SOFT STRUCTURE
s P o A ft T st T ru E ct R ur N e IN ByRus G sMeyer
P
atterning soft structures can be very
intimidating at times. Sometimes its tough
to get it going but other times, if you’re in
the know, you can take the competition by surprise. Here’s what I call soft structures and I
especially on lakes like Lake Shasta or Lake Oroville. That will help you narrow down the volume of point and also be, more than likely, the most productive point during that period.
will address them all in the same order, one at a time; mud lines, stained water, shade lines, thermoclines,
STAINED WATER
springs, wind and tides.
It’s nearly always better than clear water. Except
during sight fishing and even then, stained water
MUD LINES
can have its benefits. Stained water warms up more quickly, so that can give you a better edge on the
Mud lines can be one of the most obvious
guys that are looking for early beds. But beyond bed
patterns to fish. Usually a reaction bait is in order,
fishing, stained water offers so much more than clear
whether it’s a crankbait, spinnerbait or even
water. The fish tend to be less spooky, shallower and
swimbaits. Mud lines seem to always hold fish,
defiantly more aggressive, allowing you to cover more
especially if they are near points, in early spring or
water with reaction baits. It’s also easy to find out
summer, pre or post spawn. If I were running points,
where the stained water is just by making a half dozen
and we had either boat activity or wind causing mud
phone calls around the lake at all the tackle shops
lines, I would try to key in on only the points with mud, before you even leave home. If I were heading to say
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