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The more information you can get before you cast your line in the water the better. I always like to do some research beforehand to figure out a few spots that’ll give me the best chance of catching fish. One of the tools I always use is Navionics and in this post, I’ll be showing you how to find good fishing spots with it.
Navionics is a tool you can use to see what’s going on under the water to give you the best chance to catch a fish. You’ll want to use the tool to find changes in water depth, changes in contours, find deep holes, and locate points. These areas are where 80% of the fish will be and that’s why you should probably be there as well.
You can just blindly go wherever you want and still catch fish but I think you’d agree that it’s more fun when you’re catching a bunch of fish. Know the spots before you go by using the Navionics tool and you’ll catch more fish. Continue reading or watch the video below for the full details on what to look for on Navionics.
What Is Navionics & Why Use It
Navionics is a tool you can use to see what’s going on under the water. You’ll be able to see how deep certain spots are, where the steep drop-offs are, if there are any deep holes in the area, and a bunch of other useful tools.
It’s an incredibly useful tool because it’ll help you figure out where the fish might be hiding. It’s pretty hard to tell if you don’t have this info because 80% of the fish will be in 20% of the water. That’s why you need to know what’s going on.
It doesn’t matter if I’m fishing from the shore or in a boat, I’ll always have a look to see what the water is like. You should always do the research before you go out so you can pick a few spots you want to try.
Fish generally like to be in certain spots and this tool will show you where you should be looking (if you know how to read the charts). There are a few key things you should be looking for so let’s jump into that now.
Changes In Depth
One of the key things you’ll want to look out for is changing depth in the water. Any time you can find a steep drop off there’s a good chance fish will be there. They like to sit around areas like this and wait for smaller things to swim by. If they’re sitting and waiting for food, you should probably be there too.
What you’ll want to look for on the map is where a bunch of lines converge to make a darker area. This is going to tell you where a steep drop off is. Most of the time, you’ll have the baitfish sitting on the top of the ledge and the gamefish will be below. Baitfish won’t be able to see them and they’ll either swim or be pushed down the ledge.
Another thing you can look for are rises in the water (or lumps). If you can find a spot that has a smaller circle and is surrounded by lines that are close together, that’ll tell you there’s a drop off there. You can see it in the picture below. You have two lumps (where the arrows are) which are not very deep and then you quickly get a bunch of close lines that tell you the depth drops off.
Changes In Contours
The next thing you can look for are changes in the line direction. These often tell you where a feeding spot will be because it’s where current breaks and you’ll get areas of calm water where fish can hang out and wait. Pretty much anywhere you have a disturbance in line direction, it’s probably a good spot. Just like before, you’ll get game fish in these areas and they’ll be waiting for something to swim by or be pushed by the current.
You can see in the picture above the two green arrows. The one on the bottom is a deeper hole and the one on the top is a lump in the water. When the water is moving upwards, it’ll feed into the deeper hole, hit the lump, and travel around it. You can tell that’s happening since the lines change direction. There will be fast-moving current to the right of the lump and then there will be a slack area right behind it that should have a lot of fish.
Deeper Holes
Another thing you can look for is deep holes in the water. A lot of the time, you’ll have gamefish sitting in these pockets (especially if you’re in tidal water) and they’ll just be waiting for something to swim by. The best area for this would be where you have shallow water that feeds into a deep pocket. If you can find a blue area that’s close to a deep hole then you’re probably in luck.
As you can see in the picture, you have that circle where the arrow is. The circle has the number 328 beside it and you can tell it’s deep because everything around it is in the 200’s. A lot of people will just anchor near these holes and toss a jig down there. That works really well.
Points
The final thing you can look for are points that stick out into the water. This is going to be the easiest thing to spot and it’s also one of the best places to catch fish. There’s going to be points you can clearly see above the water where land sticks out and there’s also going to be underwater points that you can’t see. Both are really good spots.
As you can see in the picture above, you have a point where land sticks out into the water and then you have an underwater point just below it. Anywhere in that area should have a lot of fish and I know that’s true because I’ve fished here many times. Water will hit the point, travel around it, and create a slack area where fish will be feeding.
In the picture above, there’s a point there that goes from shallow to deep. There’s also an island there but there doesn’t always have to be. You’ll be able to see points like this that are only visible using a tool like this. If you can fish above or below the point (depending on what way the water is moving) you’ll have no trouble catching something.
Until next time, happy fishing. If you want to catch more fish, use more hooks.
Let me know your thoughts and any questions you have. Like this article? Feel free to give it a share!
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