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Buck Perry on "Structure"
Concepts originator reviews true definition

by Bob McNally

Every serious bass fisherman has heard the word "structure." In fact, the term has become such a vital part of an angler's everyday language, that it's difficult to be part of a fishing conversation anywhere without the word popping up. Fact is, today just about all anglers everywhere know about structure. Trouble is, though, what many modern anglers call structure is not ? at least not by the definition of the man who coined the word over 50 years ago.

This is important because knowing what structure is, how to truly identify it, read it, and then fish it effectively, is the quickest, surest means of consistently putting bass in the boat.

"About a half-century ago when I started using the term 'structure' in fishing everyone knew what I was talking about," says fishing legend Buck Perry, age 84, of Hickory, North Carolina, the man credited with discovering structure fishing. "This was because I explained fully to them by words and by showing them on the water what I meant by the word 'structure.' However, as the word spread and others began to use the term, it became apparent that almost anything seen by these fishermen in a body of water became structure.

"It's pathetic how the word structure has been so distorted since first introduced. Everything is structure to almost everyone! Rocks, stumps, roots, fence posts ? everything is now incorrectly called structure." For point of discussion, says Buck (a retired college physics professor), it's imperative that anglers understand the basics of what a structure is, and the properties of a structure that may hold fish."

Structure is a portion of the bottom that is different from the surrounding area, like bars, humps, creek-channels, riprap, and submerged points of land, according to Buck. A structure fishing situation consists of a structure, breaks, breaklines and deep water. "Breaks" are things on the structure's bottom ? like stumps, rocks, weeds, logs, and bushes. A "breakline" is a line or lines along the structure's bottom where there is a defined increase or decrease in depth, either sudden or gradual ? like the edge of a channel, hole or gully. There are other breaklines, too, like a weedline wall, a brush line, where two bodies of water meet which differ in temperature, color or water current. Deep water to the serious structure fisherman is water with depths greater than 8 or 10 feet.

It's at this point, according to Buck, that a budding bass angler must get a proper mental fix on structure fishing. Buck says anglers must recognize from the beginning that not all good-looking structures harbor bass. But, he explains, never will bass be found that are not related to structure in some manner.

Thus, an angler who learns to recognize a structure, and where and how to fish it on its breaks, breaklines and near its deep water sanctuary, will be far ahead of other fishermen who do not understand such things. Buck is emphatic about the importance of deep water to a structure.

"It must be remembered that deep water is where bass spend the greater part of their time because it is a sanctuary from changing weather and water conditions. Thus, in order for a structure, break or breakline to be consistently productive for mature bass, it must be very close to deep water, or at least, the deepest water in the area being fished. You cannot have schools of large bass if the structure, breaks and breaklines are not connected in some manner to deep water."

Wise fishermen accept the fact that the only escape a bass has from a changing, hostile environment is deep water. The older and bigger a bass gets, the more reluctant it becomes to venture very far from deep water. As a clue to the importance of deep water to big fish, think how often a mature bass hooked in shallow water almost always tries to head to open, deep water during the early stages of a fight. This is because the hooked fish is trying to retreat back to its home ? the sanctuary of deep water. Is it any wonder, then, that a shoreline "stick-up" fisherman catches mostly yearling bass?

Fish in "sanctuaries" frequently are so deep, or in such a dormant or negative mood, that they are almost impossible to catch. This is the time for using live bait, notes Buck, who among close friends is well known as one of the most deadly fishermen who ever tossed a live shiner to a deep bass hole.

"But as anglers, where we are saved from fishing for deep, dormant bass, is that fish don't stay deep or dormant all the time," Buck continues. "Once or twice daily they become active and may move toward the shallows. Moreover, bass do not move or migrate toward shallows in a haphazard manner. They use features of the bottom as 'signposts' in their migrations. I call these 'structure situations'.

"Where bass start from in deep water, how far they migrate toward the shallows, and how long they stay, is dependent upon weather and water conditions at the time of activity.

"As a rule, a shallow-water fisherman had better plan to go to the fish, as most of the time they are not likely to migrate along the structure to him. He should keep in mind the 'home' of bass is somewhere in the deep or deepest water in the area fished; and weather and water conditions seldom are conducive to shallow migrations of bass. This means an angler should not use shallow-water features to determine whether an area is potentially good for fishing. Rather, his key to the potential of an area or structure should be the availability of deep water, or the lack of it."

Buck says the deeper the water, the better the structure potential. Expect a bass sanctuary to be below 20 feet ? if it's available. Further, a savvy fisherman knows the average depth a school of large bass started into the shallows along a structure is 30 to 35 feet ? if such sanctuary depths are available, and they usually are in many reservoirs and large natural lakes and rivers.

Remember, bass must have a visible path of breaks and breaklines on a structure from deep water all the way to the shallows, which is where the bulk of food is available to gamefish. As bass move along a structure they pause or stop at "things" ? breaks and breaklines ? on the bottom. It is at such "things" that anglers can expect to make consistent contact with fish as they migrate along a structure. This is why a certain stump or flooded tree, dock piling or submerged rock consistently produces bass for anglers. Most of the time, such a spot is merely a break or bass stopping point on a structure. Find more such breaks on the structure, or breaklines, or even the deep water sanctuary near the structure, and you'll catch more and bigger bass more often.

There may be many structures, breaks, and breaklines in a body of water. But only a few of them are so well related to deep water that schools of large bass consistently use them. Thus, the search for good, fishable structure can be a quick one, with often much of the work done simply by studying accurate contour maps of the water.

Most bass anglers know fish relate to weed beds, and big catches of largemouths commonly are made from vegetation. This may seem contradictory to many of the structure principles made by Buck, but they're not. In fact, many of the best structures in a lake or river, according to Buck, will have large, fertile weed beds on them that harbor an abundance of minnows, crayfish and other bass forage. But such a weed bed a long distance from deep water, and with no "structure" linking the two, will not be as productive as a weed bed on a structure having breaks and breaklines near the deepest water in the area.

"The weed edge, or weedline, could be considered a stopping point for bass on structure ? if fish migrate that shallow during a particular period," Buck explains. "But regardless how deep weeds go, not all bass move into vegetation. Yet where there is no better sanctuary depth outside the weeds, bass may spend a greater time in weeds on some waters. But not all bass move into weeds when they become active and feeding. In fact, bass on the 'outside' weed edge are ones easiest to catch for me."

Buck can quickly check a weedline and learn if bass are active and feeding. If they aren't active, Buck knows bass are deeper on the structure. Fortunately, he knows where to look for deeper fish on a structure ? breaks and breaklines.

Where structure fishing becomes an exacting science is that the deeper lures are presented, the more precisely they must be fished. Bass in shallow water on a structure are aggressive. So an angler can get by with pretty sloppy lure presentations, and still do well. Fish in deeper water, however, are not as active, and are schooled much more tightly. So lures must be worked right on the money, in exactly the right way, to draw strikes.

In deep water, Buck is insistent that lures must come in contact with the bottom to be most deadly. His famed "Spoonplug" lure is designed to dive to exacting depths and bump bottom no matter how fast it's retrieved. But any crankbait, spoon, jig or plastic worm that touches bottom can be equally as effective. The speed a lure is retrieved is vitally important to elicit a strike response from bass ? especially those generally passive" fish holding in deep water. In cold, clear, and deep water, slow, bottom-bumping retrieves generally produce the most bass on structure. In warm, discolored water, when weather conditions are favorable (stable temperature, slightly overcast), faster retrieves with bottom-contact lures work well. But Buck adds that the above guidelines for lure speed are merely that ? guidelines.

"Take nothing for granted," Buck states flatly. "Never assume bass are shallow, because they may be deep. Never believe they will hit a fast-moving lure, not a slow one. You've got to work an entire structure ? from shallow to deep ? with lures that touch bottom [but do not gouge trenches in it], and at different speeds, to be certain the place has been completely checked. If no fish are found, move on to the next good-looking structure and repeat the process. By checking two or three or more structures in this manner throughout a fishing day it's a good bet an angler sooner or later will hit a school of active, feeding bass. When that happens, you can fill your limit fast, and you gotta work quickly, because a school won't stay on a break or breakline long.

"You gotta catch 'em while they're there ? because you sure can't catch 'em where they ain't. If the action slows, move deeper, or shallower, because the school may have moved a bit on the structure. Sometimes they'll spook a bit, and by speeding the lure retrieve or slowing it down you again can start poppin' bass, cast after cast."

Buck has proved his structure fishing system thousands of times to thousands of anglers throughout America. He once had a doubting outdoor writer on Georgia's Clark Hill Reservoir. Buck found bass on a structure and caught 33 largemouths with 33 consecutive casts. All the fish weighed 3 to 5 pounds ? a pretty good catch by anyone's measure ? and all the proof the doubting scribe needed to change his mind about structure fishing and the skills of Buck Perry.

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