It's pretty common to tell someone a story about a fish you caught and them ask, "What lure were you using when you caught it?"
And, if you're honest, you will tell them what lure you used.
But how often do you ask or get asked a follow up question that actually narrows down the region of a lake or river where the fish are?
Asking these kind of questions can turn common chit-chat into a very insightful conversation.
Yes, asking "What did you catch them on?" can help make things easier and boost your confidence in a lure, but it doesn't necessarily help you understand what the fish are doing.
Think about it like this...
You are pulling up to the boat ramp at the same time as a guy who is packing things up to leave and you ask, "Any luck?".
He responds with, "Oh yea - had a really good day".
So, you ask the common question of "What did you catch 'em on?" and the guy mentions that he used a jerkbait to catch all his fish.
This might give you confidence in fishing a jerkbait but it doesn't tell you much about the fishery and where fish might be.
Jerkbaits can run as little as one foot and all the way down to twenty feet.
What if you're fishing a huge lake or long stretch of a river where there is A LOT of water to cover?
You may be fishing for hours before you put together a pattern that produces bites.
Hopefully that quick example kind of makes sense.
Instead, think about asking questions that help you better understand the fishery and what the fish are doing.
There's a good chance that if fish are biting, they will go after more than just one specific lure.
So, next time you find yourself caught up in some fishing chit-chat consider asking these questions.
What depth did you catch them at?
By asking this you can quickly narrow down the regions of a fishery where fish are being caught.
Most lakes and rivers have public depth maps that anglers can look up to discover the layout of a body of water.
Just by knowing the depth of water that other guys are catching fish in can play a big role in understanding what the fish are doing and where they are.
Using the below depth map as an example, if someone tells you they caught them in 8 feet of water you can quickly get an idea of where the fish may be positioned.
Were you fishing structure or cover?
An answer to this question can tell you a lot.
Structure is the physical make up of a fishery (points, ledges, flats, etc.).
Cover can be thought of as an obstacle (docks, laydowns, vegetation).
If someone says they caught all their fish around docks then that may be a dead giveaway that you should consider fishing some docks.
Maybe they mentioned they caught them "...on the edge of a flat on the north side of the lake".
Combine that answer with them also mentioning it was in about 8 ft. of water and you can almost narrow their spot down to the one pictured below.
Were you fishing uplake or downlake?
Obviously this is worded for fishing a lake but the same can be said for a river.
"Were you fishing upriver or downriver?"
The main point here is to help you as an angler narrow down what the fish are doing.
By someone indicating uplake or downlake it's a good chance they are telling you a lot about the fish.
Downlake often refers to deeper, clearer water and close to the dam.
Uplake would be the arms of a lake where rivers and other tributaries feed into it.
Uplake waters are oftentimes more shallow and a bit more stained when compared to downlake regions.
If you're familiar with the area you could even follow up with a question asking about a particular region...
You: We're y'all fishing up in Betty's creek?
Them: Yep. That's a really good spot to catch fish this time of year.
Add up all these questions and answers and before you know it you will have found out how deep the fish are, if they are relating to cover or structure, and the region of a fishery they can be found.
Outro
Hopefully by now you can see how just a few questions can quickly help you narrow down what the fish are doing and teach you more about a fishery.
So next time you see a guy pull a giant out of his livewell try to avoid the urge of thinking it was a specific lure or lure color that caught the fish.
While the lure certainly played a role, understanding more about where the fish was when it was caught will give you a better understanding of fish activity as a whole.
And if all the pieces fall into place, you might be the one to catch the next giant!
Time to go catch 'em!
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