windblown points

[fatbass]

I don't fully understand this concept.

Is there something directional (wind) in nature?  Am looking for wind across points or into the bank?  Generally speaking, will bass orient toward the wind or does that not matter any?

Its just some thoughts I have whenever I read "fish windblown points."

Thanks,

Fatz

[Guest ouachitabassangler]

I prefer a long point aiming towards a steady wind. That traps plankton which is shoved down the widward side, attracting baitfish and holding them there, then bass. A point broadside to the wind is OK but not as productive for me. Possibly the vast majority of plankton and baitfish "bounce" off and pass on around the point. I've never quite figured it out for certain why.

Bass tend to watch up any type of current, including wind, since that's the general direction the food chain comes from. If the point is narrow enough I position the boat on the lee side and cast over the point into wind until I get to the dry part. Then I'll position to work the point from the heel of the point (where it joins the main shoreline) on the upwind side casting crosswise to the wind, working my way out to the point tip.

I never fish a lure from a point out to deep water, as I believe that draws eligible biters away from their ambushments. It takes too long for them to return and set back up. Sometimes a whole pack of bass will follow one lure at each retrieve until a bunch of them are wandering off point. I'd rather draw and keep bass close to the edge of a point. I then skip the point tip, motor around to the lee side, and work my way back to the point tip. Most anglers seem to just cast straight to a point tip then move on. They're leaving a lot of bass behind, or scattering them so none will be caught by the next guy.

That applies to underwater ridges and humps, too. I never cast to those then fish the lure away from them. I cast past them and bring the lure to the structure. My thinking is a bass likes a meal it can pin against a slope, better than having to chase it down in open water. A general slope is fished either way, whichever direction of lure travel working best.

Jim

[fatbass]

If I read you right Ouchita, I'm looking for wind into the bank 'cause baitfish are trapped.  Boat placement downwind with casts into the wind.  Start at the deepest part of the point and work toward the bank.  I'll presume I need to keep the boat slightly off the point and casts across it typically into the wind.  Does that about sum it up?

[Guest ouachitabassangler]

That's what I do for underwater points. Dry land points are approached differently, described in that post. Unless it's only a couple of feet wide you wouldn't want a hooked bass on the other side.

In either case the idea is to fish along a contour that you think holds most bass. I don't retrieve down slope out into deeper water whether along the side of the point or from the tip into deep water.

For dry land points, if following a contour doesn't work I'll cast 45 degrees to the point's shoreline to cover several contour levels to locate biting bass. Once I figure out the best depth I then fish parallel to the point at that depth, or retrieve from deeper to shallower by casting 45 degrees out away from the point shoreline, bouncing up slope.

I think all this is much against conventional methods, but it works, being something bass don't see often. I wish I was artistic enough to draw it all up, but whatever I showed would probably just confuse anyone. I can make a detailed professional map but can't draw a picture.

Jim

[senile1]

Jim, I agree with your point about bass trapping or pinning baitfish up against structure and also cover.  I tend to fish parallel or cast 45 degrees to points but fishing from shallower to deeper water.  I hadn't thought about drawing bass away from their original hideouts.  Although I tend to fish structure from all different directions until I start catching fish, if I'm fishing a point that isn't completely immersed in water I tend to save fishing deeper to shallow as my last resort, due to the occasional issues with getting my boat into the shallower water up against a visible point.  

[Matt Fly]

Fatz,

Points comes in all shapes and sizes with different depths.    It depends on the points and at what time of the day it is as to when I fish that point if at all.  It could be wind blown shore lines, fence lines, tree lines, ridges, bridges or anything that stacks planktons up.

My key on points depends on the shad.    After all, its the shad that draw or holds the bass there.

During the post-spawn thru summer times.    Shad migrate to the shallows at night to hide in vegitation.   Thus, the prime time shallow bites are late night and early morning until the sun peaks thru and the shad go deep during the day.

Thats why you hear, when the sun shines in the morning, the top water bite usually dies, and you are told to start backing out to deeper water.  The shad left the shallow grass for the day, but will be back about the same time in the evening.

I like at least 3 steady days of wind, and in the summer in Texas, we have normally, 30 days of southernly winds and high pressure, thus a steady pattern that your watch can be set by most times.

For those points that are shallow on the wind blown side, they normally don't produce well when other deep points are in the area.

Where that deep point is missing in areas, we have lots of underwater hump, some of those are in forms off old stock tanks with dams surrounding part of the old ponds under water.    

I firmly believe I can take an average angler out and teach them to track shad movements in and out of an area all day, and those shad make the same track pretty much every day.      Once you master the shad, learning the ditches, creek channel, timber lines or other structures they travel, you can start finding your ambush points just like the bass do.

Triton Mike showed excellent graph pictures of balled up shad.    Normal day time cruising shows tons of baitfish that aren't bunched which indicates bass aren't actively feeding, when those shad get tight, its because something got them nervous and that is a key picture to finding actively feeding fish, tight balls of shad are what we seek.

Most bass fishermen have general knowledge of seasonal patterns, but catching fish like KVD and some others is about knowing your baitfish movements.   Track shad, and you won't have to worry about the bass.

The best advice I can give is to spend a few days following the shad, i will bet they do the same thing with steady weather almost every day.   Master that trick and unlocking other bodies of water becomes easier.

Hookem

Matt.

[gatrboy53]

points in general,whether visible or submerged are holding areas for bass.for bait also,but bass are not always holding to a point because of food.visible points create current breaks in windy conditions.bait or not they will set-up predictably in windy situations.underwater poits offer different comfort levels for bass to hold to.temp.,oxygen levels,and other conditions cause bass to move up or down on a point.wind on underwater points help fishermen because it stirs the water and the bass relate to movement more than site and are more easily fooled into biting than in calm conditions.