Fishing Points

[nickb]

I've forever heard and forever fished off of points, but I have never realized what makes a point disirable for fish. What makes a point so special?

[Catt]

Points act as natural funnels for staging before, during, and after the spawn.  

[Crestliner2008]

Points represent a major structure feature of the lake bottom, which leads fish from deep to shallow water & vice verse.

[Fish Chris]

I know you were asking "why points are so good"..... but as long as we agree they are good, let me tell you the one biggest thing that comes immediatly to mind about points;

I see SOOO many guys coming flying up in their high-per bass boats, and park off of the end of points > right where the big fish were sitting < before they came up and parked on top of their heads ! :-? :-X :-/ Which means that basically, that fished was clued in before that angler ever picked up their pole, and is either already leaving the area, or now has a serious case of lockjaw.

Instead, come up from behind, and from one side of the point, or the other. Sneak onto the point > as shallow as you possibly can < Of course if you have a high-per bass boat, you won't want to scratch that pretty finish, but the only thing that keeps me from banging the bottom of my outdrive, or aluminum hull on the end of the point, is I don't want to make all that noise.

Sometimes if the point is sandy or gravely, I'll even beach the boat on one side or the other, and walk out to the point to cast.

But the importance of all this, is now you are casting out > to where the big fish are < and reeling back into the shallows. Read: The direction a bass likes to chase prey ! ....from deep, to shallow, effectively squeezing the prey out of space, as the water tapers to nothing.

IMPO, this is the most common mistake that beginners, and sometimes even (almost unbelievably) experienced anglers make, when fishing points.

Peace,

Fish

[Catt]

You can't tell em that!

Now everybody is gonna be doing it

[SPEEDBEAD.]

So Chris, essentially you use your boat merely as transportation to spots where you fish from the bank?

How often do you do this?  I have read posts before where you said this and the bass chasing prey from deep to shallow makes sense, it just seems funny to have that nice boat of yours and not fish from it. (obviously not questioning your results, just trying to find the method behind the madness  ;D)

[soccplayer07]

Great post Fish Chris

[Fish Chris]

Hey Speedbead, well, of course I "always" use the boat to get me to the best spots on the lake. How often I get out of the boat, and onto the shore, depends a lot on the place, and the shoreline.

Obviously, solid boulders and steep banks don't work very well for this.

So anyway, I'd say, on an all year basis, I'm probably completely out of the boat 20% of the time, and then sitting really shallow, casting out deep, or maybe casting only slightly further out from shore, but with long parallel casts, the other 80%.

I almost never sit deep, and cast in.

My boat gets plenty use, taking me all around the lake.

Peace,

Fish

PS, Another thing to consider, is that sitting shallow, a big fish will cruise right up from deeper water, to look at you (which they do with me nearly EVERY trip). But if you are deeper, your making that fish feel trapped between you and the shoreline, and that fish will want to do nothing but get the heck out of that situation.

I'm not surprised that SO many people almost never have big fish cruise up to look at them, like I always do.

......and again, knowing where the big ones hang, is 3/4's of the battle.

[Catt]

Chris don't you know your misleading the masses?

The key is to sit in deep water casting shallow so your bait only remains in contact with the bottom for a limited percentage of the time, this way you can use that high speed reel to quickly reel in your bait so you can make repeated cast that stay in the strike zone for a limited amount of time.

No wonder you can't tournament fish

[6pointbuck2003]

I never thought of that chris. i could see where it would work though. is there at any point in time where you should sit in deep water and cast shallow?

[Mottfia]

Oh God Look out! I leave the site for a day and look what happens. Catt looks like someone is gonna have your number when it comes to fishing deep if Chris can keep feeding info like that.  8-)

Mottfia

[Fish Chris]

Hey 6point, I was sitting here trying to think of the exceptions.... and honestly, I pretty much always fish, sitting shallow, casting deep.

Thinking back, I can only remember 1 big fish I caught casting "at a point" from further out, and that was a situation where it was too rough and windy to anchor on that point, and I was being blown straight into it. So, I made one hale Mary cast, and pow ! 14.6 lb'er ;-)

So, anythings possible in fishing, but the vast majority of the time, no. Sit shallow, cast out deeper.

Peace,

Fish

[roadwarrior]

Wow!

I had to delete one of my "Favorites" to make room for this thread.

This is what BassResource.com is all about.

Thank you!

[Bass_Akwards]

Chris, does the same rule follow, when fishing smaller lakes with no points?  The lakes/ponds I fish with the biggest bass are old gravel pits with no points.

I just got a pontoon.  I've been floating around the lakes, "spanking the banks" casting from deeper water to the shore.  Is this a stupid strategy?  Should I position my boat much nearer shore and fish parallel to shore or from shallow to deep?  Since there's no visable cover, humps, ridges or other structure I'm having trouble finding the fish.

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Chris, does the same rule follow, when fishing smaller lakes with no points? The lakes/ponds I fish with the biggest bass are old gravel pits with no points.

I just got a pontoon. I've been floating around the lakes, "spanking the banks" casting from deeper water to the shore. Is this a stupid strategy? Should I position my boat much nearer shore and fish parallel to shore or from shallow to deep? Since there's no visable cover, humps, ridges or other structure I'm having trouble finding the fish.

LOL, I just sent him a PM a little earlier asking the exact same thing.

The small lakes around me dont have the typical points like larger impoundments.

[CJ]

That is great info Chris. I know it is what works best for you and many others. Before I go on I want to explain about the water I fish and that I am referring to post spawn fish. The water clarity is 4 ft. at it's best but, mostly around 2 ft. on the average. Most of the structure I fish is anywhere from 8-20 ft. on top and may drop off into as much as 35 ft. of water. Different fisheries have different features to it's structures. Some points may drop off extremely sharp where others are more of a slow tapering drop. Staying in contact with the bottom is no problem for me when fishing from shallow to deep. I do agree that stealth is important when it comes to catching big bass. I simply shut down well off the drop and troll in. I'm not saying I don't fish uphill sometimes, I do but only on a few spots. I know I preach about current a lot but, it is such a strong factor for me. When water is being released the fish almost always position themselves on top of the structure, near the bottom. The top of the hump, point, or ledge is the supper table for Ky. Lake bass. The current stimulates the baitfish which turns on the bass like a light switch. If I were to try and approach the bass from shallow water I would most likely spook them by running over them. It's hard to dictate just how far the fish will be upon that point or the shallow top of the structure.

I am in no way saying either way is wrong. I just believe an angler shouldn't limit themselves to only one way. For some, one way may be the only way due to that fisheries characteristics.

Other short points on the subject:

Contact lures such as deep crankbaits usually don't fish well uphill for me. I do love to parallel them to the structures ledge.

A lot of the quality size bass I catch hit the lure on the fall. Especially on the edge of the ledge. Presentation is almost always key.

Dragging tubes or jigs uphill on a rock pile is tough to do.

Some humps and points may be fished both ways in one cast.

How you fish a structure may need to be determined by the fish's position relative to the structure for that given day. There are many factors that may help determine that.

Fish face the current.

With all that said, my eyes have been opened for those days "my ways" don't work. Especially since I'm gonna be trying out some swimbaits on ledges during the hot months when the current flow is low. Thanks Fish Chris, you may have just gave me the idea that will give me a needed break through!

Sorry if I got off topic. The answer to the original poster's question is answered within all of the thread's responses. One thing to keep in mind about why bass gravitate to structure is within their needs. A mature bass will stay close to shallower water that serves as the "supper table". They spend most of their daylight hours however suspended in the nearby deep water. I being a tournament/recreational fisherman am looking for the more active feeding fish that are at the table. Points have their extra benefits such as a migration route and also serve as current breaks.

CJ

[WRB]

I agree with approaching major points inside out as pointed out earlier, during most seasonal periods and during day light hours.

The In-Fisherman article "Horizontal Jigging" published back in 1995, illustrated exactly how to approach a point from the inside and suggest a casting pattern that works well.

Chris is right; big bass become conditioned to boats approaching form deep water and move out to deeper water when they detect a boat or become alarmed. Big bass also use the point to trap bait fish against and the escape rout for a bait fish is swimming up to the surface, deep to shallow. At night or during low light periods, the bass can be up tight in shallower water, so the traditional approach; casting from deeper water parallel to the bank can be an advantage, if you approach quietly.

WRB

[MALTESE FALCON]

Hey Fish Chris,

You have just presented one of the best, most informative seminars, I've ever attended. There has been some talk of a video section here on BR, maybe you can put this information on video , and post it here.

I've been to seminars that were held by Pros that were not this informative. Have you ever considered writing a book?

Thanks for all the great info.

Falcon

[SPEEDBEAD.]

As a progression to your fishing approach, if you sit near the bank and thoroughly cover the point (out to your maximum casting distance)with no takers, do you then move directly down the "spine" of the point to throw to deeper water or do you go to one of the sides and throw parallel to the bank?  

Do you just chalk it up to no active fish being on the point at that particular time?

What is the next move you would make?

[WRB]

As a progression to your fishing approach, if you sit near the bank and thoroughly cover the point (out to your maximum casting distance)with no takers, do you then move directly down the "spine" of the point to throw to deeper water or do you go to one of the sides and throw parallel to the bank?

Do you just chalk it up to no active fish being on the point at that particular time?

What is the next move you would make?

If interested; PM your email and I will send you the In-Fishermen article, a picture is worth a 1,000 words.

WRB

[Bazoo]

There is a lot of interesting information in this thread, thank you all for sharing!