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.