Adding Structure to the Equation
By Jon Mitzel

It’s as common as a sunrise each morning that fish relate to structure. Structure offers several features to fish like safety, food, and the ability to ambush prey. It’s a fact that fish simply relate to structure.

There’s a small lake in western North Dakota that contains bass, crappies and trout but offers little structure like standing weeds or trees. On the other hand the lake offers bottom structure like an old creek channel, drop-offs and points. There is, however, a large submerged tree still standing in a deep portion of the lake. And every time we fish the lake that’s where we start. Crappies are always just milling around the submerged tree and if you drill your hold in just the right spot you can fish in open pockets of the tree where those crappies congregate. It’s the structure that attracts them to that location.

It can be difficult to locate pieces of structure like that during the winter months. A submerged tree is about all you’ll be able to find if you’re lucky. Most weeds, once the ice has formed, will fall and cover the bottom leaving no standing structure. So fishermen are forced to fish other structural areas like points, islands or humps, drop-offs or break-lines and more. Rarely do we get a chance to fish standing structure that fish seek heavily.

As many things change so has the old ways of fishing bottom contours. Now, there are artificial pieces of structure that drop down a hole creating instant structure right where you decide to fish.

These artificial structure pieces are available in a leafy, green foliage that looks natural and attracts fish. There are actually three different underwater structure products available. One piece, Camera Cable Structure attaches easily to your underwater camera offering you structure while you have your camera cable down the hole. It only makes sense to add structure to the camera; you’ll simply attract more fish.

Other products such as Structure on a String and Clip on Structure offer stand alone three foot pieces of leafy foliage and have a 40 foot weighted cord and an ice free float making it easy to simply drop down the hole. The Clip on Structure offers the same three feet of foliage and is designed for open water fishing.

Just by putting a structure piece down a hole you’ll begin attracting fish. However, by using more than one piece creating more underwater artificial structure you’ll easily entice more fish to your area. Having more fish underneath your icehouse increases your chances of catching more fish.

Seems like there’s always something new in the fishing world as is this fine product. You’ll quickly see more perch, bluegill and crappies attracted by the artificial structure and catch more fish. It sounds simple, and is simple.

Adding underwater structure to your area will increase numbers of fish around you and enable you to pull more through the ice. These underwater structure products work and are easy to use. The ice fishing world is constantly changing with new and better technology involved in the sport. And this product is a great example of how technology is changing…for the better!!

For more information on underwater structure products contact LaDredge Outdoors at (715) 297-0278 or visit their website at www.ladredge.com for great photos and information.

Dakota Country editor Jon Mitzel on Reel Weeds™

"Structure offers several features to fish like safety, food, and the ability to ambush prey. It’s a fact that fish simply relate to structure". Read below...