50 Places To Catch Fish... Part 3

 

In this series, we give you 50 structure possibilities to look for. These are general, and we could probably give you 50 more. And, under any of the generalized headings, we could name numerous sub-categories. What we tried to do was to demonstrate the most apparent, YET GENERALIZED, situations that the average angler would encounter in a day's fishing. BONUS 1 You can read articles like this and look at maps 'till you're blue in the face, yet the only way you'll truly get an understanding of the fish locating "procedure" is to find these structure and cover situations and go fish them yourself. In that way you become intimately acquainted with this important facet of angling.

BONUS 2 If you don't remember anything else, remember this: ALWAYS, ALWAYS seek the deepest water structure in an area, FIRST, then look for a direct connection to shallow water feeding areas exists on that structure. Mature fish won't normally leave their deep water safety to cross broad, wide open, flat areas, exposing themselves to bright sunlight and predation - when they can find and use a shorter, more direct route. FIND THAT ROUTE!

(27) A SADDLE (ST)

(28) ROCK PILE (ST)

(29) CREEK OR RIVER ALONG TIMBER LINE (ST)

(30) BRUSHY BANK IN A COVE OR IN THE MAIN LAKE (c)

(31) OLD ROAD BEDS (ST)

(32) OLD CEMETERIES (ST)

(33) DRAINAGE DITCH (ST)

(34) OLD DAM ON A SMALL LAKE OR POND (ST)

(35) OLD LAKES OR PONDS (ST)

(38) SUNKEN BIG TREES (c)

(39) SUNKEN BRIDGES (ST)

(40) SUNKEN FEEDER ROAD OFF MAIN ROAD (ST) (41) OLD FOUNDATIONS (ST)

(42) OLD FIELDS (ST)

(43) CUT BANKS: SHALLOW (ST)

(44) ISLAND (ST) (c)

(45) PILINGS UNDER BRIDGES (c)

(46) OLD CREEK OR RIVER BANKS (ST)

(47) CHANNEL, GULLY, OR NATURAL WASH ON A FLAT (ST)

(50) MARINAS (c)

50 Places To Catch Fish...Part 2

 Fifty Places to Catch Fish On Impoundments, Part 2

(This is out of order, thanks to the way it was reproduced. Just roll with it and youll be fine)

✅ Our first "typical" reservoir considered will deal almost solely with the patterns of movement of largemouth bass. This is because bass and their movements are generally consistent, and even predictable, once you understand how structure and fish movements work together. 

✅ We are attempting to produce an all-encompassing "typical" impoundment, aka, reservoir, containing a great multitude of structure situations. But you should also remember that all these bottom configurations may, or MAY NOT exist on every reservoir. Also they may, or MAY NOT occur in natural lakes.

✅ We arranged these various conditions so they would be more descriptive and more easily identifiable for you.
We also did not cover all the bases; instead, we attempted to dwell on the highlights.
✅ It should also be remembered that water levels, weather conditions, water conditions (primarily water clarity), season of the year, and several other conditions can have a bearing on the "movements" of the fish on any of these structure situations.
✅ The idea here is not to give you a map that guarantees a fish is waiting for you to show up. Rather, this is meant to acquaint you with situations that you might encounter on the water. We want to help you understand fish behavior and then to think LOGICALLY what your next step-by-step procedure could be.
✅ This map also is used as a springboard to demonstrate the differences that will be found between largemouth bass activity in an impoundment and that of a walleye or smallmouth.

(17) BRUSHY FLATS OFF A CREEK OR RIVER (c)

(18) OLD FENCE ROWS: (submerged, visible or both) (c)

(19) MAN-MADE BRUSH "ATTRACTOR" ON SLICK STRUCTURE (c)
- unless this cover is adjacent to deep water structure like a creek channel, you can ignore it in favor of better structure situations.

(20) CREEK "HUGGING" THE SHORELINE FOR A  CONSIDERABLE DISTANCE (ST

(21) BACK END OF A COVE (ST)
- where a creek enters, and there is a direct, deeper water situation associated with that.

(22) SUNKEN ISLAND DESCRIBED BY A CREEK OR RIVER FORK (ST)

(23) TWO OR MORE CREEKS OR RIVERS MEETING TOGETHER (ST)

(24) SLOUGHS (ST)
- where a drop to deep water structure is present.

(25) BRUSHY POINT - seen in part one.

Diagram: Wiley Miller, Fishing Facts, 1973

50 Places To Catch Fish...Reservoirs

WAYBACK MACHINE: It’s 1973, and Al Lindner is a busy man. His TV show is airing regionally in the Midwest this year;
He’s about to start fishing full-time on the BASSMaster tournament trail;
He’s been traveling and fishing the highland lakes of TN/KY and the Ozarks, researching what makes these lakes tick - and how the walleye and bass locate and move in impoundments This study that will ultimately lead to some of the early In-Fisherman Study Guide material, as well as their first complete I-F book on bass;
Plus, he’s still a Field Editor for Fishing Facts magazine.

In this article for the magazine, he teamed up with illustrator Wiley Miller to diagram and explain 50 places to catch fish on impoundments based on his research. 

It’s “All Al, All Day” as we highlight these key locations from this in-depth, eighteen page article…plus a little bonus revealed at the end from the creative minds of Fishing Facts.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Most of the locations shown in this series will relate to "structure," as opposed to "cover."
Structure fishing was a big deal in 1973 when this was written, but is nearly forgotten today, thanks to the BASS-driven industry.
That multi-billion dollar business wants you to make a thousand casts with the lures they're selling,... and if lucky, you might hook up with a fish.
But structure fishing has another mindset: it primarily aims to understand the places where adult fish live - and how they get to where you sometimes catch them. If you know that, you can better find them.
So, to help clarify the difference between the two terms, and how they apply, I include this brief primer following the guidelines of Buck Perry, The Father of Structure Fishing:

Structure
Structure dictates the "undewater highways" and features of the bottom, itself, that adult fish use to travel to-and-from their deep-water sanctuaries, to their shallow water feeding zones. They tend to use these travel lanes consistently in their movements, so finding these structure "hot spots" should be a priority.

Definition: Structure is anything that is different from, or represents a detectable change in, the structure of the bottom and its contours. 
Key Characteristic: Structure creates defined "breaks" and "breaklines" (features where the depth changes), which fish recognize as "landmarks" and by which they orient themselves in their movements. 
Examples of structure: Drop-offs, river/creek channels, humps, sinks, underwater islands, old road beds, rip-rap, deep end of points, ledges, and distinct substrate transitions (e.g., going from mud to rock).
Why It Matters: Bottom, and deep-water, structure is a must for holding schools of mature fish, and our interest lies in where it connects shallow-water feeding zones directly to the safety of deep water. 
The adult fish live in the deep water and they follow the breaks and breaklines od structure to visit the shallow feeding areas...and occasionally you might catch them there if you "throw" lures enough times... but that is not where they live full time.

Cover
By contrast, "cover" is not structure. Nowadays, the terms have been muddled and many anglers use the word, "structure" when they really mean "cover." They simply don't know the difference.  

Definition: Physical objects or vegetation connected to or associated with the bottom.
Key Characteristic: While fish often hide in or around cover, we wish to emphasize that cover without a direct structure path to deep water won't hold the most productive, migrating schools of adult fish.

Examples of cover: Weed beds, submerged stumps, fallen trees, docks, rock piles, boat ramps, the "shorline"..., all the ususal areas you are told to cast lures to.
And while fish may be there under the right conditions, that is not a sure thing...which is why you cast thousands of times to any cover you can see hoping a fish might be there.
So, would you like to up your odds? If so, focus on cover with a strong connection to the deepest water in an area. THAT is the home of the fish, so adjacent shallow water cover is more likely to hold feeding fish.
For instance, a fertile weed bed or a stump field situated directly on or adjacent to a creek channel, or drop-off, creates an ideal ambush point. However, the structure breaks are the primary road to the cover from deeper water. The cover is where the fish may end up - an incidental bonus adjacent to the path.

In the drawings here and in the next two installments, I will identify, "structure" by (ST) and, "cover" by (c):

(1) WASHED OUT AREA UNDER THE DAM (ST)

(2) RIP RAP BANK (ST)

(3) UNDERWATER SPRINGS or OLD ACTIVE WELLS (ST)

(4) CLAY POINTS (ST)

(5) SMALL CUTS IMMEDIATELY OFF A MAIN RIVER CHANNEL (ST)

(6) POINT DIRECT TO MAIN RIVER CHANNEL (ST)

(7) CREEK WINDING THROUGH SUBMERGED TIMBER OR BOAT LANES (ST)

(8) "U" BEND (EITHER IN CREEK OR RIVER BED) (ST)

(9) HUMP BETWEEN TWO CONVERGING CREEKS (ST)

(10) STUMP ROW ADJACENT TO RIVER OR CREEK BED (ST) (c)

(11) POINT AT MOUTH OF COVE (ST)

(12) LILY PADS, WEEDS, OR MOSS BEDS (c)

(13) "S" BEND IN CREEK (ST)

(14) HIGHLINE AREAS where cable supports are in the water (c)

(15) JUNCTION OF WHERE THE CREEK MEETS THE OLD RIVER BED (ST)

(16) RIVER BED "HUGGING" HIGH BLUFF SHORELINES (ST)

(25) BRUSHY POINT ADJACENT TO RIVER CHANNEL (ST)(c)

(26) SUBMERGED RISES, KNOLLS or SUNKEN ISLANDS (ST)

(48) SMALL WASH OUT (c)

(49) STEEP, DEEP ROCKY POINTS (ST)

Seasons of Bass

 Buck Perry On Bass Seasonal Reservoir Location (1973)

✅ An important notation that should be made is that when working coves and bays in the cooler season, a good rule of thumb would be:

(1) - pick coves and bays that are close to the deepest water in the area (usually the channel.)
(2) - DO NOT SPEND TIME IN BAYS AND COVES WHICH DO NOT CONTAIN SOME SORT OF CHANNEL OR FEEDER STREAM. In other words, if a cove or bay is a wide, flat area, with no sign of a channel - stay out.

✅ A good rule of thumb, to apply to SEASONAL movements of bass and fishing in a reservoir, is this: start with the first part of the year.
In the colder weather the first consideration would be to the steeper shorelines with steep, short structures. 

✅ As the season moves toward the pre-spawning season, check the steeper shores less and increase attention toward coves, bays and short bars adjacent to these areas. These coves or bays, with their shorter structures, would be worked heavy during the spawning season.

✅ After the spawning season leave the steep shoreline, most of the coves and bays, and direct your attention to the longer, flatter structures in the main body of the reservoir.
In other words, the spawning season would be the dividing line between the steeper, shorter (cold weather) structures and the flatter, longer (warm weather) structures. 

✅ In the late fall, head back toward the cold weather side.

PS at all times, when seeking these structures, give priority to those whaich are adjacent to the deepest water in an area. Idealy you want a direct connection from the deeper water to the structure

Structure Galore... A Case Study

Structure Thoughts - Submerged Island/Hump (year: 1973)

Don Woodruff first introduced this natural lake, topo-map example in a previous magazine article, but this little "hump" structure wasn’t on the original map. It was later added for the 1973 article rferenced here, and his comments about it (as well as mine) follow:

✅ Fish structure #4 is the classic submerged-island, a high knob or raised portion of the lake bottom.... often referred to simply as a, "hump."
Sometimes these structures are small, measuring in feet rather than in yards. For this very reason, you should check them out carefully. Many, if not most fishermen, may not even be aware of their existence.

🗯️ My thoughts: This is actually a pretty complex area, as you can see on the map.
There is a long point or bar just south of this island or hump, and this island/hump is almost an extension of it, in essence, creating a saddle between the two structures.
You also have a moderate flat to the east that ends at a deep hole (marked as 50'), and a steep drop to the west (point of arrow).
Depending on bottom composition in the area, as well as lake stage (Meso, Eutrophic, etc.), the 10 ft flat around the island could be weeded, or just sand/rubble with isolated patches of greenery. Regardless, you could make the case that the area could easily house many different species of fish, at many different times of the year - pre-spawn through cold water, and everything from largemouth, smallmouth, pike/muskie to walleye…even panfish. Well worth checking out and fishing in detail, IMHO.

Source: Fishing Facts, 1973

Get the Heck Out Of The Trees!

REFER TO THE MAP ABOVE THROUGHOUT THIS ARTICLE

(with footnotes)

    If you're like many anglers, you often fish man-made reservoirs - either by choice, or of neccesity. And within these formerly dry, flooded bodies of water, are many useful, man-made structures on the bottom.

    Here's the good news: these constructs make up some of the better structure found in reservoirs.
    Also, thanks to modern marine electronics and well developed hydro-mapping, these structures are not too hard to locate and observe. Moreover, they are usually cleaner of brush and debris than other areas one might fish.
    Finally, presenting bait or lures on such man-made structures, by both casting and trolling, normally requires less skill and presents fewer problems than on natural cover and structure, especially in the shallows where most anglers congregate.

    So what are we talking about? Well, "structure" refers to distinct features on the bottom of a lake or river that differ from the surrounding area.
    We are not referring to, "cover," aka, boat docks, ramps, trees, weed beds, etc....all the usual places anglers fish.
Rather, we mean 'structure.'
    It is crucial you understand that difference.
    Some common man-made structures of interest for this article, within a body of water (reservoir), might be things like:

1️⃣ Old submerged roadbeds

2️⃣ Causeways, or roads, that were constructed across certain portions of the reservoir during construction

3️⃣ The dam area

4️⃣ Power lines or old boat trails (1)...

        BONUS STRUCTURE: A lot of submerged "human structure" also exists on reservoirs bottoms as a bonus. These are things like old bridges, remains of houses or churches, old farms, quarries, river ferry crossings, sunken boats, walls, foundations, fences, etc.
    In short, wherever humans once lived BENEATH the waters you see today, there is a good chance that man-made structure could be there to attract fish. 

💯 However, two structure types should be first on the list for your attention:

- Causeways that cross the lake
- The dam and the areas adjacent to the dam

    Not every reservoir will have modern causeways crossing it, but if you are on a reservoir that has one, you're in luck. However, every reservoir will have a dam, by default.
    Regardless, both of these areas have clean workable structure, they can be worked in much the same way, and they are easy to locate.

    The dam area, especially, requires a lot of attention for several reasons.
1. It has to be there, by default, and it is easy to find
2. The deepest water in the lake occurs there
3. The structure is normally better and more varied
4. This particular area may have clumps of submerged, standing trees. (In many cases, these clumps of trees also represent a hump or some break in the structure, the meandering of channels, and so on. Such variations in bottom structure often hold fish)

    Something I noted on my nearby reservoir (Lake Murray, SC), was there were very few people making a concerted effort to really work the dam structure, itself. They buzz all around it, hoping to catch a striper or two...but it was rare to see someone actually working the dam methodically, as a structure feature all its own. 

✅ There is also a natural structure on every reservoir that intersects with man-made structure:
    The old stream or river channel.
    These channels wind and turn as they cross the reservoir bottom, and the overall depth of the channel doesn't vary a great deal from one section to that of another.
    A lot of human activity in the past will have occurred along the banks of the old river channel, too, so the odds of finding that kind of structure are increased there. And from a strictly natural structure viewpoint, the best structure on the channel will exist in two places:

- At the "turns," or bends, in the old channel
- Where the old feeder stream channels enter the main channel.

    You should check these areas thoroughly.

👉 My closing advice is this: take the suggestions from those around the boat dock (or Facebook) who tell you to head back to the trees (docks, shore, and so on) if you want to catch fish....well, take them with a grain of salt. 

    Yes, sometimes fish can be found there, under conditions that are largely a mystery to the average angler...and the entire industry is based on one singular idea:

    "Cast enough times into shallow, visible cover areas, with the latest 'hot lure' we are selling...
and you might eventually hook a fish."

    But the fish you DO catch very likely came from somewhere else to be there... a "somewhere else" you rarely, if ever, think to look.
    Flatly put, the places you are taught to cast to are not where the bigger adult fish live full time.(2)
    What happens is one gets lucky to cross paths with them when they are visiting the shallows, from time to time. But a few hours, or even minutes, either way ... and you might be fishless.
    Sound familiar?

    So in most cases, with little more to go on than..., "I caught a fish on a purple, Whack-A-Doo worm by a rock," well.... 
    Listen to such comments, but they are often a bum steer as far as locating the most consistently productive structure in the reservoir. And that should be your goal - finding consistently productive structure.
    To that end, I suggest you study this article and the included map, and put together a plan using what we've offered here. Then, keep in mind that you can usually do better by, "getting the heck out of the trees'!

- Buck Perry, 1973

Footnotes

(1) I had to look up, "boat trail,"... that term is unfamiliar to me...

"An underwater boat trail on a flooded reservoir is a submerged path historically cleared of hazards (like stumps or trees) to allow safe navigation through dense, flooded timber, or the original riverbed submerged by the lake.
Boaters use these established trails, usually marked with buoys or PVC pipes, to avoid major structural damage."

(2) Bob The Diver Dude, a local diver in Lexibngton, SC, has made a name for himself in the area recovering items lost in the waters of the local reservoir waters.

But Bob is a diver, and he is quick to recount all the large fish he sees - schools of them - swimming freely, with not an angler in sight. He is also certain they have never seen an anglers lure, because they simply live where anglers don't go looking for them.

Another instance along these lines that comes to mind is told by local guide, Chip Bragg. He says that, while trolling for striper, he is not surprised to catch hefty bass in deep water channels. 25 feet, or more... and I'd bet Ol' Chip hangs a few big catfish from time to time, as well.

The point is this: these fish don't live in the shallow shore waters we whip to foam with propeller lures and buzzbaits. Rather, they visit there on occasion, under the right conditions. After all, if big fish stayed under docks and other visible cover 24/7, we'd all be catching our limits and complaining a lot less.

It's just that most of us are unaccustomed to going after them in their true, deeper water sanctuaries.  

This was expanded from an article in the long out of print 'Fishing Facts' magazine. Hopefully it will help my fellow anglers.

Depth Finder Advice - From 1973

Stop Fishing Blindly! …Get a depth sounder

Back in 1973, your typical angler couldn’t afford a depth finder. 

According to the government’s inflation calculator, $175 for an average flasher unit back then is the equivalent of nearly $1,400 today. Tackle shops had to offer payment plans to help anglers swing the purchase. 

But George Pazik was steadfast in his thoughts that it was a tool you could not do without if you were halfway serious about your fishing.

“Broad daylight, clear sunny day... and these men are fishing blindly."

Look at the guys in the first pic. They are not novice fishermen nor are they fools, they simply don't KNOW that they're fishing blindly. It makes for a beautiful color photograph, but that's all. No fish caught. 

The next photograph in black and white shows the depth sounder reading that indicates the drop-off is from 10 to 17 feet, which is where they OUGHT TO BE FISHING.

In the last pic, you’ll see a contour map and you will note how far out from shore that drop-off comes. The section of the contour map shown on this page has an arrow pointing to the spot along the shore where those men were fishing. 

Now, it IS on a break structure that drops to the deepest water in the area. This is a decent bar, and fish do migrate up onto this bar at times where they are sometimes caught.
And thats the problem: a few fish are caught there under the right conditons. But nobody could you why...or where the fish came from to be there.

As you can see, however, these men were not where they should have been fishing. The preferred spot would be further back where the depth break seen in the second foto connects to the deeper water at 25'.

The men were close, but no cigar. They were unaware that IF fish were going to come up into the shallows where they were casting, they would be coming from the deepest water in the area.
And they would be working up the depth breaks like a staircase to get there. But they come that shallow under the right conditions...and super-bright, sunshiny daylight isnt all that inviting to them.
So the fish may have staged at the 25' mark (their sanctuary area)....but unless conditions were right and to their liking - it is unlikely they would come further...as the men found out. 

I also see the tip of the smaller island IF the depth break there contacts the 25' depth. But because it is a shallow slope, it would have to have some intermediate break for the fish to follow it all the way in, so it falls to 2nd place in priority.

So you can see, with a depth sounder, a good map, and a working knowledge of fish behavior, you can change your "luck." 

Trolling Is Key

 

The Importance Of “Trolling”

Back in the early days, Buck promoted trolling as being your “teacher.” But trolling quickly developed a negative connotation, at least in many bass fishing circles. 

What he was really talking about though was covering water to eliminate unproductive areas, and to locate higher percentage structural features to fish more thoroughly. 

Nowadays, you might refer to the same process as “idling“ or “graphing.” It’s not unusual to hear professional bass anglers mention spending nearly all their time in practice before an event doing nothing but. Today’s pros lean heavily on their electronics to accomplish this - Buck relied on his Spoonplugs. It’s the same concept in action,  before today’s modern technology existed.

Buck Sez: “The trolling, if done correctly, is your ‘teacher’ when on the water. It is the thing that will tie all the loose ends together such as structure, movements of fish, weather and water conditions, depth and speed control, mapping, and interpretation. The trolling will tell you when, where, what, why and how to cast. If you pass up the trolling process, it is doubtful you will ever become a great fisherman. 

But, after a couple years, you may be able to talk for an hour on ‘how to fish a plastic lizard.’”