Hi-tech Details for Building and Fishing Bass Habitat

When a wicked cold front wreaks havoc with the bass bite, savvy anglers find that fishing manmade brushpiles can thwart some of these climatic effects that make fish elusive. Knowing the location of several good piles, set on appropriate terrain and at the correct depth, top anglers select lures and presentation styles that enable them to make good catches when others struggle. And when bass feed actively, brushpiles offer opportunities for great catches.

Dion Hibdon, an astute professional angler from Stover, Missouri, claims brushpile fishing is a way of life for many anglers who ply his home waters at Lake of the Ozarks and similar heavily fished impoundments. In addition to deep, offshore brushpiles, many of the numerous floating docks on Lake of the Ozarks are embellished with brush and trees to attract crappie and bass.

Hibdon says sophisticated fishing pressure contributes to brushpiling efforts at Lake of the Ozarks, particularly as anglers have mastered deepwater structure-fishing over the last 20 years. Many top anglers believe it necessary to have a selection of secret coverts to consistently catch larger-than-average bass. As a result, building brushpiles has become an art for local experts. Hibdon notes that all timber was removed from Lake of the Ozarks’ 54,000 acres when it was built in the 1920s. Thus, docks and brushpiles have become important habitat for bass, as well as fishing hotspots.

When asked about brushpile particulars, he points to Marcus Sykora of Osage Beach, Missouri, as the maestro. During the past 10 years, 30-year-old Sykora has built several hundred piles on offshore locales. He constructs a brushpile to create a “spot-on-a-spot,” often placing brush along small ledges on drop-offs that run along the edge of a midlake hump, or adjacent to where a river or creek channel swings by it. Such spots inherently attract bass, but Sykora believes the addition of brush makes them even more attractive. They not only concentrate bass, but provide him with exact locations to aim his casts.

Keys to Creating Brushpiles

Because bass fishing has become so competitive for the region’s numerous tournament anglers, Sykora says the making of brushpiles has become a clandestine affair. During the nastiest days of winter, when not a soul is stirring on this sometimes congested waterway, he furtively deposits his brushpiles. Another advantage to winter brushpiling is that trees are leafless, which makes them less buoyant and easier to place precisely.

If he feels compelled to build some during other seasons, he does it at night. Moreover, some of his best spots are more than 100 yards off the bank, situated in areas not frequently fished. He never plants one around a boat dock, explaining that boat-dock brushpiles aren’t unique or isolated enough and too easy for other anglers to find and exploit.

Beyond his stealthy approach, Sykora works with great precision. When anchoring a tree in 18 to 25 feet of water on a small ledge, for example, he cradles the tree in a rope and slowly lowers it into place, making sure that it’s securely anchored before removing the rope. If it isn’t quite right, he uses his 29-foot pontoon boat to ease it into position.

After the pile is securely placed, he enters its exact location in his GPS. In addition to marking the location electronically, he’s found it wise to also create a waypoint to position his boat. Without such a marker, he notes, it’s more difficult to precisely present a lure at the correct angle—to drop it into the nicest nooks and crannies among the brushpile’s limbs.