If you’re just fishing for the fun of it, getting local information about a new lake you want to try is OK, but it’s a no-no if you’re a professional preparing for a tournament. To me, the biggest negative is that it doesn’t help you develop your own skills as a fisherman. And it also might be counterproductive as far as throwing you off your game plan or not fishing to your strengths.

When I’m going to fish a lake that’s unfamiliar to me, I don’t really study maps except to determine where the general areas are that I need to look at. And where I need to start looking depends on three things: the water temperature, the water level and the water clarity. The answers also help me choose what tackle I’ll need and what lures are likely to produce for me. I just take what I believe is going to work and maybe a few things that I think have an outside chance of working – that’s it.

Finding out what the water conditions are is pretty generic information, but an experienced fisherman can apply what he knows about seasonal patterns to it and come up with a solid fishing strategy.

— Pickens Plan pro Randy Blaukat of Joplin, Miss.