Page 49 - ODUMar-Apr2019

Minnowbaits get the

nod in low light, while
jigs rule under sunnier
skies. "When they're
not raiding the inlet,
big fish stage in depths
of 10 to 25 feet, often
in groups, where their
competitive nature

makes them easier to
catch than loners
cruising solo," he
explains. "Don't be
afraid to look around,
because I've found

them up to a quarter
mile from the inlet."

Dam Corners
When fishing a man-made impoundment, Keefe compulsively checks
the outside edges of the dam. "You either have concrete butting up to
gravel, or large boulders meeting sand and gravel," he says. "Both
types of transitions attract everything from spawning rainbows to

hungry lakers." Keefe casts the same minnowbaits and jigs around
these dam corners, in depths out to 20 feet.

Flats
Flat-bottomed areas rich in baitfish and other forage such as crayfish
can also be gold mines right now. Keefe's favorite flats are relatively
small areas such as a living room-sized flat lying on a steep-dropping

point.

"These are high-percentage areas,
ideal for run-and-gun tactics where you line up a milk run of five or
10 small flats and bounce from one to the next, making 10 to 15
casts on each one before moving on."

Small, subtle flats can be hard to spot on traditional lake maps.

"Detailed mapping programs like Lowrance's Insight Genesis, which
has 1-foot contours, make it easier to find fish-holding flats other
anglers miss," he says.

By keying on these overlooked fish factories and the other hotspots
on Keefe's early season hit list, you can make this your best
spring ever, catching trout when other anglers can't.