Locating fish is the toughest part of catching fish.

What the money guys don’t want you to know.

As the name says this is going to be a quick guide that is not going to work for you all the time.

Start by reading my guide “How to learn to Catch Fish“.

The easiest way to locate fish is to go after fish that hang around “Structure”. Structure is an anomaly beneath the water such as a pile of rocks, dead tree, an underwater hump, a boat dock or even just a simple change in the bottom of the river or lake such as a drop off. The reason for using this method of locating fish is that you can see structure.

There are lots of other ways of locating fish “Structure” is the easiest and most fun of them all. Because you can do it with your eyes. See photos below.

The pictures below give some idea of the types of structure that you can easily identify.

A little bay

Small Bay

End of Small Peninsula

End of small peninsula

Weeds

Weed line

Lilly Pads

After the Falls

slack area in the flow of water

Slack water near protruding rock

Rock in mid stream

Stream entering larger body of water

Reeds off shore

Submerged rock

Logs in Water

Tree in water

Below falls

Below rapids

Near small island in water

Moored boats and docks

If you see a bunch of people fishing, stay away, they have already caught any fish in the area.

Next how deep  should the water be? If you are fishing for bigger fish the water needs to be deeper than you can see the bottom but not so deep that sunlight can not penetrate. The deepest is about twice as deep as you can see the bottom.

If you go deeper than sunlight penetrates you’re into a different type of fishing than discussed in this quicky guide. You are also going to a depth where there is no biotic activity (Food is not generated just recycled).

Now that you have a location what are you going to use to catch the fish.? You need something that can get down to the depth we identified above which is often on the bottom and closely associated with snags and other things that are going to give you trouble.

This means you need to select a weedless or snag less rig that can be fished at various depths.

There are not to many rigs that satisfy these two conditions. Also if you’re like me you want it to be cheap and robust and simple.

The best rig for this is a “Slider Jig” tipped with some form of plastic attractor such as a grub. Not only is this the cheapest rig but it is also one of the best lures you can use. You will rarely see this rig advertised or promoted in fishing TV shows because there is no money to be made. A typical slider jig will cost between 10 and 60 cents and the plastic grubs will be less than $3 for a bag of thirty or so.

Also, for beginners note, the “Slider Jig” is not your typical jig and it is hard to come by.

Plastic Grub, Worm Hook, Slider Jig

You are going to need two sizes 1/8 and 1/4 once and maybe 3/8 once slider jigs. The weight of the jig is selected based on the depth of water you are fishing. 1/8 is good for about six feet deep while 1/4 will get you down to eight or ten feet. If you are fishing for smaller fish you can go with 1/16 once.

You may have to go to the internet to buy these types of jigs as your typical retailer is reluctant to stock these cheap jigs. You don’t need to buy expensive versions with fancy paint and other nonsense, they all work about the same just priced differently. It would be nice if you could find “Slider Jigs” with the weight made from something other than lead so we could all go green. Please let me know if anyone finds such a beast.

If you are new to fishing, select grubs that you can see in the water such as white or bright yellow. Seeing the grub will make it easier for you to learn to control the lure. As you get better you will rely more on feel and less on sight and can start using different colors. It is best to get grubs that are a combination of a bright color and black but good luck finding this combination. This combination of bright and dark will allow the fish to see the grub under all conditions. The ideal combination is probably white and black.

The type of fish we are fishing for are locating their food primarily by sight with vibration thrown in for good measure. Most fish are located on or near the bottom and are looking up to locate their prey. The lure needs to stand out from the background. Directly above the fish is a cone of bright light that is the sky. This background light and maybe blue or white depending on sky color bur always bright. A black colored lure is always going to stand out under these conditions. Adjacent to this bright cone of light it is going to be darker and as you start looking more downward it will fade to black. A white colored lure is always going to stand out best under these conditions. For these reasons you want a black and white lure with black on the bottom and white every where else. You’ll notice that fish have the reverse color scheme with white on the bottom and black every where else giving them a better chance to fade into the background.

If you read fishing books and watch fishing shows you will hear lots of BS about lure colors. To find out for yourself experiment with colors in my “how-to-learn-to-catch-fish“. You really can’t experiment with the big fish, it may take you months during which the conditions have change which will invalidate your data.

You don’t need heavy line but if you are using mono filament nylon line it has to be new, less than a year old (Cheap mono filament is always made from Nylon deteriorates with age in the water. Expensive mono filament is made from flurocarbon). Six pound test is a decent size but you could go to ten. I have caught tiny fish from little crappie to 15 lbs muskie on six pound test. The only advantage of heavier lines is that they don’t break so easily when caught in weeds and other snags. But you’re not going to get caught on snags and weeds because you will be using the snagless slider jig.

The end of your line is subject to wear as it bumps into rocks and weeds. Periodically trim off the last six feet or so. If you see any sign of wear in the end of the line remove it by cutting your line shorter.

For beginners get a spinning rod between 6.5 and 7 feet of length along with reel and learn to cast to a target. 8.5 is the optimum size but if you need extra casting distance when fishing from shore you can go to 7 feet but the rod starts to become cumbersome. There is mucho BS about buying the right rod. Rods have to perform many functions and they can’t be optimized for them all. The two most important functions are casting and setting the hook. You’re going to do more casting than anything else but when a fish does come along you don’t want to miss it. When fishing with jigs your sense of touch becomes important, unfortunately this means lighter rods and they are more expensive. Spinnin rod are cast differently than casting rods. They need a more flexible tip to take advantage for the little flick that you will use. Casting rods have less critical needs for casting as you will use more of a sweeping motion for the cast. Rod requirements for fighting the fish are almost irrelevant as all rods will work adequately. Rods are too complicated for this quicky guide.

Fill the spool with line until it is about 1/8 of an inch from the top or capacity of the spool.

You need to learn how to tie knots but this is a whole topic by itself.Most knot tying guides really get into the subject and try to maximize knot strength. This is not what you want.

Select a knot that you can tie under all difficult conditions, such as blowing wind, dark and other difficult situations. Do not worry about knot strength. You want the knot to be the weakest point in your system so that when your line breaks it breaks at the knot. The last thing you want is broken line cluttering up the water. It creates a hazard for the environment as well as the bearings next to the propellers of motors.

Select a knot that you can remember and tie under any difficult condition, nothing else is really important.

Learn how to rig your “Slider Jig” so it is snag less using the following photos.

Step 1, Rigging Slider Jig Snag less, entry point

Step 2, Rigging Slider Jig Snag less, exit point

Step 3, Rigging Slider Jig Snag less, entry and exit will match the crook in the jig

Step 4, Rigging Slider Jig Snag less, Rotate grub and locate entry point into grub

Step 5, Rigging Slider Jig Snag less, start at entry point into Grub

Step 6, Rigging Slider Jig Snag less, insert all the way through then pull back

Learn three different retrieve patterns.

The Constant Speed Retrieve with weight of jig and retrieve speed bring jig through water at different depths.

The Wave Retrieve is the same as the constant speed but raise and lower your rod tip about one foot every second maintaining a tight line.

The Bottom Bounce, let the jig sink to the bottom. When your line goes slack the jig is on the bottom. Raise your rod tip by two feet. Lower your rod tip and retrieve line so it just stays tight. This is the prime time for the fish to strike. When the jig hits the bottom again pause then repeat.

At each location begin your casting with a search pattern to identify what is below the surface. This done by retrieving the jig so it stays near the surface and then with each subsequent cast letting it go deeper until you feel the jig begin to bump into structure. Now you’ve located prime fishing depth. You also want to locate the bottom. Vary your retrieve so it goes from the top of the structure to the bottom of the water.

Most of the fish are located on the bottom or near it and this is where you will be trying to position your jig most of the time. Vary the depth of your jig with your retrieve speed and the height of your rod tip. If you can’t get the bottom with a reasonable retrieve speed then switch to a heavier jig. Fresh water sport fish that like to relate to the bottom in the biotic zone most of the time are: Bass, Walleye, Pike, Perch.

Once you get one fish keep casting at the same spot, there’s usually more than one fish, they like to hang out like buddies. Also note the depth and speed at which you got the bite.

Do not keep fishing the same spot if you’re not catching, keep moving, several casts and move.

At each spot start with a fast retrieve to keep the jig shallow. During the retrieve feel for any obstructions. Learn to feel the difference between the jig hitting the bottom and hitting a weed.

Keep casting and slowing the retrieve until you hit the bottom. Now you know what speed retrieve to use to match the bottom conditions. Slightly faster is the ideal speed for most conditions with the jig staying just above the bottom. Now use wave and bottom bounce retrieve styles with this speed of retrieve.

During the retrieve keep your rod tip up or to the side so that the line and rod form an angle 90 and 45 degrees. If the line comes straight from the tip of your rod it will be easier to crank but you won’t feel the action of the jig very well. At 90 degrees you probably get maximum feel.

Now cast in a different direction. Repeat until all directions have been covered then move to your next location.

Cast right into the structure and drag that snag less jig through.

Keep your hook sharp and replace the grub when it gets torn.

Once you’ve got the lure near the fish it is the movement and pausing of the jig and grub that will trigger the bite.

You will find that you are using your sense of touch on most every cast as well as watching the behavior of the lure. To in improve your sense of touch try and balance your rod so it sits parallel to the ground when just resting in your hand. All rods are equipped with matching sized reels are tip heavy. To get neutral balance you can add weights to the but end of the rod. The cheapest and most effective way to do this is get some plastic chair leg protectors from the hardware store that just fit over the but end of your rod. Buy some lead weights and hammer them flat until they just fit into the plastic chair leg protectors. Then tape the plastic chair leg protectors with weights on to the but of the rod using black electrical tape.

You will rarely see these techniques on TV as there is no money to be made from this equipment to pay for the TV show.

Now, the most important tip but one that is a whole other topic is “Learn How to Enjoy Yourslef While Fishing“. You can try what others are doing but learn what works for you.