You’ve been waiting for this, you unload your kayak and head out. You have your favorite baits tied on and you head straight to the bank because that’s what you always do. I refer to it as a “milk run.” But today nobody is home, no bites, no activity. It could be a weather extreme, too hot, too cold but no fish. Now what, quit messing around, let’s get right to the point. 

• Depth Change– It could be in a two acre pond or a sprawling 20,000 acre lake points hold fish.  Depth changes allow the fish to stage in an area that could be holding a food supply and offer relief from the heat, boat / fishing pressure and give them access to an escape route. One of the four basic tenets of the lifestyle of largemouth bass is deep water close by points are perfect for this element of bass behavior. By the nature of a point it puts its inhabitants in close proximity deep water. To bass deep water means a safety security blanket. Smallmouth bass are even more drawn to points because they relate to deep water as largemouth does to objects. Smallmouth love points as do the sub-species spotted Kentucky bass. A point can go from a foot of water to 22 feet of water in a blink and under the best of conditions will hold a giant school of fish. 
• Which is the Best – Because of the wide variety of places you can find a point, there can be certain ones that are the most desirable. A compass reading gives you a clue as to why you can choose a reason and a season to pick which points. In a south wind bait will be pushed to the point, in a north wind and cold front bass will shield themselves on one a side of the point. When barometric pressure changes another advantage bass can abandon a spot quickly when staged on points, this is much more difficult on a long flat. They, the bass, like to minimize the amount of time and water they have to cover to fulfill the other three factors of their lifestyle. Oxygen, food and cover. The correct points have each of these criteria. Points with weeds, submerged wood or rock are potential honey holes. Depth and cover can create a very repeatable pattern on points. 
• On Point Baits – Points are a perfect set up for the three major pattern type baits, crankbaits, spinners and my personal favorite “feel type” baits (jigs, grubs, tubes, worms, and craws). Whether gently sloping points or dramatic drop offs certain baits excel at this kind of very specific bass fishing. Crankbaits can be used but a slow retrieve to a moderate return is important to follow the contour of the specific point, this also allows for the bottom bumping deep diving bait that draws the attention of crawfish hungry bass. Long casts and smaller diameter line are crucial to keep the bait in the zone. Spinnerbaits can be used similarly knowing you are trying to keep the bait in the vicinity of the feeding fish but slow rolling the spinner of the deep water fish is effective too. Many anglers camp out on pint in the dead of winter because the shad stage there, this is where a jigging spoon and a vertical presentation is deadly.  Swimming a curly tail grub, pearl or smoke silver glitter, is another popular choice. My personal favorite is the jig. Scraping the bottom or swimming the bait back jigs are the most likely scenario to fooling an off shore monster residing on the point. The pick-up may be so subtle especially during extremely hot or cold water conditions, it’s almost undetectable or they may bash it like a piñata at a kid’s birthday party. On any points from depths of one to twelve feet don’t be afraid to toss a topwater, a dog walking lure or a buzzbait have produced big bites for me in the dead of summer and in the middle of the day. 
• Don’t Just Parallel Points – Most bass anglers do the same thing when they fishing points.  They paddle or troll up and start casting from the shallow shore portion to the deepest part of the point, this might work but you have options. Think and fish differently than others and you may also connect with a heavyweight bass by casting across the point as opposed to paralleling points. You can pattern a specific depth and move to similar depths on other points and catch several fish on the same body of water. A big plus is structure on a point, largemouth bass will relate to this almost any time of the year. Rock, submerged wood, bottom contours even composition can make a great spot. 

Some of the biggest bass I’ve caught have been pulled off points in lakes and rivers. Look for these places not in times of desperation but as you scout new water, they are found everywhere.  You can find them in any size lake, river or highland impoundments.  Points are overlooked and underutilized hot spots for bass. Get the point?