Have you ever wondered how to find fish in a body of water that you have never fished before? I wonder that just about every time I go fishing. My wife and kids just recently moved to Chattanooga from Jackson, TN in the past year. I have spent majority of my life fishing in West TN. Back home I knew just about every body of water in West TN. I could still tell you exactly which humps, ledges. gravel bars, brush piles, and points that you could catch fish off of. In fact there is this one lake back home that I could just about guarantee you a couple of 6 lbs bass on a brush pile. But I am not ready to give up my secret spots just yet. Now that I am living in East TN I have been very fortunate to have found a special group of guys. The Chattanooga Bass Yakkers. If you haven’t fished with them you should give it a shot. Corey Stansifer and Justin Rogney have really put together a great tournament trail. I have had more fun and learned a lot just by fishing tournaments out of a kayak. One thing that I have learned is that you have to make precise decisions. It isn’t like being in a bass boat where you can run and gun trying to fish every point and drop off within a few miles. You have to plan out your day and stick to it. One of the most important things that I do when I am fishing a body of water that I haven’t ever laid eyes on is that I go to the internet. I look at the maps on Google and Bing. You can pull up the maps and click on bird’s eye view and get a great look at an area that you are going to be fishing. This is probably one of the best tools that I have found especially since I haven’t gotten one of the high tech electronics on my yak. I have found stumps, rock piles, submerged trees, and creek channels that would have taken me no telling how long to find. These are just a few key areas that I like to focus on. I also look for those hard bottoms close to vegetation. I mainly want to find the bait fish. I believe once you find them the bass won’t be too far away. Well that is my two cents worth for the day and I hope that helps you out the next time you go fishing. If you are new to the kayak fishing want to give it a shot, stop by and see Joel and Janis at Caney Fork Outdoors. They are fantastic people and have a great selection of Jackson Kayaks and accessories.