Most fisherman do what I call "Visual Object Fishing". Literally that means that most fisherman feel they have to fish visible structure to be successful. These are the fisherman that only fish shorelines, weed beds that can be seen, boulders, and island points. While these locations can and do hold some dynamite fishing, they have a tendency to limit fisherman who can't seem to fish without them. While I don't claim to have done a scientific study on the percentage of fisherman who only fish visual structure, simple observation tells me that a very high percentage exclusively fish this way. I would suggest that 90+% of the pike and musky fishermen that I see on the water are fishing visible structure.
As I stated prior, visible structure does contain some great fishing, and I would never suggest abandoning this type of fishing, but there are many times when other alternatives offer better opportunities for trophy fish. So, if you aren't fishing the visible structure, what are you fishing? The answer is obvious, the structure that you can't see. Boy, that sounds stupid, but it is ever so true. The structure you can't see would include mid-lake humps, ridges, reefs, deep weed beds, deep boulders/rocks and drop-offs. Another way to think of it, is fish where you see walleye fisherman. Walleye fisherman head for this type of structure, like Esox fisherman hit the shore-line cabbage weeds. I have had some tremendous luck casting among walleye fisherman. They look at me like, "are you crazy", but they change their minds when I hook into a big musky or northern pike. I have also had occasion to grab the musky rod when I have been fishing walleyes (everybody has to eat), when the walleyes just quit biting. I have on numerous occasions caught the reason why the walleyes quit hitting.
There are no hard and fast rules when one location is better than another, but usually I head for the deeper structures when:
Fishing pressure for the musky and pike is very high. As I stated, a large percentage of fisherman fish only the shoreline, visible structure. I already have an advantage as the fish haven't been pressured as much.
Mid summer and fall. Mid summer when the temperatures are very high, the water close to shore is almost too warm for larger Pike and Musky. Mid lake humps or reefs offer the advantage of cooler lake water, and yet structure these fish can relate too. In the fall, when the weeds start dying off, the weeds actually remove oxygen from the water. Here again, mid-lake structure offer me and the fish an alternative.
In addition to the above, here are some situations where you want to integrate non-visual structure into your visual fishing. Examples would include:
When waves and current are going over or crashing through the structure.
Low light conditions. Big fish move up on structure the same way they move shallower in a when darkness falls.
Over-cast, raining situations.
When the shore-line, object oriented fishing isn't working.
The next obvious question, is how do you fish these areas if you can't see them? This is actually the easy part, as it involves the use of some equipment. First, obtain a good lake topographical map, which shows detailed depth lines, breaks, and reefs. This will give you approximate locations to start with. Then get yourself a good depth finder, a.k.a. fish finder. While the following items are not required, they definitely making fishing non-visual structure easier. Obtain a GPS to set a way point on those structures, it makes finding them again much easier. I also have several markers that I use to mark a spot, especially if it is small. I can make multiple passes in and around the marker without having to search for it again.
Other things that help you to locate spots are: the walleye fisherman as stated prior. In addition, on Lake of the Woods, where I do a lot of fishing, the government often puts out hazard markers or navigation bouys to warn of shallow reefs in the middle of the lake. Even the most inexperienced person can't miss a six foot brilliantly colored can floating in the middle of the lake. These spots do hold fish. I caught this musky while my boat was almost literally sitting on one of those markers.
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