Use Google Earth...

Back in the day, the 80s, the 90s, and prob even the early 2000s, pro bass fisherman used to actually pay for airplane and helicopter rides to do fly overs in preperation for tournaments. A birds eye view is essential when you are trying to get to know a huge body of water. There are things you can see from the sky that you just cant get from the water, not to mention you can get a view of much more area and in a short period of time.  Now enter the world wide webs. Google earth is a wicked tool for structure fishing, for breaking down lakes and for quick, easy and free views of a lakes that could take you weeks to check out by boat and many many dollars to check out by plane.

A few tips to help you out.

1- Sometimes stuff is not what it seems, slopes can be more or less then what they appear to be, humps, points and the such can be much bigger or much smaller then what you are expecting when you see it in person and not every spot you find on the computer is going to produce. You should be using it as just another search tool just like a normal map. If you find a good looking spot and you cant get bit on it, dont waste your time. Move on to the next spot.

2- Realize that what you are seeing everyone else has access to as well. If you are looking at it on google earth, chances are other people are too so looking for subtle spots is often more to your benefit then expecting a huge extending point to be completely untouched by other anglers.

3- Coordinates, coordinates, coordinates! I cant stress it enough. Your curser shows you exact coordinates wherever you put it. Take those coordinates and manualy add them to your gps and be thorough! If you see a spot, dont just take one single coordinate from the center of the structure, en-circle that bitch, put so many waypoints on your map that a complete circle is on your map, trust me, if you do this, you will know the exact shape, the exact depth you will know exactly where your boat is if you find a sweetspot and if you ride up on it by accident its no ones fault but your own. If you dont believe me, try the old "one spot marker system" and when you get out on the water you wont know what the hell your fishing.

4- Labeling. Make sure you make a note on your gps that tells you what the structure is. If your like me, anytime I get on google earth, I go crazy, before I know it I have 20 spots I want to fish. I get out on the water and I dont know whether Im fishing a rock pile, a sand bar, a foundation or what. Make a simple note with your coordinates denoting what the structure is so you dont have to guess.

5- Zoom In. When your scanning the banks and the out of water structure, make sure you are zoomed in far enough to see the subtleties. This is what sometimes makes the difference in what you are seeing and what everyone else is seeing.

6- Dont be upset if the lake you want to check out isnt at low pool. There is still alot to learn about the lake from the pictures available. Humps and points are still sometimes noticeable and you can still get an idea of what the shore structure is like. Even changes in water color can give you an idea of an areas depth and bottom make-up although its not always perfect, just use it as an indicator or a clue, dont assume that because the water is muddy in a google earth picture that the bottom is mud in that area.

There may be more things that I dont do, that you may do. This is just a way to get you started if you havent already done so. It works, especially on lakes that drawdown or were in drought when the photos were taken. Take advantage.