The best part about fishing a familiar lake is you ALREADY know where the fish tend to hangout. Conversely, fishing new lakes can be difficult because you need to use your prior knowledge to isolate and sample various spots where fish MIGHT live.
In this video, well-known guide Brad Hawthorne breaks down a few lakes he’s never fished before and explains where he would start if he was searching for walleye. One point he continued to hammer home: Just because these spots look “right” doesn’t mean there’s going to be fish there. First and foremost, you need to use your electronics to find fish and examine how they are relating to cover/structure.