A bridge is what? The roadway/walkway, the pilings that support it and some kind of embankment, right?
Yes, indeed.
But, there can be more than initially meets the eye. Consider these points:
Light and darkness
FLW Tour pro John Murray said savvy anglers will also fish the bridge’s shadow line.
“A lot of people miss this point, but the shade line works like another piece of structure, and baitfish will hold along that line,” Murray said. “As the sun angle changes throughout the day, that shade line will also change, so you have to move with it.”
The buildup
Bassmaster Elite Series pro Dennis Tietje knows one of the most overlooked elements of a bridge are the sandbars that often form on the predominant downcurrent side of the pilings.
These are certainly not replacements for the main bridge structure, but these random areas of contour anomalies are sure to host baitfish schools now and then. Where there’s bait, bass will follow.
“These bars are easy to find on your sonar, but you want to start looking 30 to 40 yards out from the bridge,” Tietje said. “Once you find these bars you’ll usually find fish relating to them.”
The old way
Lastly, Tietje pointed out that major bridges on most man-made lakes were typically built over or near the roads that once carried traffic through the valley. Locate these old road beds and you’ll typically find bait and bass relating to the hard bottom.
