What is this structure?

[Siebert Outdoors]

Looks like one heck of a place to fish.  I normally call those dropoffs or bluffs. 

[WRB]

6 hours ago, Catt said:

Look at all them underwater points!

Them be humps!

[LrgmouthShad]

24 minutes ago, WRB said:

Them be humps!

I’m trying to imagine you in Cali saying that in a Cajun accent ?

[Catt]

26 minutes ago, WRB said:

Them be humps!

 

Dem humps got points on em!

[LrgmouthShad]

5 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

Dem humps got points on em!

 

[Woody B]

Disclaimer. Catt, and others catch a bunch more bass that I do.

 

 

I have success on the humps during really hot weather.  I prefer the cuts, and the flats between them other times.  I love to fish points that run off of a straight bank.  I suppose I need to start looking for, and fishing the points off the humps.   There's a hump that's 10 feet deep or so ~1/8 mile or so from my Sister in Laws house.  There's a big "ditch" that's 40 feet deep or so between the hump and the bank.  This ditch is always full of White Perch and Striped Bass.   I've never caught any largemouths or spot there.   

 

 

[Catt]

So y'all can not see the points & flats on these humps?

 

[Woody B]

8 hours ago, Catt said:

So y'all can not see the points & flats on these humps?

 

I see 'em.  I slapped myself in the back of the head for not realizing before that there's points off of humps.   I've fished the humps, flats and the ditches next to the humps, but never the points.  

[GoneFishingLTN]

10 hours ago, Catt said:

So y'all can not see the points & flats on these humps?

 

maybe I'm a little blind, on the first one I see the one going from 13 to 16 but that's the only one unless you ***** the flatter one behind it?

 

on the second one I guess I don't see it (is it the top left corner?)

[WRB]

Look at the structure referenced as if the blue depth is above the water....what do you see, bass aren’t always on the top of a hump, usually located around the points, saddles and deep breaks.

Fish it all.

Tom

 

[Catt]

I ain't never caught a bass on dry land.

 

Fishable structure is below the waterline.

[LrgmouthShad]

5 minutes ago, Catt said:

I ain't never caught a bass on dry land.

I’ve tried to

 

I often think they hide up in trees 

[WRB]

7 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

I’ve tried to

 

I often think they hide up in trees 

Is that why you cast lures up into trees?

Tom

[LrgmouthShad]

47 minutes ago, WRB said:

Is that why you cast lures up into trees?

Tom

Yup you got it. That is why ?

[LrgmouthShad]

Okay if y’all liked the first question and are willing to help with another, here goes. This is Shearon Harris in NC. Of course a very popular lake for big bass. I’m wondering how these somewhat subtle changes in depth might have developed if they are accurate and if this is structure you would pay attention to. Sort of same questions as last time. 
 

Thank y’all regardless for the help for my first question. Your help is tremendously appreciated, especially @casts_by_fly’s terrific analysis

 

In case y’all start looking at other areas of the lake that might look better, I am thinking of fishing this in a Jon Boat soon and cannot travel very far from the boat ramps. Just a trollin motor. This is the South side

 

@Catt I know we have talked about this lake in the past and I will look into the area that you mentioned again but it may be difficult for me to get to

 

And @WRB I haven’t forgotten what you told me either. But I’m a little less willing to show a photo of the structure we talked about

[casts_by_fly]

16 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Okay if y’all liked the first question and are willing to help with another, here goes. This is Shearon Harris in NC. Of course a very popular lake for big bass. I’m wondering how these somewhat subtle changes in depth might have developed if they are accurate and if this is structure you would pay attention to. Sort of same questions as last time. 
 

Thank y’all regardless for the help for my first question. Your help is tremendously appreciated, especially @casts_by_fly’s terrific analysis

 

In case y’all start looking at other areas of the lake that might look better, I am thinking of fishing this in a Jon Boat soon and cannot travel very far from the boat ramps. Just a trollin motor. This is the South side

 

@Catt I know we have talked about this lake in the past and I will look into the area that you mentioned again but it may be difficult for me to get to

 

And @WRB I haven’t forgotten what you told me either. But I’m a little less willing to show a photo of the structure we talked about

like in the other lake, always consider the accuracy of the data and the source before you put too much into it.  It could have been one boat passing over that spot at 6 mph with an old sonar scanner that took that reading. Those micro points you’re pointing out may or may not actually be there.

 

that said, on the assumption that the data is good, yes those would be worth checking out. In the second picture, that’s a deep water flat.  Where that meets the steep drop from shallow would be my starting point. The fish will use that steeper section to move between shallow water on top and deeper water below. 55 degree water in the spring and the fish will be somewhere around there depending on the day.  In the first picture I’m less interested in what you circled. That’s basically a bluff wall from the looks of it.  If there was cover on it then great, otherwise I’d be on the other side of that ravine where it’s 16-18’ and drops off the cliff. That’s a classic ledge and the fish should stack up there in the summer. 
 

as to how things like this form, remember that if you take the water away you’re left with earth. Go for a walk in the woods and you’ll see plenty of places where the hillside has a ditch, a hole, uneven soil (chunks of rock in a soil hillside and vice versa). The buried strata is hard in some places and soft in others. When the lake filled up, some of the soft stuff gets washed away and you’re left with the underneath bits. 

[LrgmouthShad]

Some other interesting bits on this lake:

 

[Team9nine]

27 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

like in the other lake, always consider the accuracy of the data and the source before you put too much into it.  It could have been one boat passing over that spot at 6 mph with an old sonar scanner that took that reading. Those micro points you’re pointing out may or may not actually be there.

This ^^
 

These maps are fine for finding general areas of interest worth checking out further, but I would not over invest my time and effort into interpreting them for subtle details. Mark a handful of areas close to the launch and go check them out thoroughly with your own depthfinder. If you have live mapping capabilities, start there. If not, bring paper and pencil and create your own detailed map of each spot - then fish them and add more notes and details to your map each time you do.

[dgkasper58]

3 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

This ^^
 

These maps are fine for finding general areas of interest worth checking out further, but I would not over invest my time and effort into interpreting them for subtle details. Mark a handful of areas close to the launch and go check them out thoroughly with your own depthfinder. If you have live mapping capabilities, start there. If not, bring paper and pencil and create your own detailed map of each spot - then fish them and add more notes and details to your map each time you do.

 

To add to this I cannot believe how much different some of the maps near me are.  Totally inaccurate.  Depths were somewhat OK but the contours were WAY off.  The new technology is amazing!

[Darth-Baiter]

On 12/14/2022 at 11:14 AM, LrgmouthShad said:

Hey y’all,

 

Curious what you might call this structural feature. Deeper water pinches closer to the shoreline compared to surrounding banks. How do these develop and what is the significance of them? 

i believe the geology term for this occurance is countour CLEAVAGE.  whatever you call it..i would cast a jig at it.  

[casts_by_fly]

19 minutes ago, dgkasper58 said:

 

To add to this I cannot believe how much different some of the maps near me are.  Totally inaccurate.  Depths were somewhat OK but the contours were WAY off.  The new technology is amazing!

 

The source of the data makes a big difference.  NJ publishes pdf files of depth maps for most of the lakes around here.  They are broadly accurate, but the level of detail is missing a lot of the time.  Some of the lakes would have been surveyed with plumbs on a rope 50 years ago.  A lot of siltation can happen in 50 years.  And, how many data points were taken and how the area in between was calculated is a big thing.  If you take 4 points along a shoreline in a square pattern, the two near shore might be 3' and the two further out 12'.  How you get from 3-12 might be a steep drop or it might be a smooth slope.  Between the 3' marks, you might have a 6' ditch.  This exact scenario is true at one of the lakes here.  It shows a drop from 3' flat to 12' flat pretty steeply.  but in a couple hundred yards of bank there are 4 different ditches that cut up.  I've mapped it myself and I can tell you that the fish hold on those cuts in the spring. You'd never know they were there by looking at shore or a map.

 

I tend to trust navionics.  State made maps are a snapshot in time.  Navionics is updated by real users over time and while there is variation in lake level and quality of the person running the unit, that should average out over a number of users.  But, its still just a starting point for areas of the lake to scout.

[WRB]

You can learn a lot from map studies the more detailed the better.

The maps posted look like they were made from soundings converted to elevation, not very accurate but still useful.

The other factor to keep in mind is the current pool level vs the map at full pool.

Most important is the depth the bass are located currently when on the water. Determine the life zone can be done in the marina you launched at. It’s the 1st thing I do if possible, eliminates structure at unproductive depths. Wind direction plays a role in positioning both prey and bass. Wind creates upwelling and current.

Big bass prefer feeding zones with easy egress and provide nearly sanctuary areas. 

If the life zone is 10’ hypothetically the 10’ flats located on points with steep breaks are worth Fishing looking for isolated structure or cover elements. Both map shots indicated good 10’ structure. The lower map indicated a double step point with flats at 10’ and 20’ worth your effort to check out. 

Funnel zones created by saddles are always worth your effort to locate.

Tom

 

[Catt]

6 hours ago, WRB said:

You can learn a lot from map studies the more detailed the better.

 

Agreed ?

 

If the lake in question is a man made "impoundment" I get my maps from United States Geological Survey "USGS". These maps were made prior to the lake being flooded & show details not found on even Navionics chips. 

 

I have one of Toledo Bend that shows not just where old homesteads are but even shows the fence rows around the homestead. It shows cemeteries with the locations of each individual grave. If there's cemeteries there will be both paved & gravel roads. Parking lots, shade trees located in the cemetery. 

 

The area surrounding of the lake belonged to timber companies or National Forest. These maps show clear cut areas & locations of where timber was bulldozed into piles. It shows logging roads & fire lanes. 

 

This above all your contour lines.

 

The are paper maps meaning one will have to put time & energy into researching the lake.

 

What these maps do not show is the lake level but with Toledo Bend I know conservation pool elevation: 172.00 ft above NGVD29. 

[LrgmouthShad]

I switched to Navionics for now… on the web app. And let me just say that now that I am seeing the bathymetry on Navionics, I am overwhelmed. So much structure 

[MN Fisher]

7 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

I switched to Navionics for now… on the web app.

Ya - 2021 I ran I-Boating and thought it was good. 2022 I switched to Navionics and it's SO much better.

 

I run (ran) both on a 8" Galaxy Tablet.