I’ve seen the following question arise numerous, NUMEROUS times on forums and seminars alike and I have found that a large number of people have an interest in expanding their knowledge on the issue…. “How do I approach a point”?
It is an excellent question and one very worthy of an informative answer. I would like to help anyone and everyone who has this question, so (in no particular order) here are some of the KEY concepts I feel are imperative to understand when approaching this type of structure……
– What side is the steepest? (Or if a channel swings by it on one side, which is not too uncommon)
– Where is the sun? (Fish the side opposite the sun, most people neglect to realize that even subtle structure creates shade pockets…think in terms of angles)
– Where is the wind coming from? (Fish the up-wind AND down-wind side.
Most of the time this is just a matter of trial and error and process of elimination. Sometimes the fish will position themselves directly in the current to ambush balls of shad on the up-wind side, or sometimes they will use the side of a point as a current break and wait there for shad to pass over, especially if the point has steep sides. It’s just a matter of determining where they are on a given day).
– Is this a primary or secondary lake point? (Although this should be a ‘given’ in your analysis of the structure, it is a crucial factor to consider when
plotting where to fish and applying it to the seasonal patterns of bass).
– What is the bottom composition? (When referring to the “spot on the spot”, analyzing bottom composition and, more importantly, differences in bottom composition, is crucial in your dissection of ANY structure. If one side of a point is just a sand or silt bottom and there are patches or large expanses of gravel or small rock on the other side of the point, you need to take notice of that and where the fish are in relation to both. Don’t just catch a fish on a point and assume “They’re all over this point”, you’ve GOT to find where the nectar is).
These, I feel, are some of the more critical and in-depth issues that concern point fishing. For some reason, I hardly ever hear of anyone mention these factors when discussing the topic…I don’t know why. I truly hope this helps anyone who is just getting into the world of structure fishing or even seasoned anglers that just want to learn more about one of the most prevalent types of structure we encounter as anglers.
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