ESPN

In any tournament and during any weekend, bass can be caught from a variety of areas and on several patterns.

The most reliable patterns and the biggest fish, however, usually relate to subtle, overlooked areas. Since these spots can be hard to find, they typically receive little pressure from other anglers.

Secondary points — those jutting out from the bank inside coves and bays — are neither subtle nor hard to find, yet they are largely ignored by fishermen during the prime times of spring and fall.

"In spring, bass fishermen have a habit of sticking to the main lake points or the very backs of spawning coves," suggests pro angler Dean Rojas. "They move very fast between those two areas, passing up the secondary points on their way back. That's too bad, because throughout the spawning cycle, fish moving in and out use these points as transition areas."

As bass move between deep water haunts and shallow nesting/feeding areas, they stop along the way at "staging areas," or collection points, where they can rest and await conditions favorable to further movement. Because bass, like big game animals, use the same routes throughout the seasons, the best secondary points hold fish during prespawn and postspawn and again in the fall. They literally become a swinging door between deep water and shallow flats.

Important points

While small coves and creeks may have only one or two secondary points in them, large basins and creeks have a dozen or more points leading back to shallow water. With bass on the move and so many secondary points to search, how does an angler determine which structures have the greatest potential for holding concentrations of staging fish?

"The location of the best secondary points depends on how far along the bass are in their migration," notes Rojas. Once you figure out where they are — on points closest to the main lake, in the backs of coves or somewhere in between — you can put a pattern together and duplicate it elsewhere on the lake.

Although numerous secondary points are found between the mouth and the back of a cove, only a few have the characteristics that will hold good numbers of staging fish.

"I always look for points where a deep channel or ditch runs close by," he explains. "The best point will have the channel sweeping right up against it. Also, I look for a point that has at least one side that has a steep drop or edge."

Points for summer and fall

Texas angler Craig Schuff agrees with Rojas' assessment, and he adds that the better secondary points hold fish throughout most of the year. In summer, Schuff recommends anglers look for secondary points that touch relatively deep water.

A prime example is a secondary point formed by a creek channel swinging up against the bank, or one formed between a submerged oxbow and river channel.

"I have a favorite secondary point that I catch fish on every summer," Schuff notes. "The point separates two creek channels, each going bank to bank beyond the point. A spot like that can be good most of the year, especially when current is present."

In fall, the shallow water starts to cool, drawing hordes of bass and shad into the backs of creeks and coves. During this period, the secondary points at the front of the cove are again used as transition areas during the migration to the shallowest water.

However, the shallower secondary points at the back of a creek are typically used as ambush spots, where the bass herd shad on top of the points.

Some of the most productive secondary points during the fall migration are those created by a simple channel swing. Bass take advantage of shad moving up on the warm, shallow flat of the point. As the creek or cove continues back, becoming almost a bank-to-bank channel, bass will even hold on the smallest points in wait for careless baitfish.

Finding the less obvious

Operating under the principle that less is more, Darryl Burkhardt of Oregon believes that finding less obvious structure is the key to finding numbers of quality fish.

"I believe the best secondary points are going to be the submerged (hidden) ones," confirms Burkhardt. "The greatest thing about these points is that they're overlooked, and so I always try to find them."

The problem is that submerged secondary points are obviously the toughest to find. Burkhardt begins his search with a detailed topographic map of the lake. "If you know how to read your topo map and know the water level of the reservoir," explains Burkhardt, "you can find those underwater points."

After he has identified the most promising hidden points, he uses a ruler to draw lines intersecting features on the bank that should be easily visible once he's on the water. Burkhardt uses the previously identified features to triangulate the general area of the submerged point.

Once in the area, the Oregon angler uses his paper graph sonar to pinpoint the submerged structure. It's important to carefully define the point's features, says Burkhardt, so he motors around the structure looking for a subtle feature such as a rockpile, brushpile or deep edge that will hold a concentration of fish. Then he tries to confirm whether fish are present.

"When prospecting for fish-holding features, I use a split shot or Carolina rig," explains Burkhardt. "These rigs are like a depthfinder on the end of your arm — if you know the fall rate of the weight you're using, you can tell the depth by counting how many seconds it takes to reach bottom. And when you drag a Carolina rig or split shot worm, you can tell when you're pulling it over cover or dropping off a breakline."

Shallow hot spots

On lowland reservoirs, the better secondary points are often completely submerged — making them tough to find. They are typically flat and shallow, which makes them hard to locate with electronics. However, because they are tough to identify, they typically hold good numbers of fish.

"Shallow secondary points located below the waterline are difficult to find if you don't have the right equipment," adds Schuff. "I have found that liquid crystal depthfinders can't pick up the subtle clues to the point's existence." He says a flasher unit allows him to pick up a change as small as 1 foot, which can indicate the presence of a point in a lowland reservoir.

"When I am looking for these shallower secondary points," explains Schuff, "I keep my eye on my flasher at all times. I am usually fishing with a Rat-L-Trap or a spinnerbait in an effort to cover water as quickly as I can. That's the only practical way to find these overlooked structures."

Schuff warns that the key to locating a concentration of fish on these structures is to find that single, subtle feature. One of his favorite fish-holding features is a wash or erosion ditch. He explains that most secondary points have a ditch or wash that provides drainage during low water conditions.

"I have a textbook secondary point that fits this situation," he volunteers. "The point curves a bit and has a wash on one side. At the top of the wash is a stump with its roots exposed. I can fish that entire point and not get a strike — until I cast near that wash. And I almost always find a few fish holding next to that stump."

Follow the advice and lead of these top pro anglers and give secondary points a try. As Oregon's Burkhardt suggests, "Secondary points can be a lot of trouble to find. And it can be even tougher locating that subtle piece of cover that's holding the fish." But the rewards for your efforts are some great fish-holding structure that should produce limits throughout most of the year.

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