Hard vs. Soft Structure

     In my last post I briefly touched on wind creating soft structure. In this post we are going to dive into the differences between hard versus soft structure and why bass relate to both. Hopefully after reading this you will better have a feel as to why you just got bit where you did instead of just chalking it up to luck.

     Lets first talk about hard structure, the one that most anglers are comfortable fishing. Hard structure, in its simplest definition, is a piece of cover that is concrete, meaning that one could actually hold it in their hand. Some examples of hard structure are laydowns, docks, rocks, brush piles, etc. This list could go on forever. Just keep in mind that if you can hold it your hand, then it is hard structure. Bass use these types of cover not only as an ambush point, but also as a barrier to feed against. Bass, particularly largemouth, are ambush predator's, meaning that they do not prefer to chase their prey around, but instead hide and ambush it as it comes by. Smallmouth and Spotted Bass have been known to be more of open water predators, but they relate to hard cover too. Bass will also push prey up against structure to use it to feed against. Think of the ever popular game, that we have all played, bobbing for apples. Remember how hard it was to bite into an apple that was in the middle of the tub, but once you got it up against the side you could easily bite down? Well hard structure does the same for bass. Not only does it give them something to feed against, but it also cuts down on escape routes for their prey. The challenge is knowing what type of hard cover bass hold on when. This changes daily and that you will have to figure out on your own.

     Ok, now for the brain teaser, soft structure. Soft structure is cover that is abstract, or not able to be held in your hand. Some examples of these are shade lines, choppy water, mud lines created from rough water, etc. These may not sound much like cover, but lets refer back to the hard structure portion where I spoke of providing a barrier to feed against. These examples of soft structure provide the same barrier. Think of this, we have all swam in a pool before and am sure that most of us have put goggles on, gone under, and tried to swim from one end of the pool to the other. Ever notice how hard it is to judge how far someone is away if you can't see the pool wall behind them? This is because there is nothing for your brain to use to gain depth perception. It's the same thing for bass. It's hard for them to judge how far they need to swim to eat something in open water if there is nothing to provide depth perception and those examples of soft cover above do that. A mud line in the water creates and imaginary wall that allows for depth perception and choppy water breaks up the surface providing, you guessed it, an imaginary wall to feed against. Shade lines actually provide more than just the wall, they also allow for bass to see. Bass do not have ultraviolet filters in their eyes, meaning that when it is sunny, they do not see well. So in the grand scheme of things alot of hard structure also provides soft structure at the same time, because it casts shade. I have actually fished lakes surrounded by mountains and have caught bass on topwater plugs out of water over 100 feet deep because the mountains created a shade line. The fish I caught were within inches of this line and would not bite unless I casted into the shade and brought it out. Most bit right on the edge of the shade line with the rest biting just a few inches into the sun. So next time you are on the water, don't be afraid to look past the obvious hard structure and try to focus on things that may have been over looked, like a shade line, you may just be suprised.

Till next time, God bless and tight lines!