How Do You Fish Points?

[dhami013]

I hear all the time, head to the points, so I have a couple questions.

1. Why? Why the point specifically?

2. How do you approach it? I usually fish across it about 10-15 yards out. I also have fished 10-15 out and fished directly in front of the point outwards towards the middle of the lake, and also have tried fishing from the bank to the boat. What is the best way to fish it? If there is a best way.

3. How do you eliminate which points to fish? Do you stop at every turn and give it a couple casts or?

4. What baits do you use to approach said points? I've used cranks, spinners, and have also dragged plastics and jigs.

I'm not saying I haven't had any luck on points I'm just looking to get some intel. on how to fish them more productively.

[Catt]

Point Defined: A finger of land that juts out into deeper open water. The most obvious points are main lake and secondary points that originate from the shoreline. Points also occur in conjunction with underwater ridges and humps. Points can also be found jutting out on underwater flats and have no visible area above the waterline.

Point Logic: Points create a slope contour that progresses from shallow water to deep but occasionally points will occur in stair-step form; these staggered series of drop-offs create additional structure. Bass relate to points for multiply reasons. Points provide a dining table for feeding acting as natural funnels for “staging” before, during, and after the spawn.

The Best Points: Choose points based on the season; in cold water concentrate on main lake points where bass can find significant depth changes without swimming great distances. In warm water concentrate on secondary points which are points that occur inside the mouth of a cove or bay when bass begin gravitating to shallows via creeks, ditches, and channels. Submerged points are ideal especially during adverse weather conditions. The ideal point has a channel because they provide them a convenient place to feed with deep water access. Points with some form of cover vegetation, brush, stumps, gravel, or chunk rock are generally more attractive than bald points.

Pointed techniques: Points are the most popular forms of structure because they are easiest to find and can be fished with any lure & technique which makes them the most pressured.

[dhami013]

Thanks for the feedback Catt.

[Crestliner2008]

If you can get your hands on the book, "Spoonplugging", by Elwood "Buck" Perry, you'll find out all about points, humps and structures of all kinds. No one else has defined it as perfectly as he does, with the whys and wherefores included.

[WRB]

On highly pressured lakes the direction you approach a point can be critical.

Bass get conditioned to boat traffic approaching a point from the deeper water, stopping and start casting towards the bank. The bass may simply swim out under the boat and suspend waiting for the boat to leave. Under these conditions it can be better to approach the point like you are walking along the bank quitely and casting parallel, then fan casting out into deeper water. You can cover the entire point as you work out into deeper water and return on the opposite side of the point.

A major point is a main lake point that intersects the river channel in a man made lake and will usually hold some bass year around.

Tom

[Nitrofreak]

Specifically?

They hold fish, period.

As catt was stating in his post and the rest of the posts as well, There are many ways to fish a point, for me it depends on the time of year as to how I will approach a point.

During the warmer summer months with heavy boat traffic I will move in close to the bank and fish back toward the shoreline, During winter months just the opposite.

There is one spot in particular at the lake you fished across from the power plant the creek channel runs really close to the entrance of Sturgeons creek and it goes from 10 feet to 40 feet in the blink of an eye, But there is also a shelf there that is about 20 feet deep IF you know where to look for it.

There are fish there year around.

How do you eliminate a certain point?

Fish it and see what you catch or dont catch, never pass up an oppertunity, I will generally give them a dozen or two casts with whatever baits, usually search baits first and then that determins how slow I fish after that and with what bait.

During the time before the spawn I will usually concentrate on primary points with deep water access, these are usually Feb,Mar,Apr,as the months progress late Mar,through Apr,and into May it's primary and secondary points,during the post spawn I look for points that have flats that lead to drop-offs or deeper water access.

The rest of the year since my lake has a lot of boat traffic, deep structure and cover until late this month as the boat traffic lessens then I will start to move back to the secondary and primary points with flats as they start to prep for the long winter.