What does structure feel like?

[EGbassing]

I haven't been doing well at all fishing shallow cover recently, so I decided to pick up a jig and just drag it on the bottom until I find some structure. (hump, dropoff, etc.) For about an hour I just dragged that jig along the bottom but I never knew if it was on any structure. It mostly felt the same except for when it hit a stick, rock, etc. The question is, what does it feel like when it's coming over structure? I have a feeling all the bass have gone out to deep water due to the heat.

[A-Jay]

You may find that there are MANY ways to define structure. 

 One simple way can be that Structure is defined as the shape of the bottom - the permanent features and the changes in the contour or content of the bottom of a lake, river or reservoir. 

 

 And while I applaud your enthusiasm & willingness to learn, there may be a better way to go about learning what structure "is" than dragging a jig around.  

 

  To start it will no doubt really help if you read at least one of the many BR articles on the subject.

Here's just two ~ https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/structure-locating.html

  https://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/structure-cover-difference.html

 

Warmer water does often mean that much of the bass population moves off the bank.  

However armed with your new found information you'll be back on them in no time.

Good Luck.

A-Jay

 

 

[EGbassing]

32 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

You may find that there are MANY ways to define structure. 

 One simple way can be that Structure is defined as the shape of the bottom - the permanent features and the changes in the contour or content of the bottom of a lake, river or reservoir. 

 

 And while I applaud your enthusiasm & willingness to learn, there may be a better way to go about learning what structure "is" than dragging a jig around.  

 

  To start it will no doubt really help if you read at least one of the many BR articles on the subject.

Here's just two ~ https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/structure-locating.html

  https://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/structure-cover-difference.html

 

Warmer water does often mean that much of the bass population moves off the bank.  

However armed with your new found information you'll be back on them in no time.

Good Luck.

A-Jay

 

 

Thanks. I'll read those.

[WRB]

The entire lake bottom is structure, what bass relate is isolated or structure breaks that offer places for bass to feed on prey like crawdads or baitfish.

Your Sonar unit and eyes are the key to locating structure with a bass population.

Start at the boat luanch it's made of hard structure and marinas get restocked by bass anglers. You can see the ramp and feel it at the same time and quickly learn what hard structure feels like.

Tom

[Deleted account]

structure feels like rock, sand, gravel, mud, and sometimes cars and washing machines.

[RealtreeByGod]

22 minutes ago, reason said:

structure feels like rock, sand, gravel, mud, and sometimes cars and washing machines.

This brings up an interesting thought. How many times do you think people have fished what they thought was a boulder, only for it to actually be a fridge or washing machine or something that someone dumped in the water?

[A-Jay]

2 minutes ago, RealtreeByGod said:

This brings up an interesting thought. How many times do you think people have fished what they thought was a boulder, only for it to actually be a fridge or washing machine or something that some dumped in the water?

I see far more large appliances on front porches than I ever do in the lake . . . 

A-Jay

[Deleted account]

3 minutes ago, RealtreeByGod said:

This brings up an interesting thought. How many times do you think people have fished what they thought was a boulder, only for it to actually be a fridge or washing machine or something that some dumped in the water?

A lot. The new FFs do a good job of identifying different things, but in days gone by, I'm sure there were things dumped or left when reservoirs were flooded. 

[ohboyitsrobby]

I fish a sunken boat and an old house slab. Don't know that I've ever fished random household appliances 

[WRB]

When large man made impoundments are dammed, the original river valley's are surveyed up to the new high water elevation. whatever is below the high water line like man made buildings are taken down leaving only the hard foundations. Bridges, culverts  and roads are not removed. Standing tree's may or may not be cut down, vehicles and trash like old refrigerators, toilets and refuse are removed. Anything that could become a navigational hazards are removed. Wells, mines, rock walls, fence rolls, foundations are left in the lake bed.

Look at a topographic evelation map of the original lake valley and you see buildings, roads, bridges, fences, wells, tree groves, etc, that could still be there. The buildings are now foundations, the tree groves may only be stumps but still there underwater unless silted over.

Both old topo maps and new 1' evelation maps are tools that offer offshore structure anglers tools use to find bass holding structure.

Tom

[Moto]

2 hours ago, reason said:

structure feels like rock, sand, gravel, mud, and sometimes cars and washing machines.

I hate the fact that lakes are turning into dumps 

[Fairtax4me]

9 hours ago, EGbassing said:

Hat I haven't been doing well at all fishing shallow cover recently, so I decided to pick up a jig and just drag it on the bottom until I find some structure. (hump, dropoff, etc.) For about an hour I just dragged that jig along the bottom but I never knew if it was on any structure. It mostly felt the same except for when it hit a stick, rock, etc. The question is, what does it feel like when it's coming over structure? I have a feeling all the bass have gone out to deep water due to the heat.

Assuming you're fishing from the bank? 

The best way to determine what structure feels like is to find something, (wood, Rock, grass, mud, sand, etc.) identify what it is, and drag a lure across it. 

To a large extent what you "feel" is going to be determined by how sensitive your rod and line are (and maybe how heavy your lure is), but seeing what you're dragging across will help you determine what your lure is dragging on when you can't see it. 

Also, throw your line across a stick or tree in the water and drag the lure slowly up it, then let it fall back down a few times. Do this with other types of structure as well and you'll soon figure out how to tell what that mushy feeling is when your line is working its way up an obstacle. 

 

Determine water depth to find humps and elevation changes by counting how long it takes for your lure to hit bottom on a cast. Doing that in multiple areas all around where you fish will help you determine depth at least as far out as you can cast. 

[Bucky205]

When your bait is in contact with the bottom anything that feels different is structure.  It may be a tree, ditch, an old tire, a down tree, rocks.  Anything that is different from the typical bottom in the reservoir.  Same goes for your bait when you're feeling something or bumping into something different its normally structure.  It won't take long until you are able to identify what type of structure you are hitting with your bait.

 

[FishDewd]

I've learned after fishing a pond/lake with lot's of structure what wood, grass, weeds, and rock feels like. For me it took getting snagged and losing some lures, but now I've gotten better at finessing through it or around it and I've done a lot better at not getting snagged as badly lol. Anyway, that's one way to learn I guess... If I had to describe how those feel though... grass and weeds are the easiest. With grass it's like the lure gets sluggish briefly due to the resistance as it goes through. Weeds are a bit more resistance, sometimes the lure will surge towards you a bit when released from the weed. Wood/sticks are a dull thud, rock is a sharper thud. Also, if are pulling over a stick, log, or rock, you'll often feel it when it drops back down on the other side. Can even feel when a lure deflects but that's harder to describe.

[J.Vincent]

3 hours ago, reason said:

structure feels like rock, sand, gravel, mud, and sometimes cars and washing machines.

...and discarded lawn chairs

[burrows]

Tic tic bang bang screech scratch bumb bumb ? Sounds like structure to me.?

[Black Hawk Basser]

One idea: Take a jig or something that sinks fairly quickly and cast all over an area, while counting your bait down to bottom every time.  If your bait touches down much faster in one particular spot than all of the others, you've found a hump or rock pile.

[NHBull]

For my simple mind and relating to words that make sense to me, I see cover and structure differently.  For me, cover is the rock pile or brush pile inside the structure and that is my focus.

Cover is protection inside the general geography of the bottom. I see structure  as drop-off, points,....changes is general bottom contours.

 

For Me, this distinction is easy as it relates to a former  lifetime. Once making the connection, I was able to eliminate  a lot of water

[WRB]

The problem with most fishing definitions is there isn't a dictionary to use to define the terms.

So we have our individual definitions and a few books and articles to read.

Buck Perry is regarded as the guru of modern structure bass fishing, so that is as good as it gets for bass anglers.

My own definition for bass fishing structure is anything attached to the earth permanently underwater, natural or man made. Cover being anything that floats or is organic that grows or grew underwater that is natural or man made.

For the purposes of this discussion I yield to Buck Perry's difinations.

Tom

[NHBull]

13 minutes ago, WRB said:

The problem with most fishing definitions is there isn't a dictionary to use to define the terms.

So we have our individual definitions and a few books and articles to read.

Buck Perry is regarded as the guru of modern structure bass fishing, so that is as good as it gets for bass anglers.

My own definition for bass fishing structure is anything attached to the earth permanently underwater, natural or man made. Cover being anything that floats or is organic that grows or grew underwater that is natural or man made.

For the purposes of this discussion I yield to Buck Perry's difinations.

Tom

Totally agree and use your terminality when talking with other anglers......that said, when looking at my graphs, my brain interprets the language differently