Structure
What is structure in fishing?
The shape of the bottom itself: points, humps, channels, ledges and drop-offs. Distinct from cover, which sits on top of it.
Structure at a glance
- Structure is
- The shape of the bottom
- Cover is
- What sits on it
- Found with
- A contour map and sonar
- Best spots
- Structure with cover on it
What counts as structure?
Structure is topography. It is what a contour map shows, and it is what organises fish across a whole lake, because fish move along bottom features the way people move along roads. A creek channel running through a flat, a point extending off a bank, an underwater hump: these are the highways and the intersections.
How is structure different from cover?
The distinction matters because they are found differently. You find structure with a map and sonar; you find cover with your eyes and by feel.
It also changes what each one tells you. Structure says where fish will be over a season; cover says which cast to make once you are there.
Why does structure fishing catch bigger fish?
Big fish relate to structure more than small ones do. Moving from bank fishing to structure fishing is usually the step that changes the average size of what someone catches.
The best structure has cover on it. A rock point is good; a rock point with a brush pile on the end of it is where the fish are. Looking for those overlaps on a map before you leave the house is most of what separates a planned day from a random one.
Look at a contour map before you get to the lake. Points and channel bends near shallow flats are the highest-percentage places to start.
What this means when you’re choosing
- Contour lines bunching together, which is a drop-off, and the places where a creek channel swings close to a bank.
- Overlaps: a point, a hump or a channel bend that also holds wood, rock or grass.
- A way to mark what you find. A spot you cannot return to is a spot you found once.
Structure vs Cover
| Structure | Cover | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The shape of the bottom | Objects sitting on the bottom |
| Examples | Points, humps, channels, ledges | Wood, weed, rock, docks, pads |
| How you find it | Contour map and sonar | Eyes, and feel through the rod |
| What it tells you | Where fish are over a season | Which cast to make right now |
Which to pick: Use structure to decide which part of the lake to fish, then use cover to decide where to cast once you are there. The best spots are where both line up.
The common mistake
Using the two words interchangeably
Anglers say structure when they mean a laydown, and the advice they get back is then about the wrong thing entirely. A laydown is cover. Confusing them matters because it is the difference between reading a map at home and casting at what you can see, and someone who only ever fishes visible cover never finds the offshore spots holding the biggest fish in the lake.
Common questions
What is the difference between structure and cover in fishing?
Structure is the shape of the bottom: points, humps, channels and drop-offs. Cover is the stuff sitting on the bottom: wood, weed, rock and docks. Fish use structure to travel and cover to hide.
How do you find structure without a fish finder?
Use a contour map, which is free for most public water, and read the bank. A point or a bluff above the waterline usually continues underneath it, and bunched contour lines mark a drop-off.
Where this comes up
The guides that use structure and show it on real gear.
Last reviewed . Structure is one of 222 terms in the fishing glossary.