Thanks Mike for the article on the reading lakes. Lots of good info.
One more addition I use is reading a lake is looking for color change in the water to find out where shelves and sunken islands may lay. There is a definate color change between shallow water and deep water that can be very helpful. Depending on the direction of the insect migration or where fish are hunkering down you can decide where to troll or anchor boat and cast for best advantage.