what do you look for first time on a new water?

first time on new water ,what do you look for?i start with tell tale signs of features,ie weedbeds hanging/snags ect.plumb depth,look for drop offs,shelves ect.do any of you fish gravel spots,gravel bars ect.?deeper holes?what do you look for or pick first when you start to fish?do you prefere float or spinning on new water to cover more area or ledger?

if you gave me a water to fish for the first time- i would fish a corner swim or a bay
as long as the water was deep and the wind was blowing into the corner or bay i would be happy- one bait into margins the other would be moved around the bay- if i could view a lot of the water from where i was sat i would be even happier watching the water for info to use on future trips- methods i would use the margin bait would be free lined deadbait -maybe critically popped up- the other would be a float set up possibly a drift float if conditions allowed- ive always done reasonably well on first visits!!!

float fishing is what i would start with, search as much water as pos,move swims say every 2 hours, that goes for rivers or lakes.
big waters i will allways start on the east/south bank if i can ,prevailing winds make it a good starting point.
headland points allow you to fish many swims from one point+fision around lake is first rate.

if i find a gravel bar or a drop off then i will fish one bait to that, and then either fish the other bait down the margin (under a tree if there are any overhanging) or i will try and find another bottom feature to fish the other bait to (preferably a different kind of feature to where the first bait has been placed).

Rivers, streams, burns, brooks or whatever you call them coming into the water. Pike havens IMHO and depths of around 2-10 feet in summer and 10-40 feet in Winter.

......Regards......Andy

fish would be the best answer for me

usually take lures on a first visit

first and formost ARE there any pike in the water?

esoxjeff wrote:first and formost ARE there any pike in the water?

That would be a good starting point jeff

i keep in contact with a lot of match anglers, they very often let me know where big pike have been harassing them when they are having matches-it doesnt remove the problem for them, but has certainly put a few nice fish on the bank for me!!!

Some very 'clever' answers. I thought, going the question asked in the original post, that the existence of pike had already been established....

.....Regards.....Andy......

yep i agree features are always top of my list but more imporantly looking for signs of prey fish are what im looking for e.g. scattering roach shoals,,,, topping fish or the dreaded cormorants are always good for tellin you where the roach etc are if you can find the shoals the pike wont b far behind

each water has its own telltale signs, on broads i look for rudd moving this sign means pike are nearlly always close by!

ask about a perticular type of water Nick, canals gravel pits, rivers see what a broad range of answers you get on one type , everyone has there own window choose which works for you..........

so right mate,brung this question up to see other peoples veiws,best bit of advise i think is learn abt you water,watch other people,see if they catch,see what they do diffent to you/or same ect.build your own watercrafted up an dont be afaiad to try owt differant

well said nick.

if fished a water that had pike in , so first thing was to reci water over a couple of months. watching water and ANGLERS?
water pritty standard as lakes go, but the anglers on it well,
they were catching but missing a lot of water??????
i watch 4 lads over a period not at what they were doing but at what they wern't doing.
here it is,
take a mackerel, chop it in half,chuck head half in margins(don't need that bit)
they were all doing it .
i went down, no one around. 2 rods 2 mackerel heads 2 yards out 2 20s.
this carried on for quiet some time.
i felt smug but sad these other lads were not looking at what they were doing.
they were pre-baiting contiuouslly for me.............

its like,,,,,, your sitting on a bank getting no runs n really it doesnt matter what your thinking of doing/// someone somewhere would have told you this or spoke sbout it at one time,,,,, doesnt matter what anyone sais we get tips from books vids fishin buddys n the likes n they all get stored away until someone mentions it ur like n i was told that ags ag9