Drop-off
Also called break, ledge, breakline
What is a drop-off in a lake?
Where the bottom falls away sharply from shallow to deep. One of the most reliable places to find fish in any water.
A drop-off is an edge, and fish relate to edges. It lets a fish sit in deep water and move up to feed in shallow water without travelling far, which is exactly the arrangement a predator wants. The first significant drop outside a spawning flat holds fish for a large part of the year.
They range from a gradual slope to a vertical ledge along an old river channel. Sharper is generally better, because it concentrates fish into a narrower band.
In post-spawn, larger fish pull out to the first drop-off. In summer, the drop that intersects the thermocline is the one to fish.
From a bank you can find them without electronics. Cast a jig or a bullet weight out, let it hit bottom, and count the drop on each cast as you fan across the area. Where the count suddenly jumps, that is the break.
Fish parallel to a drop-off rather than across it. A cast along the edge keeps the bait in the productive band for the whole retrieve.
Where this comes up
The guides that use drop-off and show it on real gear.
Last reviewed . Drop-off is one of 222 terms in the fishing glossary.