Need More Structure in Your Life?

Fishing is one of the life’s greatest stress releases. And one of the best ways to catch a fish is to cast near aquatic structure. Sometimes this structure is visible above water such as stumps or boulders. Other times, it is located with the aid of electronic depth finders. Or maybe you find structure the old fashioned way, by accidentally snagging it. Many Oklahoma lakes mark submerged brush piles with buoys to help curb this.

Around the country, fish structure varies greatly. Perhaps you discovered this while boating and fishing during your summer vacation. Here are a few examples of the range of fish structure:
 

• Docks, piers, or around marinas are common fish holding structures. Always a good, accessible place to start.

• This summer, one angler reported that he found bass relating to temporarily vacant, giant inflatable trampolines floating on one lake. The shade and shape might seem like a big ol’ lily pad!

• On one episode of his fishing show, Jarrett Edwards found a successful pattern where fish were located in areas where tumbleweeds had blown into Lake Powell, AZ and congregated in channels and ditches along the shore.

• Artificial reefs can be found in both saltwater and freshwater. At the Athens Scuba Park in Texas, bluegill and largemouth bass also swim in and around two jets, a bus, and several submerged boats in the 8 acre lake.

What structure do you fish?

Andy Whitcomb

Andy is an outdoor writer (http://www.justkeepreeling.com/) and stressed-out Dad has contributed over 380 blogs to takemefishing.org since 2011. Born in Florida, but raised on banks of Oklahoma farm ponds, he now chases pike, smallmouth bass, and steelhead in Pennsylvania. After earning a B.S. in Zoology from OSU, he worked in fish hatcheries and as a fisheries research technician at OSU, Iowa State, and Michigan State.