Understanding structure and cover to find fish including beaches, estuaries, freshwater, bays and offshore. THE BEACH The beach holds so many options and so much potential if you know how to make the most of it. Constant waves, swell, changing tides and wind results in constantly shifting
BRISBANE
Sean Thompson
So much is written about the best times, tides, tackle, baits, lures and more to find fish consistently. All of these factors are important. But probably the number one reason for a fish to be in an area is the presence of a combination of structure and cover. In the absence of any underwater structure, fish may travel through an area but will generally keep moving in the search of food or cover or both. While many anglers may be familiar with the terms structure and cover, it is fair to say that they are often incorrectly used interchangeably. Furthermore, it is one thing for an angler to recognise the terms, but another to also understand why and when fish utilise these features. This ability is probably one of THE key ingredients in the make-up of the most successful anglers. STRUCTURE AND COVER So, what is meant by the terms structure and cover? In fishing terms, structure can best be described as the physical features of the bottom and outer limits (shoreline) of a body of water. This structure may have been formed naturally, e.g. currents scouring out a drain over soft sand on the estuary
weeks of strong onshore or sea breezes, heavier waves and swells develop, causing new deeper formations close to the shore as the swell pounds out and removes sand close to shore. On the other hand, calmer land breezes (or offshore winds) have the effect of flattening the swell
Flathead are perfect targets in estuary structure, such as muddy sand flats interspersed with weed. flats, or artificial e.g. a dredge digging out a deeper entrance to a river entrance after it has become silted up. Structure provides a couple of key uses for fish. This includes attracting baitfish (e.g. to hold position in a beach gutter close to shore); as a place to hold position out of the main current; or as an ambush point to attack their prey. Fish also use structure like an underwater roadmap to move around in, e.g.
to move along in a long beach channel. Cover on the other hand is anything that fish can use
Steeply shelving shore-based structure that drops into darker green water is a great spot to target fish like tailor, salmon (down south) and even mulloway.
Structure, such as this long beach gutter on Fraser Island, with two exit points (rips) to deeper water is a perfect location to target fish like tailor.
My sounder’s contour map showing a steep shelving bottom on the left (close contour lines) and two deep holes (close circles).
A close up of the close contour lines, indicating a ledge that has produced fish such as cod, sweetlip and parrotfish. 8
JUNE 2022
sands back towards the shore filling in the structure of those churned out sand formations. For beach anglers, the main formations caused by these shifting sands under the water are gutters, holes, channels and spits. These beach formations are best spotted from an elevated
to take refuge or hide under or around e.g. underwater snags. Cover can also be used by predators such as flathead, mangrove jack and barramundi to hide in or under to ambush their prey. Cover can be either natural features like seagrass, fallen timber, lily pads or rocks or man-made such as dam walls, bridge pylons, wharves and jetties, pontoons and marinas and breakwalls. Artificial cover often provides a dual benefit to the fish, i.e. a place to conserve energy and sit out of the current while also using it as a position to feed on the titbits swept past in the current. TYPES OF STUCTURE AND COVER With that distinction out of the way, let’s now consider some of these features in various waterways
level, either from viewing platforms or dunes above the beach. Basically, you are looking for changes in structure (in this case, the sand bottom) which is obvious by the colour of the water and wave behaviour. Darker water means deeper water scoured out of the sand. Steeply shelving sand into darker water is also a sure sign of deeper water close to the beach. Waves which break offshore before reforming and don’t break until they get closer to shore is a giveaway of the type of bottom structure. Firstly, the waves are breaking over a back shallower sandbank and then reforming and not
Cover in the form of a boat ramp pontoon. Note the rippled water on the windward side, which would be where fish are holding. sands which form the bottom structure of the formations closest to the shore. After several days or
and seas out. Longer periods of land breezes will bring bait in close to shore and will gradually start shifting
breaking over darker deeper water. They break again as the underwater sand shelves up to shallow water.
