A new open water fishing season is here or near. In many areas of the Midwest, anglers are already chasing fish from their boats or are wading in search of walleyes, panfish, and bass. There are some things you should keep in mind this year when you are on the water.

The most important thing to remember is that you won’t catch any fish if you’re fishing where there are no fish. Sounds simple, but it’s something that a lot of anglers forget or ignore. You can have the best boat, rods, reels, sonar equipment, and all the lures available, but if the fish aren’t in the area that you’re fishing, you’re not going to get bit.

Here’s a good rule of thumb for finding the fish. Early in the season, most fish in the Midwest will be spawning, and most of that spawning will be done close to shore. Therefore, early in the year, you should concentrate your efforts close to shore. Before they spawn, while they’re spawning, and after they spawn, the fish will be close to shore, and that pre, during, and post spawn period can last several weeks.

After the spawning process has been completed, the fish’s priority is finding something to eat. In fact, for pretty much the rest of the year that will be what they are interested in: eating. The fish will be wherever their food is.

In some lakes, that means the walleyes will be wherever the perch are.

In other lakes, the primary source of food for the walleyes will be bullheads, so find the concentrations of small bullheads and you will find the walleyes.

Smallmouth bass feed on crayfish in many bodies of water, so you want to fish near rocks because that’s where crayfish live.

Sonar can be such an important tool when looking for fish. Some anglers use sonar only to find structure and to determine the water’s depth, but more and more, anglers are using sonar to determine if baitfish are present. If there are baitfish near one sunken island, and none near another sunken island, you can bet there will be more predator fish near the structure with baitfish. The new Matrix sonar units from Humminbird do a great job of revealing baitfish, structure, and all the other fish-holding elements, and they are very easy to use.

Another thing to keep in mind. In stained or dirty water, fish will usually be very close to the bottom, and they will usually hold closer to structure.

In clear water, they will suspend more frequently, and they might be wandering a little farther from structure.

Remember that if you find the areas that the fish are using, you’re going to catch more fish. It sounds pretty basic, but most of fishing is pretty basic. Put your bait near the fish and you’re going to get bit more often.

For more fish-catching information, visit fishingthemidwest.com