Lacustrine environments: Sloughs and shallow lakes: Look for fish holding off of the flats, shallows, and near vegetated areas. Search in and around inlet/outlet streams and creeks. Deep lakes (>8’): Look for feeding fish on the flats/shallows adjacent to breaks and drop offs. Vegetated areas will hold fish earlier in the season, especially during the spawning period, and often at night when species like buffalo will come in to feed. Look for protected bays and shallow basins for schooled fish.
Riverine environments: Big systems: Seek out all backwater areas, flats, and feeder streams off of the main channel. Look for areas of current breaks to find holding fish. Medium to smaller systems: Explore feeder streams off of main channel. Look for current seams, especially adjacent to slack water areas. Roughfish typically hold in low current areas. Fish around in stream structure like rocks, boulders, undercut banks, downed timber, etc. Fish will take cover from predators in these safe havens. Fish the riffles and fast water sections for many of the redhorse and sucker species.
Urban environs: The Brownliner. Explore warm water discharges, storm sewer discharges, and water treatment plants, especially in northern environs or coldwater streams. Golf courses, drainage ditches, and storm water retention ponds are notorious for holding mutants and other introduced exotic fish species. Look downstream of dams for congregated fish holding in tail water reaches.