Deep water question

[stratosjoe]

Wishin, I have been a deep water basser for 15 years by no way a pro but have had good luck. If I don't have a map I look at the bank first looking for obvious points. I start with the depth finder up against the bank and work my way out untill the point runs out and then continue on for another 20' the reason is a lot of times the point comes back up creating a hump at the end of the point these places are dynomite. then I will crisscross the point . Usually I move on to the next spot letting the water calm down a little and come back. If a point has grass on it or stumps the better it will probably be. I fish 1/8-1/4 oz shaky style heads with 4-6" worms not curley tails but straight worms green pumpkin with black fleck is my favorite color for most bodies of water. In clear water I love salt and pepper 4" its clear with black flake. Whatever color you like and have confidence in will most likely work.
The best way to learn to fish deep water is go by yourself leave all other types of tackle at home forcing you to fish slow and methodical. Visualize the bait as you DRAG it slowly over the point or hump or off the drop off. Use 8-10 test set your drag a little loose. When they hit it and hit it they will set the hook with a sweeping motion you don't have to rip thier lips off. Hope this helps (points or ledges by mouths of coves and long slender islands in deep water are my dream come true. Hope this helps you some stratosjoe

[wishniwasfishn]

I appreciate the help, but i still dont understand what a ledge is, and how to go about finding them, i have a lowrance gps 520c, and have rode around, and around, but i dont know if i am looking at a ledge or just a do nothing flat piece of mud. I spend a ton of time looking, just not quite sure what i am looking for. I have spoken with Dave Stewart, and am planning on going out with him sometime in August, or whenever i can find the time, and he has an opening. You guys have great answers, just still not sure what exactly is a ledge, and what it looks like. I dont know if i am making any sense to yall, but still somewhat confused. Do you just ride around a creek channel say 35' to the edge, and follow that till it rises up to about 15', and then follow the 15' depth, until i see something on that depth? Sorry for the confusion on my part, just trying to make sense of it all.

[stratosjoe]

A ledge can be an immediate drop of water from 5' to 50' it can be against the bank or at the end of a submerged island in 10' dropping off to 40' in the middle of the lake or river. that 520 will show them very clearly get a good map and look for lines running besides each other with the depth dropping rapidly from 10 to 30' that is a ledge .

[wishniwasfishn]

So the ledge is not actually a flat piece of bottom, it is acutally a sloping piece of lake bottom. So wherever the contour lines are very close indicating a shard drop off, i should find that section, and just go over it with my depthfinder, to find as they say the spot on the spot. Thanks that makes alot more sense to me. I am on vacation all of next week, and Iam going to spend a whole day with a map, gps, looking and marking any type of ledges that i can find.

[artcarney_agr]

Where are you headed?

[trentonc2000]

everyone has provided some really good information. Really the only thing i can say would be to pay attention to the contour lines on both your paper map and the gps. the ledge doesn't always have to be a point. If you see a spot where the contour lines are close together (or closer than the rest of that area) its considered a ledge as well. With contour lines, the closer they are together, the steeper the drop. Look for some of these areas with some type of cover on it.

other than that, finding the sweet spots will just take time on the water.

[MsgMills]

Found the info on the Ledge fishing you wrote Dave Stewart, thanks for the info. It'll really help me more in my deep water fishing tactics for sure....

[wishniwasfishn]

Where are you headed?

Probaly Rough River for a day or two, then Nolin, or Barren for a day.

[Dave Stewart]

You might read the article I wrote years ago entitled "Out on a Ledge"...some folks say it has helped them understand ledges better. You will find a link to it on the Ky Lake Reports page in the side column on this site.