How to Fish the Ledges

If there is a question I constantly get asked by customers, it generally centers on ledge fishing! We here on Guntersville are blessed with some great ledge fishing and if you know what to do and how to approach it you can put some winning stringers in the boat by understanding how to fish the ledges!

The first thing I do is approach ledge fishing with some knowledge, in other words I study maps; the topography maps or your Navonics chip loaded on your computer can share the secrets to the ledges. The key is to learn to separate the community hole or spots from the difference makers on the ledges. In other words the spots that others wouldn抰 seem to know about, the turn or drop or pond that may not get the attention the common points and drops that everyone knows about might get!

After I have studied the maps and start looking for that difference maker area, the first thing I do is start testing the areas with baits you can cover ground with, search baits like spinner baits or crank baits. These allow you to fish quickly and cover enough territory to find a key spot holding big fish and could very well be the sack you抮e looking for! Many times it is the subtle drops of one or two feet in depth that hold the fish. Many times the key to this subtle drop is boat position, where things like wind and current and approach all enter into this spot producing. Don抰 just fish over the spot you have spent time researching without considering boat position; you could very well be moving past the fish because you are fishing from the wrong angle.

The ledges can produce some big catches and the time of year to fish them is now!