Does a point hold fish all year around?

[deep]

There's this gently sloping point in a local lake. It's covered with grass. It slopes very gradually right from the bank to about 70 feet away to the main river channel, with a drop-off near the channel.

All summer long I've caught significant numbers of bass (8-10 per outing) on it and around it, it's a pretty small but sharp point; mostly with soft plastics and rattle-traps.

The number of bites have been dwindling thorughout the last week. Today I didn't get one single bite there. However I got four good bites and three bass in the adjoining creek.

Do all bass migrate to creeks in fall? The forage here is bluegills and crappies I think. AFAIK there's no shad, although there's probably carp.

P.S. A side question, only plastics and rattle-traps seemed to work, and work magnificently at that, at the point. I had maybe one or two strikes on a spinnerbait here, and zero strikes on anything else. Any ideas why?

[Gatorbassman]

I bet money that the grass is starting to die off and the fish haved moved.

[backwater4]

x2 on the dying grass, but the fish might also have moved deeper down the point. Later in the year, they will setup on deeper structure. Try fishing the deeper end with spoons or blade baits. Though right now I don't think this is the case. Still to warm.

[Catt]

There could be a number of reasons with grass die off being just one and without knowing the weather patterns over the last couple of weeks it's hard to diagnosis.

On your side question again the is not why to explain why certain lures work on certain structure. I know a cove on Toledo Bend where Rat-L-Traps only work with any degree of success.

[jiggerpole]

What you described is a good spot year around in my opinion. Especially if there are other features like a stump or two, hard bottom on most of it and maybe even some rocks. Bass will move up to feed on baitfish, crayfish, ect, and then move back to deeper water which is near by. Other bass which move up and down the channel using it as a highway, will also find this to be a stopping point to rest, feed and generally hang out. It could be used as a staging area for both prespawn and post. Unfortunately bass are not always in a feeding mood and it doesn't matter what you throw at them, they just want bite. Slowing down and finesse fishing the edge or the end of it may pick up a few. If a brush top is close by in deeper water or even in the shallow they may be held up right in it. Then you may have to litterally hit them on the nose to get them to bite. With out spooking them of course. Sometimes I hurt myself trying to over think stuff, so I just fish.

[WRB]

From your discription the point isn't what I would call a major point as it is less than 25 yards from the shoreline to the main lake channel. Your point does have all the elements to hold baitfish and other types of prey, when the weeds are present.

I would call this a seasonal point; late spring to fall area that should hold bass during that time period and worth a visit during pre spawn.

Crappie fill the pelagic bait fish niche, they are off shore fish, unlike shad however they stay in deeper water and don't need to move into shallow cover during the night or low light periods.

You might want to try deep diving lures or a swimbait that looks like small young of the year crappie or bass to target larger size adult bass on this point. Rattle traps are pure reaction lures, the right shape for mimicking a small crappie or bluegill. Give the bass a choice, if they strike traps, then feed them traps.

WRB

[deep]

Thanks for the replies folks.

On the dead grass comments, I think there's some dead grass, but there's green grass too, because I dragged them up (been to that lake twice after the original post).

Also, this is just the beginning of fall. I thought the bass were supposed to come up shallow, not move to deeper structures?

The cove right next to the point holds a good bass population now, though; but nothing like the point used to hold.

This lake is pretty small (< 50 acres), and as far as I see, this is the more prominent of the two real points.

[WRB]

Thanks for the replies folks.

On the dead grass comments, I think there's some dead grass, but there's green grass too, because I dragged them up (been to that lake twice after the original post).

Also, this is just the beginning of fall. I thought the bass were supposed to come up shallow, not move to deeper structures?

The cove right next to the point holds a good bass population now, though; but nothing like the point used to hold.

This lake is pretty small (< 50 acres), and as far as I see, this is the more prominent of the two real points.

Lake size and type information is important. 50 acres is small, so a point 70 feet long on the main lake body is a major piece of structure. Is this a natural lake, tidal influenced, or reservior? important factors when trying to determine bass behavior/location.

Bass must eat to survive, simple factor; locate the prey. Fall is different, yet the same, regionally; shorter days (same) cooler days/nights (different). Shorter daylight = slowdown in growth of green aquatic weeds, prey/baitfish move out and the bass feed on them. Fall signals bass to move with the prey, depth depends on the type of prey, thermocline, wind, etc.  Areas where the wind is blowing onto afternoon sun lite banks, points, coves are usually a good places to catch fall bass.

WRB

[Big Fish Rice]

Points may or may not hold fish all year. Bass follow the food, and the food does not always stay in one area, especially if the weeds and grass die off.

Fish it like it's going out of style. You never know until you try, and don't forget to come back and update the thread.

[Raul]

I can 't comment with more knowledge about a climatic zone I have no experience with, in my case, in my neck of the woods, some points hold fish all year round and others don 't, part of it has to do with the location and surroundings of the point and very importantly for me, how large is the point, because depending upon how large and upon the location of the point in the lake the point may be left above and bone dry when water is drawn from the lake during the dry season, if the point is large enough and located where it won 't be left above and dry and the surroundings are good the point hold fish all year round.

So to answer the question: yes, a point can hold fish all year around.

[deep]

A cold front hit us, and guess what, the bass were back at the point, on the outside edge. They must have moved out of the cove.

I had only about 45 minutes to fish this evening. Hit the cove with flukes and senkos, had no luck. As I was beating it back home, I casted a senko at the point, and boom, a nice 2 pounder. Got 6 bass in about 20 casts before it turned too dark to see the line. The bass were all piling up on near the main channel.

They were not at the mouth of the cove though, they passed it and went back to the point; where they had been all summer. That seems a bit strange. Why weren't they holding at the mouth of the cove?

P.S. Raul, when water is drawn out, like now, maybe 10 feet of the point is dry land.