Can you explain the term “structure”?

    Your success with bass fishing is ultimately determined by where you fish and the care that is taken in the presentation of the bait or lure. Bass tend to love certain submerged structures for hiding cover and for their "home range." The term "bass structure" includes all of the physical features in the water which tend to attract bass. Structures that bass most frequently visit can be put into five basic types.

   The first and most important type is an abrupt change in bottom and shoreline contours. This includes steep-sloping shorelines, drop-offs, flooded creek channels, prominent land points, sunken islands, and just about any variation in the shoreline or bottom. Exactly what fishing spot fits into this category differs, depending on where you’re fishing. Some lakes are great fun with many of the features described above, while others are generally dish-shaped and featureless. In lakes having an abundance of structures, remember that the more time spent fishing these prominent features means you’ll have a better chance for catching bass. On the other hand, in lakes that have a lack of bottom and shoreline structure the bass will swarm to locations where minor changes in the bottom contours occur. An abrupt 2-foot change in the bottom shape in an otherwise featureless lake will often be heavily inhabited by bass.

    Rock armoring or natural deposits, another type of structure, is also frequented by bass. Rock rip-rap that is placed along the face of the dam, on shoreline jetties, and land points to prevent wave erosion provide cover that often attracts and holds bass. Few lakes will have natural rock outcroppings along the shoreline, but in those that do bass are often found in great numbers. Bass frequently utilize submerged wood — trees, stumps and brush — the typical bass structure in man-made lakes and reservoirs.

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