Using electronics is a great way to locate and catch unpressured fish especially when there is a lot of fishing pressure in a crowded area. Electronics can also save you time when locating fish instead of blind casting in void areas. A lot of anglers are not familiar with an offshore bite and can sometimes get dead set on fishing towards the banks. Using electronics to find fish away from the bank is a great way to dissect offshore areas and to catch fish on highly pressured waters. I recently used my electronics to locate and catch nice specks in a highly pressured fishing situation on Bayou liberty. There were a ton of people spread out through Bayou Liberty, and most were catching fish, but they weren’t catching sizeable trout. I was able to use my electronics to find schools of the bigger specks and quickly catch my limit before 10 am, so I could target bass while it was still early. Here are a few pictures and tips on what I like to look for when locating bait, and active fish using sonar. Lures used: The main lure I used was a drop shot rig with a ¼ oz tungsten weight, a 2/0 trokar octopus hook, and a small drop shot opti shad from optimum lures. This rig was paired with 6 lbs fluorocarbon, and a medium light action rod. I used this set up to drop straight down to the fish I located on my sonar. The other lure I used was a custom swimbait in a chartreuse, and junebug color with sapphire blue flake on a 5/16 oz round head finesse jig head. I paired this lure up with a 7 ft medium heavy rod, and 12 lbs fluorocarbon line. I used this lure as a search bait when the schools of specks made small moves away from the primary areas I had located with my electronics. I made short casts to relocate the fish and activate the school into feeding again. Once I found them I would ease my boat back into position and use the drop shot rig again. Most of the bigger specks were holding just off of the bottom and that’s where the drop shot rig had a big role. The fall speck run is officially kicking in and there should be big number of specks to be had this fall. The cooler weather is going to make it comfortable to get out on the water. I hope these tips help you use your electronics to locate and catch fish this fall. Be safe on the water and good luck fishing.
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