When you spend 280 days a year on the water, you pick up a few things here and there; these are the finer points of the sport of bass fishing that are attained purely through experience. Here are a few things that might make your next day on the water that much more productive. Tight lines….

  1. Bullet The “Finer Points” of Fishing Points


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.


  1. Bullet Attitude is EVERYTHING!


The sport of bass fishing, whether for recreation or in tournaments, presents anglers with countless variables over which we have no control- wind, water clarity, fishing pressure, or poor weather conditions. That being said, one thing that has helped me TREMENDOUSLY is developing an attitude that is 110% positive. What I mean by that is whenever I encounter a situation that nearly everyone would see as being negative, I try to list at least two good things that will result from it. For instance, if the wind is blowing 20 mph on your favorite fishing spot; yeah, that’s bad for boat control, but at the same time it will keep other fisherman and pleasure boaters out of the area, it stirs up the water column (oxygenating the water, pushing plankton around which keeps the baitfish active which makes the bass more active, AND it helps to position the fish).


See, just by using my knowledge of how both bass and bass fisherman work, I’ve turned a bad situation into a great chance to go out and drill some nice fish. Imagine this as well; you pull up on a new fishing spot that your trying for the first time. The second cast in you get hammered and a 5-pounder comes up, shakes his head and throws your lure. Your first thought is probably not a very positive one. However, your first thought should be, YAHTZEE! Because now you know that (A.) there are fish (and good fish) in the area, (B) they could be quite aggressive, (C) you could already have the right lure tied on, and (D) because of this, you will probably be paying very close attention to your fishing and end up getting “in the zone.” Developing an attitude such as this makes all the difference in the world when it comes to fishing. After all, how many times have you caught a 10-pounder when you were ticked-off and frustrated for some reason? Bottom line, keep it positive no matter what and see how many more fish a good attitude puts on the end of your line.