There are as many different ways to check a new fishing hole as there are anglers. This one works best.

Decide where you want to go first. Will it be close to your house so that you can go often at any time? Is it a place you are going on vacation? Do you want it to be a short trip to a little refuge where no one can find you and your secret fishing hole? No matter which of these questions you answer “yes” to, basic research will pay off rather than just going out and throwing your line.

Narrow down the area you plan to go to. You can get the USGS home run maps to see how the terrain is laid out, especially if you’re hitting the field. Now we also have other options. Before we used to put out these paper maps, but now we put out something like Google Maps; you can even use the terrain feature. Focus on the area you are thinking about. Is it a pond or a lake, a stream or a river, a bay or an ocean?

When looking at the area, notice all the ‘quirks’. Where are streams or rivers that flow into larger bodies of water, even a small river into a larger one? these are places that bring food to fish. Be careful of places where, if heading downstream, the water turns to the “right”, which would create an undercut slope along the outside side of the curve; here the fish wait for the food to reach their mouths adrift in the current. Be on the lookout for islands in the middle of the rivers; the downstream sides tend to accumulate a ‘tail’ of debris (rocks, sticks, stumps, logs) that accumulate to accumulate sand and leaves that will eventually decompose on land extending the island even more; a similar effect takes place in the ocean with sand chips. In this process, the end of that tail provides the fish with a place to rest and conserve energy while they wait for their food source to arrive and attack it. Sometimes you will find rivers that were created with ‘meanders’; These are formed when rivers change direction and partially or completely cut these meandering sections; they can also result in the formation of more islands.

When you get closer, you may even be able to see large individual or clustered rocks along the shoreline; These are places where fish like to hide waiting for their prey. I know of some places near some lighthouses that are great places to fish for striped bass in the right season. Look for other rock formations along the shores where fish can hide. Along the coasts you will find places where the great rivers flow into the sea creating spit from their deltas into the ocean by spewing debris. Sometimes, if this does not happen naturally, you will discover artificial piers. These types of formations can be a great way to get deeper into the water (be VERY careful with rising tides and strong currents!) Where fish enter and exit these channels to feed on certain tides.

Look for bridges over rivers, lakes, etc. These also give you the opportunity to get deeper into the water without a jet ski. In some places there are piers built especially for fishing on them. An important place not to overlook are the posts and piles that support bridges, piers, piers, piers, etc. Fish are again usually on the downstream side of these structures; A big advantage is that they offer protection to the fish from the hot sun in the summer months.

Look for swamps to investigate. Swamps are areas that were once dry land, but for a variety of reasons they have flooded, raising the water level to the point where it eventually drowned and killed the trees that lived there. Some swamps will still have the trees at their full height, some have fallen, while others have rotted or cut down the treetops. In some swamps, be careful if you are sailing because these obstacles can be submerged and can be a hazard to your boat. These trees and their old root systems create great places for fish to hide and search for each other.

Similar to swamps are swamps. They can be salt or fresh water marshes. These are usually live with feeding bait for the larger fish; they are a breeding area for small fry; You will find eels, different types of worms, crayfish and crabs, and many other larvae and insects hanging here. These marshes are a rich source of food for fish and, in turn, for you as a fisherman.

If you have a fish finder, you can find channels created by water currents. These channels can also be a waiting place for fish if the cut is correct. They can be found in any large body of water. Even streams and rivers have a continuous channel where the feeder streams flow into the larger one.

Another thing to watch out for is weed beds. Sometimes you can see them on maps if the pictures are taken at the right time of year. You can even see ponds and slowly moving river sections where duckweed or other aquatic plants get caught in the current; On maps at the correct time of year, you may almost miss these ponds and mistake them for lawns or fields due to the light green color and the way the growth completely covers the ponds. Small fish love to use the roots of these aquatic plants as cover to hide from larger fish. You’ll discover areas of pond lilies and other water-loving plants like arrowheads and cattails if your zoom resolution is good enough. Of course, you know that you will find the greats looking for their food there too.

Waterfalls can be places where fish congregate not only during the spawning season of salmon or herring, as seen in videos or on television. In hot summers, waterfalls offer fish a section of water that is richly oxygenated when other areas can become extremely low almost to the point of oxygen depletion, which can cause fish death. You can see waterfalls on maps as a mottled or wavy gray area against the darker color of the river, usually with a straight, sharp edge to the upstream side; dams may appear straight or curved. White water or rapids can be seen in the same way on maps, but without the clearly defined edge. They have the same effect on fish by oxygenating the water; here you will find fish resting behind large rocks or boulders.

Once you’ve gone through the area you’re going to fish in on Google maps, see if you can locate some bathymetric (depth) maps of the bodies of water you’ve been concentrating on. Try the state game and fish agencies in that area; some keep maps on their websites and also list what kind of fish you can find in that specific body of water. There are books written for different places where you can find information about their location; some who are engaged in fly fishing will drill down to certain pools along the rivers to target. If you are fishing for trout in the hot summer months, look for the deeper water spots because those spots will be the coldest and that’s what trout like. Yes, know what the particular fish you want to fish likes because each species has different requirements. Check areas where there is a steep slope; Sometimes these appear in person as two different divided water surfaces, as one side may have waves (large or small) and the other side may be as smooth as a mill pond. Fish tend to hang out along the slope somewhere; this could be due to the temperature.

You can print the maps of the areas you want to focus on and then circle or highlight the best places to try. Take them with you on your fishing trip. Even laminate them in plastic to protect them from the elements and submerge them in the water. This is especially valuable if you find that particular area extremely productive for fishing.

Another option that is the easiest route is to invest in a fish finder. The cheapest models will show you where the fish is. The more expensive models have maps loaded onto them or can be loaded onto them. Another feature that some have is the ability to record and store the sonar charts for future use. Some even have Global Positioning Systems (GPS) as part of their programs, which can save you a lot of time, whether in a foggy situation or after it gets very dark on a moonless night.

Reading maps is a great way to get through those cold winter months. Investigating new possibilities can give you a new perspective on fishing in a certain place, but it can open your eyes to even more opportunities by exploring those maps and discovering new potential places that you were not aware of before. It is much better than being in a bad mood wishing that the fishing season would begin again.

You are the only one who decides which way to go to investigate your next new fishing sweet spot. Either way you do it, have fun and catch that big one.