When searching for a bite, it can be tempting to troll right up to a fallen tree and make a cast at the base of the tree that is still sticking out of the water.
If this sounds like you, you're not alone - it's something that a lot of us do.
When trolling or paddling up to a laydown it's easy to forget exactly how much of the tree actually sticks out into the water.
By only targeting what can be seen on the surface you may be missing, or spooking, fish that are holding at different parts of a laydown that can't be seen by the naked eye.
An "outside-in" approach, where you fish the outer most parts of a laydown first and then work your way inward, can help you cover more of the laydown.
The only thing required is a bit of imagination and being able to visualize the submerged part of the fallen tree (main stem, protruding branches, etc.).
Using an outside-in approach when fishing laydowns can help you cover the entirety of the laydown (i.e. base and branches) all the while reducing the chances of you spooking fish.
Here's some tips...
Estimate the Size of the Tree
This is particularly important if most of the laydown (trunk, main stem and branches) is submerged.
The easiest way to do this is by finding the base of the tree and taking a guess at the overall size and length.
Just like the 90/10 rule for an iceberg, most laydowns have a lot more going on below the surface than what can be seen from above.
A good pair of polarized sunglasses that cut through the surface glare on the water can help with this.
Smaller trees will be shorter and typically have a less profound limb arrangement whereas an older tree will be longer in length with limbs that span out much further.
With bigger trees, it's safe to assume there is 30 ft., if not more, of the tree submerged and out of sight.
By taking educated guesses and visualizing the submerged portion of the laydown, you allow yourself to target fish holding around both the submerged and visible parts of the laydown.
Gauge the Water Depth
Most laydowns can be found near a shoreline or around flood wash areas.
It's important to gauge the water depth around a laydown to understand how it is positioned in the water.
A laydown on a shoreline that quickly drops off into 10-15 ft. of water is going to lay much more vertically than a laydown that sits in 3 ft. of water near a shallow sloping bank.
By figuring out the water depth around the fallen tree, whether you use sonar or estimate the depth with a bottom fished lure, you ultimately better position yourself for proper lure selection of all parts of the laydown (branches, stem, trunk).
Applying the Outside-In Approach
If you've gauged the size of the laydown and the water depth around it all that is left now is to fish it.
Fishing from the outside-in for a laydown that sticks out into the water typically means targeting the cover in the order of Branches --> Main Stem --> Trunk.
If you guess the tree to slope down into 10 ft. of water maybe you can start fishing the branches with a spinnerbait or a jig that will get you down to that depth with little chance of getting stuck.
Fishing the sloping main stem could be something like fishing a crankbait that dives 5-8 ft. so that you can have a deflection or two on the retrieve and potentially trigger a reaction bite.
Moving to the trunk, you could pick the jig back up or go with a finesse option (dropshot, Neko, Neg rig) to entice a bass bite.
By taking this approach you no longer limit yourself to just fishing a small portion of what may be a much larger laydown than you previously expected.
Plus it may be the ticket to telling you what the fish are doing, what depth they are holding at, what they are feeding on, and if they are indeed hugging to cover instead of structure.
Think back to the above example...
The three most common bait imitations was used to cover the entirety of the laydown described.
There was a baitfish imitation (the spinnerbait and crankbait), a crawfish imitation (the jig), and a worm imitation (finesse rigs).
If you happened to get a bite you should now have a better understanding of the depth fish are holding at and what they are eating for the day.
This puts you that much closer to forming a pattern and truly figuring out the fish for the day.
All because of taking an outside-in approach on a laydown.
Time to go catch 'em!
If you ever have specific questions to topics covered in our articles feel free to reach out!
Connecting with us is easy!
Go to the Home Page
Subscribe so you never miss an article
Respond to the subscriber email with your question
or you can head over to our Contact Us page and send us your question from there.
Comments