru some “big fish talk” to find useful information.” If the fish aren’t biting they don’t get clients, so weed thru some of that and key in on the same things we were looking for in internet s.
Water Information
Another important step in virtual pre-fishing is obtaining lake or river information from the internet. Some bodies of water have web pages specifically for this but smaller bodies of water may not. A good place to start looking is on the regulating government agency’s web site. For example, if you are looking at a lake, typically those are regulated by the State Department of Natural Resources; therefore you should type in the particular state’s web page. If you are looking for information on Okauchee Lake near Oconomowoc, WI you can find Lake Information on the Wisconsin DNR webpage at dnr.wi.gov. Likewise, if you are headed to a navigatable river that borders multiple states, these are typically controlled by a federal agency like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A search on the Army Corps webpage (rivergages.com) will typically yield the information you are looking for on rivers. The information that you can find on these web pages can be very useful.
Here is what you can expect to find on the governing bodies web pages: Coverage of the water (in area), water depths (max.), species of fish that inhabit, and geographical information. Sometimes these web pages will even produce a map for the body of water you’re researching. The maps you find on these pages will typically note areas to avoid in navigation (stump fields, wing dams, etc.) and some general contours/channels which are always helpful in narrowing down water the fish might inhabit. These pages are also a great way to obtain license requirements and important phone numbers like the lockmaster and Cost Guard. You should also be able to obtain information on expected barge traffic and lock times.
Weather Information
When it comes to Virtual Pre-fishing don’t forget to look for an accurate weather report. You know as well as I do 
that weather is a huge factor concerning your fishing outing. Weather often determines how fish may bite, but also offers insight into what kind of extra gear you need to pack. The goal is to be prepared and plan for the worst situation. From a good weather web page, weather radio, or weather channel, you will be able to get expected temperatures, barometric pressure readings, sunrise and sunset schedules and even the moon phases.
One could argue all day about how weather elements affect fishing, but here again the important thing is that you know the forecast so that you can be prepared for any type of weather you might encounter. Regardless of the forecast, the one thing that I never leave the house without is my raingear. A good set of raingear will keep you warm and dry all day. Nothing can ruin a day of fishing faster than an unexpected storm front and you with no rain suit in the boat. Other highly important gear I always make sure to have in the boat for preparation of the weather is: sunglasses, sunscreen, and bug spray.
GPS and Mapping
Another important element to Virtual Pre-fishing is map data. Whether you are downloading map data to your GPS or marking spots on your paper map, it is important to get familiar with your map before you get to the water. Don’t wait until you get to the lake to pop your mapping card into your GPS only to realize you grabbed the wrong one or the data doesn’t cover the part of the lake you are fishing. It is important to get current map
data loaded onto your GPS unit prior to your trip. Spend some time navigating around the water on your GPS. The more time you spend at home familiarizing yourself with the map is that much less time you’ll be fumbling around on the water.
Record Your Findings
It is important to record all of your findings both during your Virtual Pre-fishing and the fishing outing itself. I like to keep all of my information in a folder that is categorized by lake. Once you have the information recorded into a folder it’ll be easy to find and you don’t have to waste time researching for your next trip out there. For additional virtual pre-fishing links visit www.kyleschauf.com. You’ll find some of the quick links that I use on a regular basis to gather information. Also don’t forget to stock your tackle box before your trip at www.baits.com.
Nothing can fully replace the information that you will gather with time on the water but by adding these few details into your pre-fishing arsenal, you’ll be sure to take full advantage of your time out there. After all, Virtual Pre-fishing will only help better prepare you and maximize your enjoyment on the water.