Often, one of the most difficult things to do on a new body of water is to find a decent map.  Good maps are key to narrowing down the areas that you want to hit and maximizing you productivity on the water.  A good topo map is even more important.  Contour lines help identify key structures such as humps, creek channels, drop offs and ledges that are the places that bass will congregate during each of the seasonal patterns.

Fortunately, most of the bigger reservoirs and rivers have pretty good maps available on paper and in either built in mapping or an add-on card for your GPS system.  The drawbacks to these maps is that the information is sometimes out of date or inaccurate due to current or storms.

Thanks to Lowrance’s Insight Genesis program, that’s no longer a problem.  With Insight Genesis, you can record your sonar data from your Lowrance units, upload the data to the Genesis web site and it will create a map for you.  These maps can then, either be viewed online or downloaded to a memory card and used just like any other mapping card in your Lowrance units.

Making your own topo maps is simple with Insight Genesis.

I had my first opportunity to try this out this past weekend on a small private lake and I have to say I’m really impressed with the program.  With a Premium Subscription, you can pick either 1, 3 or 5 foot contour lines, a view that show bottom composition or a view that shows vegetation.  I’ve fished this lake since it was built and I saw a couple of areas that I can’t wait to get back to and fish.

As you can see from this screen shot, I didn’t fish the entire lake so everything is not mapped.   Of course, if you have time, you can motor around and make a grid pattern to insure that you cover the entire lake.  But there is an easier option.   You can merge multiple sonar recordings on the Genesis site (with a standard subscription) and make them into a single map.  That way you can just record every time you are on the water and make a new map when you get home.

You can also show bottom composition (shown here) or vegetation.

On bigger lakes, it’s not necessary to try to get coverage of the entire lake.  With the Lowrance Touch units, you can display multiple map cards on the same screen, so you can make maps of your key areas or structure and display them alongside of the built in Insight mapping.  I’ve started recording the sonar data every time I’m on the water and building maps for each of the lakes that I regularly fish.   I have no doubt that these maps will help me put more fish in the boat.  To visit the Genesis website, go to https://insightstore.navico.com.

Thanks to the sponsors who make this all possible:  Lowrance Electronics, Phoenix Bass Boats, Denali Rods, Bryan’s Marine, BoatUS Angler, Power Pole, Costa del Mar Sunglasses and Mississippi Van Lines.  Without all of you, none of this would be possible.

The B.A.S.S. Open at the Red River was an interesting tournament.  For most of us the fish were plentiful but the bigger bites were few and far between.  What the tournament was mostly about was strategy.  Since we were launching in Pool 5 and could fish 5, 4 or 3, the decision of how to spend you fishing time was even more critical than normal.

In my opinion, pools 3 and 4 contain better fish but each lock takes close to 2 hours out of your day by the time you lock down and back up.  Despite this loss of fishing time, several anglers elected to go all the way to pool 3 and lock twice each way.  Of those that locked, I heard of one that made the run, fished a total of 36 minutes to catch his limit and made the run back.  You have to have a special kind of confidence in your fish for that plan.

Waiting for the lock to open during practice. Time management is key during tournaments with locks.

I had hoped that by using an aluminum boat for this tournament, I’d be able to get in some areas that I couldn’t get my Phoenix into.  As it turned out, I could have fished the big boat in any of the areas that I found although I might have hesitated to take the Phoenix into some of the areas.

As is usually the case, I did learn a great deal during this event.  In this case, I was fishing mainly rock jetties on the main river.  I’ve done that many times before, but they are a little different on the Red River.  When fishing this type of cover, you always look for the current breaks.  These breaks can be on the points or in areas where the water flows over the jetty, but regardless of their location, you key on these eddies in the water flow.  The bass use them as ambush points and are generally very aggressive about biting.

I wasn't the only one enjoying the warm weather. The only thing more plentiful than bass on the Red are the snakes.

What makes the Red River jetties somewhat different, is that they are drastically affected by the locks.  Every time the lock cycled, the current would shift direction, repositioning the bass.   Because of this shift in current, you could catch bass on both sides of the jetties, depending on which way the water was flowing.  What amazed me was how fast the bass adjusted to the changing current flow.  I realized that the fish were holding on both sides, but just biting with the current was flowing the way that had them positioned on the down current side of the jetty.

After practice, I was certain that I could pretty much catch a limit that weighed 7-8 pounds at will.  As it turned out, I was correct in that assumption.  I caught about 60 to 70 keepers during the two tournament days, but what I needed was a way to catch an upgrade fish each day.  As it turned out, I got that bite each day but failed to land it on Day 1, so I ended up 11 ounces out of the money.  I can’t fault the plan, just my execution of the plan.

As disappointing as the close finish was, it was a wonderful week on the water.  The weather was great, the fish were biting and I added some knowledge that will pay off at some other fishery down the line.  There’s a pretty big break coming up in my tournament schedule, since the next event is not until September.  That’ll give me some time to work on some videos for my YouTube Channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/ScottMcGehee) and catch up on some technique articles that I’ve been wanting to do for the blog.  If you’ve got any techniques that you’d like to hear and see about, let me know.

Thanks to the sponsors who make this all possible:  Lowrance Electronics, Phoenix Bass Boats, Denali Rods, Bryan’s Marine, BoatUS Angler, Power Pole, Costa del Mar Sunglasses and Mississippi Van Lines.  Without all of you, none of this would be possible.

Just like I’ve done hundreds of times before, I’m headed out for a tournament today.  But since I sold the Phoenix and the new one’s not ready yet, I’ll be fishing out of a buddy’s boat this week  for the first B.A.S.S. Central Open of the year at the Red River in Shreveport.  I had to borrow a boat for Douglas Lake but this time I’ll be running a 19 foot Xpress aluminum boat.

Xpress hooked to the Tundra and ready to roll!

Normally, I’d really hesitate to run this type of boat.  After all, it’s hard to adjust to the smaller tackle and rod storage and it’s smaller than most of the boats I’ve run in competition before.  The organization, speed and comfort of the Phoenix has really spoiled me and I’m having some serious withdrawal symptoms.  But in this case, I’m really happy to have a boat to fish out of at all and at the Red River, the Xpress might even be a real advantage.

For those of you who haven’t been to the Red, it’s a shallow water minefield, filled with stumps and rock jetties.  Like most navigable river systems, there are also hundreds of backwater areas; that you often can’t get one of our normal tournament rigs into.  I’m looking forward to not only seeing some new areas and getting into a couple of places that in previous trips, I could only dream about getting the Phoenix into.

The restricted tackle storage could even work to my advantage.  Several of us have discussed the fact that we all (and myself in particular) carry way too much tackle in the boat with us.  Since space is limited, I’ll have to really think hard about what to take and what to leave behind.  I’ll also be more committed to using what I have and not swapping lures all day without really giving one a true test.  It should make for an interesting experiment into what’s really necessary and what’s just extra weight in the boat.

I’ve already cleared the first hurdle by narrowing down the number of rods I’m taking along.  Normally, I’d just load up both rod boxes and use what I need, but since nothing over 7 foot will fit in the rod boxes, I’ve narrowed it down to 16 rods in the truck.  During practice, I’ll have to narrow that down to 5 or 6 but that shouldn’t be too hard to do.  It’s a pretty rare event for me to have more than that strapped down on the deck.  Most of the others just sit in the rod box like a high priced security blanket.

This week's rod box.

Overall, I’m looking forward to getting there.  I’m spending Saturday and Sunday at an event at the Gonzales, LA Cabela’s and then it’s on to Shreveport.   I’ve always enjoyed the Red River and have had a fair amount of success there in the past.  Maybe the Xpress will let me get into one of those out of the way spots that will have the winning fish.  I certainly hope so.

Thanks to the sponsors who make this all possible:  Lowrance Electronics, Phoenix Bass Boats, Denali Rods, Bryan’s Marine, BoatUS Angler, Power Pole, Costa del Mar Sunglasses and Mississippi Van Lines.  Without all of you, none of this would be possible.

The B.A.S.S. Southern Open at Douglas Lake is over and just like had happened at the PAA event there the week before, the Alabama Rig dominated the event.  At least the 537 mile drive home gave me a chance to reflect on everything that happened over the past week and put some of it into perspective.

Douglas Lake is a beautiful place to fish. Lots of rocky pockets and creeks that all look fishy.

First of all, I’m just glad to have survived the first day of the tournament.  The morning started off at a balmy (at least for last week) temperature of 45 degrees and a light rain.  As the day progressed, the rain got worse and the temps fell until there was sleet and everyone was miserable.  I heard unconfirmed reports that at least 2 anglers ended up at the hospital with hypothermia and I certainly feel like I wasn’t far behind them.  In 20 years of tournament competition, it was the most miserable day I’d ever spent on the water.

My lesson for the day, buy a second rain suit for days like this.  Mine was soaked though by about 1pm and I’d have loved to had the chance to change into a dry one for the afternoon.  Also, I could have saved myself the trip to the laundry mat to dry out everything that night.

Despite the weather, the bite was pretty good all week.  I could catch fish pretty much at will on a shaky head but quality was a real problem for me.  All of the reports from the PAA tournament the week before our event had told me that the Alabama Rig would be the major player for the tournament but even with that knowledge, I couldn’t get comfortable with it.  I’m not a real fan of the A-Rig (more on that soon).  I really believe it takes a good bit of the skill out of catching fish during this time of the year and I’d personally love to see it banned not only from the Elite Series but also the Opens.  But as long as it is legal, it’s obvious that to remain competitive you better learn to use it.

There were some good bites during the week. This 5.5 pounder hit a Shaky Head during practice.

This was my second trip to Douglas Lake and each trip couldn’t have been more different.  The first time was in early June and the temps were already close to 100 degrees.  The lake was 20 feet or so higher than it was this trip and there was plenty of cover in the water.  The fishing was great and I averaged about 40 fish a day.  This time, I only averaged about 15 fish a day but for 50 degree water temps, that’s not bad.   I really like the lake and would love to be there when the conditions were good to see what the lake could produce.

This was also my first tournament in a while without my Phoenix.  I’d sold it right before the tournament and it’ll be a while before the new one is ready.  Fortunately, my traveling partner for the Central Opens, Austin Banks, was kind enough to lend me his boat for the week.  I really appreciated the use of his boat and will certainly return the favor if the situation is reversed.

Overall, it was a great week on the water but then again, when is a week on the water ever a bad thing.  I got to catch some bass, meet some new people and test my tolerance for how cold I can get and still continue to fish.  I can think of a lot worse ways to spend a week.

Thanks to the sponsors who make this all possible:  Lowrance Electronics, Phoenix Bass Boats, Denali Rods, Bryan’s Marine, BoatUS Angler, Power Pole, Costa del Mar Sunglasses and Mississippi Van Lines.  Without all of you, none of this would be possible.

It’s once again B.A.S.S. Classic week and for the first time in a few years, I won’t be able to make it to the Classic or the associated Expo.  Tulsa is just too far to go for the one day that I’d be able to spend there.  That doesn’t mean that I won’t be following along pretty closely.

This year’s Classic should be an interesting one.  Since B.A.S.S. moved the Classic to February, they’ve been limited in their choices for venue and it’s mostly been a deep south deal.  This year, they’ve rolled the dice, decided to take a chance on the weather and headed to Grand Lake in Oklahoma.

Despite some snow flurries last weekend for the start of practice, it looks like they’ve gotten about as good of a forecast as they could hope for; but in typical B.A.S.S. fashion, the cold front is coming through the first day of the tournament.  After a good chance of rain and a high of 68 on Thursday (Day 1), it looks like lows in the high 20’s and highs in the low 50s for most of the rest of the tournament.

But it shouldn’t bother these guys.  They excel in tough conditions and even make it look easy.  That ability to catch them in spite of the conditions is what makes them the best at what they do.

Overall, it should be a great tournament with a lot of fish being caught, but the question remains, who will come out on top.  I’m not much of a betting man, but here’s my take on who I think will be some of the top contenders.

Let’s start with one of local guys, Tommy Biffle.  Although locals don’t typically do well in a Classic, the tough conditions combined with local knowledge could play big in this one.   Biffle is arguably one of the best out there who hasn’t won a Classic and this could be his chance.  He knows the area and he does well in Oklahoma events.   I think he could contend for this win.

Another local is Jason Christie.  He has a lot of experience on Grand, but this is his first Classic.  I think he’ll do well, but on this particular stage, I’d think he’ll be a top 10 guy but not the winner.    He’d be a good fantasy fishing pick.

Two other guys that I’m sure will do well are Kevin VanDam and Aaron Martens.  I’m not really going out on a limb picking either of these guys, but if you’re looking for two sure bets to be in contention, it’d be hard not to include these two.  Kevin is always a threat and Aaron seems to always come up with a way to catch them regardless of the conditions.  With the tough weather conditions, Aaron’s finesse skills could make this the year he finally comes out on top.

Another pair that have been red hot and might have a shot would be Ott Defoe and Brent Chapman.  Defoe is another one of those guys who always seem to be up toward the top of the leader board and Grand should fish like a lot of the water near his Tennessee home.  Chapman is coming off of winning the Angler of the Year title and has been on a year long roll of great finishes.  He also won at Lewisville and I have to pick anyone who could catch a fish there, much less someone who could catch a limit.

All of these guys have a shot, but my bet is that it’s finally Edwin Evers year to win.  He’s not only a local, but he’s been at the top of the fishing game for a number of years.  I think his time has come and everything is lining up for him to take the title.

But who knows?  Any one of the 53 competitors could take home the trophy.  They’ve all proven that they belong and they’ve all got a shot.  No matter who wins the tournament, the true winners are the fans.  It’ll be a good show and I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

Thanks to the sponsors who make this all possible:  Lowrance Electronics, Phoenix Bass Boats, Denali Rods, Bryan’s Marine, BoatUS Angler, Power Pole, Costa del Mar Sunglasses and Mississippi Van Lines.  Without all of you, none of this would be possible.