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Independence, MO —
Points and secondary points are very special to bass fishermen. Points may be small or long and large, but any size will hold fall bass gorging for winter.
Bass know that cold weather is coming and start moving into ambush points about September for easy meals, and they are exceptional predators. Schools of shad move up into shallow water, and bass wait and then pounce. Crawfish around rocky areas seal the deal. Points and secondary points are a great ambush spot for bass and are almost always close to deep water – a security blanket for bass that dive deep for safety when threatened.
Points come in many forms: mud, rocks, timber, boat docks and other places where cover offers safety. Many of these areas may be connected to a point or two. The key is knowing what to look for.
DEPTH FINDER: Some points are visible while others are not. Submerged points are detected by depth finders. For example, you might find a creek channel that passes through grass beds, hits the main river channel and then forms a submerged point. All experts will tell you that this is one of the most productive points. Find such an area and fish it hard with plastic worms and crankbaits.
Many of you do not have the luxury of a depth finder. You are limited to looking for visible points, so let’s break down some of these points and how to fish them.
GRASS POINTS: Grass points are excellent ambush areas that are common in the fall. Bass lie inside the grass line and wait for an unsuspecting baitfish to pass by. Then they savagely hit the shad or small perch rendering it dead or stunned, let it sink and then casually take it.
When a bass hits your crankbaits or topwater, chances are your treble hooks will snag it. But if not let it sit with some soft twitches. Chances are you will soon hook that bass. I fish crankbaits or topwater around grass this time of year. Spinnerbaits are also productive – weedless varieties of course.
TIMBERED POINTS: Throughout fall, timber lines from 3- to 15-foot depths hold bass. You may have to move around catfish or bluegill fishermen who occasionally hook bass with minnows or jigs. I fish crankbaits and spinnerbaits around trees.
Plastic worms are arguably the best fall lures around timber or most other structures. You would be surprised how many bass have been caught from narrow shadows cast by trees on sunny, hot fall days on slowly fished plastic worms.
Points and secondary points are very special to bass fishermen. Points may be small or long and large, but any size will hold fall bass gorging for winter.
Bass know that cold weather is coming and start moving into ambush points about September for easy meals, and they are exceptional predators. Schools of shad move up into shallow water, and bass wait and then pounce. Crawfish around rocky areas seal the deal. Points and secondary points are a great ambush spot for bass and are almost always close to deep water – a security blanket for bass that dive deep for safety when threatened.
Points come in many forms: mud, rocks, timber, boat docks and other places where cover offers safety. Many of these areas may be connected to a point or two. The key is knowing what to look for.
DEPTH FINDER: Some points are visible while others are not. Submerged points are detected by depth finders. For example, you might find a creek channel that passes through grass beds, hits the main river channel and then forms a submerged point. All experts will tell you that this is one of the most productive points. Find such an area and fish it hard with plastic worms and crankbaits.
Many of you do not have the luxury of a depth finder. You are limited to looking for visible points, so let’s break down some of these points and how to fish them.
GRASS POINTS: Grass points are excellent ambush areas that are common in the fall. Bass lie inside the grass line and wait for an unsuspecting baitfish to pass by. Then they savagely hit the shad or small perch rendering it dead or stunned, let it sink and then casually take it.
When a bass hits your crankbaits or topwater, chances are your treble hooks will snag it. But if not let it sit with some soft twitches. Chances are you will soon hook that bass. I fish crankbaits or topwater around grass this time of year. Spinnerbaits are also productive – weedless varieties of course.
TIMBERED POINTS: Throughout fall, timber lines from 3- to 15-foot depths hold bass. You may have to move around catfish or bluegill fishermen who occasionally hook bass with minnows or jigs. I fish crankbaits and spinnerbaits around trees.
Plastic worms are arguably the best fall lures around timber or most other structures. You would be surprised how many bass have been caught from narrow shadows cast by trees on sunny, hot fall days on slowly fished plastic worms.
ROCKY POINTS: Experts claim that rocky points may be the best fall bass holding structure. Shad or crawfish colored crankbaits are extremely effective. Some experts live and die by Tennessee shad colored lures. Most fish along rocks with deep-diving crankbaits.
Make sure you bump the rocks and occasional stumps. Hits often come after the bump, and you might hook a big walleye. I like topwater and spinnerbaits around rocks just after sunrise or just before sunset. Years ago, Bill Odle and I caught 30 bass on black Jitterbugs after the sun set around the first of September.
MUD AND SAND POINTS: You may not find a lot of visible structure on mud or sand points. But chances are there will be submerged logs or rocks. This is another good case for fishing deep running crankbaits.
I have learned many of these tips from some of the nation’s top bass fishing experts and actually doing it. The key, as always, is to let the bass tell you want they want, so look for points, bass certainly do!
