Do You Know These “Basics” Of Structure Fishing?
By Buck Perry
Figure 1 - "If the fisherman does not accept the first part of the basic guideline, which states that fish spend the greater part of their time in deep water, further study of the structure fisherman's guidelines would be a waste of time."
Figure 2A and Figure 2B - "A part of the basic guideline states another fact that has to be accepted. It says when fish become active and move toward the shallows, they do not go just any direction, but will use features OF and ON the bottom to show them the way. The most common 'structure' being a 'bar' (a feature of the bottom) extending from the shallows to the deep water in the area." It might be well at this point to say more about the terms used. "Structure situations" are features (OF and ON the bottom the fish use as their guides in their movements and migrations. "Structure" is a feature of the bottom that is different from the surrounding bottom area.
👉 "Breaks" are objects ON the bottom such as stumps, rocks, bushes, sunken ob-jects, etc. "Breaklines" are places on the bottom where there is a more rapid increase or decrease in depth, such as the edge of a channel. When the more rapid increase or decrease in depth occurs at a particular spot (a short distance) it is referred to as a "break." Fish react to other forms of "breaklines" such as: the face of a weedline, the edge of a current, where waters of different colors or temperatures meet, where a "clean" bottom meets a "dirty" bottom (clean versus muck, etc.).
Fishing Facts, 1985