Practical fishing advice and years of experience can make a huge difference when you’re trying to find and catch fish. One common mistake anglers make is assuming they can simply drift in mid-sound or a couple of miles offshore and wait for a bite. That often leads to long, unproductive days.
Fish congregate around structure—rock piles, humps, ledges, wrecks, or any bottom feature that holds baitfish and offers cover. The key to consistent success is locating those structures. Modern electronics, local knowledge and a little legwork are your best tools for finding productive spots.
Many anglers stop at tackle shops and pick up laminated charts or shared GPS waypoints. Those can be useful, but use them cautiously. Published coordinates sometimes contain errors, and any public spot will attract repeated fishing pressure, which can reduce bite rates. A “hot” ledge that shows up on every shop’s chart is often heavily fished by the weekend. Conversely, if bad weather keeps boats off the water for several days, a spot that’s been lightly pressured can offer an exceptional bite when boats return.
Chartplotters and bathymetric maps have revolutionized locating underwater features. On sonar and electronic charts, hills and humps appear as concentric circles—the tighter the circles, the steeper the relief. Chartplotters make it easy: place the cursor over the contour, enter the waypoint and the unit will steer you to the initial drop. These features often hold a variety of species depending on season and region.
On high spots you’re likely to find porgies, sea bass and blackfish in season, with fluke around the edges. Bluefish commonly patrol the tops of these structures and will eagerly take a diamond jig. Striped bass often stage around the same features; they respond well to tube-and-worm rigs trolled across the top or to a larger bunker bait dropped near the bottom and retrieved with a slow up-and-down “yo-yo” motion.
If you still rely on paper charts, you can identify promising humps by comparing depths. A lone reading of 95 feet surrounded by much deeper water signals a potential hill that could hold multiple species, depending on tide and season. In Long Island Sound, seasoned fluke anglers target deep humps on slack or slow tides, using large bait and thin braided line to tempt oversized summer flounder—even when drifting in 140 feet or more.
In northern waters such as the Gulf of Maine, bathymetric maps reveal numerous underwater hills that attract cod, pollock and haddock. Anglers either drift with jigs and teasers over those features or anchor and fish high-low rigs baited with cut or fresh bait for bottom species.
One of the best sources of spot knowledge is retired commercial fishermen’s logbooks. These logs record “bottom hangs” where nets snagged obstructions—often wrecks or rock ledges that make excellent recreational fishing spots. Not every bearing is accurate or easy to relocate, but persistent anglers who study these records can uncover true hidden gems. Personal experience has shown that commercial logs can reveal productive wrecks and ledges from Block Island to the Great South Channel and beyond.
Similarly, personal contacts matter. Guides and veteran captains often keep detailed logs and will sometimes share waypoints with trusted anglers. I’ve benefited from such generosity many times: a Gulf of Mexico wreck logged by a local captain produced exceptional gray snapper action; a commercial skipper’s log revealed a deep pollock patch off Veach’s Canyon. Helping others or earning their trust—returning lost logbooks or lending a hand at the dock—frequently leads to invitations to review old notes and maps.
For anglers wintering in the Keys or elsewhere, tackle shops and local gatherings are a good source of GPS numbers for both Atlantic and Gulf wrecks. On the Atlantic side, drifting live bait over deeper wrecks can produce mutton snapper, cobia, amberjack, African pompano and various groupers (be mindful of seasonal regulations). Gulf-side wrecks and reefs typically hold snapper, cobia, kingfish, mackerel, bluefish and permit in spring.
Attend local cookouts or marina gatherings when you can. A friendly conversation and a couple of drinks sometimes loosen tongues and results in a waypoint or two—or an invitation to look through a seasoned angler’s notebook the next morning. Those contacts often yield far more useful information than generic charts and are a fast track to finding lesser-known, productive structure.
Most anglers choose homes or camps near markets and conveniences; fish do the same, congregating around food and shelter. To catch more fish, learn where their “water condos” are located—read contours, study chartplotter displays, respect local knowledge, and treat commercial logs and veteran anglers as valuable sources of reliable structure.
Tim Coleman has fished New England waters most of his life. Formerly managing editor of The Fisherman magazine’s New England edition, he now writes freelance from Rhode Island.
This article originally appeared in the Home Waters section of the February issue.