had the rare opportunity to run around on a dry lake bed.

Hobious · November 26, 2023, 11:56:19 AM

my favorite SECRET lake.

I visited it the other week only to find my boat ramp high and dry. info was filed for next time, so I don't waste my efforts this time of year again. just the shallows are dry..the rest of the lake is still there, and the water will come up like it always does..

but I went back, with the wife and dog. I got a wild hare brained idea. I tightened my boot laces and I went jogging out there. I could see some key stumps and channels out there.. grade breaks, logs, etc. I was running around out there like a knucklehead. ankle deep in thick mud sometimes. there was a family riding horse with cattle dogs trotting next to them. I stayed clear since my dog can be a jerk sometimes. well, I pulled out my phone and Navionic app and I marked a bunch of waypoints. at home I found some of the spots on Google Earth, and I double checked my findings.

next season, when the lake comes back up..I am gonna be ready!!!

today,i am sore like I jogged a short marathon. legs sore, back achy. hahah. I feel like it was time well spent.

Dark3 · November 26, 2023, 12:24:11 PM

No lures or hooks laying out there?

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Hobious · November 28, 2023, 10:29:16 AM

my wife asked the same thing.

i didnt see any. i didnt look much tho. i bet if i went to the sunkens bushes, i could have found some.

Smallie_Stalker · November 28, 2023, 01:09:42 PM

You should take a bunch of pictures of what's there so when the water comes back you will know the structure and cover that others can't see.

Back in 2000 before the days of smartphones my favorite pond was drained for a reclamation project. I went out and bought as many disposable cameras as I could get my hands on and took tons of pictures. I stopped by a couple times a week and took more as they added some rock and other fish attractors. They also put 2 aerators into the bottom of the pond and I was able to get pictures of all of it.

After they finished and restocked it they kept it closed for a whole year. But when it opened I was able to catch fish in spots others were passing right by because they didn't know what was down there.

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Hobious · November 28, 2023, 02:33:31 PM

Quote from: Smallie_Stalker on November 28, 2023, 01:09:42 PMYou should take a bunch of pictures of what's there so when the water comes back you will know the structure and cover that others can't see.

Back in 2000 before the days of smartphones my favorite pond was drained for a reclamation project. I went out and bought as many disposable cameras as I could get my hands on and took tons of pictures. I stopped by a couple times a week and took more as they added some rock and other fish attractors. They also put 2 aerators into the bottom of the pond and I was able to get pictures of all of it.

After they finished and restocked it they kept it closed for a whole year. But when it opened I was able to catch fish in spots others were passing right by because they didn't know what was down there.

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pictures? i ran around making waypoints with the Navionics app on my phone. i'll have exact GPS coordinates. i am not saavy enough to relocate anything from pictures. what you trianglate?

Smallie_Stalker · November 28, 2023, 04:03:48 PM

Quote from: Hobious on November 28, 2023, 02:33:31 PM
Quote from: Smallie_Stalker on November 28, 2023, 01:09:42 PMYou should take a bunch of pictures of what's there so when the water comes back you will know the structure and cover that others can't see.

Back in 2000 before the days of smartphones my favorite pond was drained for a reclamation project. I went out and bought as many disposable cameras as I could get my hands on and took tons of pictures. I stopped by a couple times a week and took more as they added some rock and other fish attractors. They also put 2 aerators into the bottom of the pond and I was able to get pictures of all of it.

After they finished and restocked it they kept it closed for a whole year. But when it opened I was able to catch fish in spots others were passing right by because they didn't know what was down there.

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pictures? i ran around making waypoints with the Navionics app on my phone. i'll have exact GPS coordinates. i am not saavy enough to relocate anything from pictures. what you trianglate?

I used some triangulation but i didn't need much. I had a state issued contour map of the pond and I had been fishing it for 9 years so i knew it like the back of my hand anyway. I just took out that map and marked it up close as I could with notes on the triangulation objects.

It was before smartphones, and i didn't have a portable GPS unit so i had to make due old school style. It worked out pretty good since I'm an old guy anyway.

Hobious · November 29, 2023, 12:37:41 PM

I'm not that old, but I would love a map of some lake contours on all my lakes. it is the superior method.

Oldfart9999 · November 30, 2023, 05:57:25 AM

Taking pics with the GPS points tells you wear the spots are AND how they are laid out.
Rodney

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Princeton_Man · November 30, 2023, 07:20:09 AM

They lower some of our lakes by 2 feet or more for Winter and at other times of the year if forecasts include heavy flooding. Getting launched and loaded is often a challenge, but I've made it out on SoHo and Claytor a few times when they were that low. Learned a lot, marked spots on the GPS and took a few pictures. (if you allow location services on your cell phone the metadata included in the images will include GPS coordinates). I've also found a lure or two but not too many that were salvageable. Having the extra information hasn't paid off much though, I think half the locals who fish those lakes do the same thing.