Mapping Humps and Points

[Darryl Morris]

After all the talk about how to make brushpiles and the use of GPS units, I thought I might share how I've learned to locate where to place them.

As we all have heard and read, place brushpiles on points and humps near deeper water of primary and secondary creek channels. Well, that's easy to say. Finding those locations and having confidence that your choice is correct is another story.

Obviously, placing a new brushpile on or near an existing one that you know holds fish is your first and best option. But when you are looking to add to your collection of fishing spots, find those points and humps this way:

When you believe you have found a HUMP, run across it at its middle and throw a marker at an appropriate depth. The hump will rise and then begin to fall again. Throw another marker when you reach to same depth on the other side. Turn around, heading back to the top of the hump and turn 90 degrees. Troll till you find the same depth on the upper end of the hump and throw a marker. Turn 180 degrees and travel the length of the hump until you reach the lower end and throw a marker at the same depth.

You now have 4 markers out pinpointing the outline of the hump, all at the same depth. This will give you a good picture of where it is and what it looks like. Mark your waypoints as desired and place your brush accordingly. The upper and lower ends of the hump provide deeper water on 3 sides of your brushpile and the ones on the side should serve as good transition points with a deep water escape on one side. Depending on how deep the hump is and how fast the deep water drops off, you can place brush on top, middle and bottom for the crappie for all seasons.



A POINT is a bit easier. Good points can be initially identified from landmarks. Run across the point throwing markers at your desired depth. Return to the top of the point and troll between your markers until you find the end of the point and the same depth of water. The 3 markers now outline the point. Place your brush here, where you have deeper water on 3 sides. Make your waypoint and you'll be able to go directly back to it.

I believe that it is sometimes as important to scout the water as it is to fish it. Strategically placing your brush, having confidence in where you have placed them and getting a good mental picture of the water you fish should not only make you more productive but also more adaptable when the fishing gets tough. It can also tell you why the fish are biting in one spot and not in others. Follow that pattern and catch more fish, hopefully.

[Crappie Reaper]

Thank you Darryl! I now have reason to use my other bouys. I usually only use two, but this is a nice, simplistic approach to pinpointing a hump.

[gooch]

Darryl you should have charged us to read that post. Very well written.

If you are looking for some free bee brush close to the water on Hamilton let me know. Dad is going to cut 2 or 3 bradford pears down when the weather cools some. He lives right on the water on 128 between the hatchery and hwy 7 if you are interested.

[Darryl Morris]

Darryl you should have charged us to read that post. Very well written.

If you are looking for some free bee brush close to the water on Hamilton let me know. Dad is going to cut 2 or 3 bradford pears down when the weather cools some. He lives right on the water on 128 between the hatchery and hwy 7 if you are interested.

Absolutely! Call me when he cuts it down and I'll come and get it - 501-844-5418. On the same day or the next would be best. Most of the stuff sinks easier when it's green.

Call me sometime and we'll go fishing. It should be getting better here soon -- I hope!

[Darryl Morris]

Hey Moose, yes it is an example from Lake Hamilton. The depth I worked from was 18-20 foot only because the brush we put down usually comes up 8-10 foot from the bottom. No matter where you want to sink brush, you should only come up about half the water column. Yes, I have a map of Hamilton but it is not detailed. With or without the map, get on the body of water enough and see what's there on your graph. When you find something interesting, investigate it to the point that you become more aware of what's there using the methods I described, whether you drop brush or not. The knowledge will pay off eventually. There are several areas of both Hamilton and Greeson that I now have a complete mental image of the bottom contour and still learning each day.

[slabbandit]

Thanks Darryl, Man that was some awesome reading! We really haven't talked much about scouting out areas to place structure.

I know that I have placed more than one brushpile that after a little more in-depth scouting could have been positioned a lot better.

I'm going to build a few of the new style of condos with the concrete blocks. I think that they will be perfect here on Lake Nimrod as 8 to 10 ft. is normally a good depth to fish.