New Technology Brings Life To Old Tricks

Pro Perspectives Rick Clunn has found new benefits in brushpiling, as anglers have been able to discover formerly secret honey-holes by using mapping GPS units. He’s found that placing brushpiles in obscure locations is one of the best ways to stay ahead of pressure from other anglers. At the Bassmaster Elite tournament on Table Rock Lake, Edwin Evers scouted for brushpiles after dark. “When the wind subsided and recreational boat traffic disappeared, I was able to follow structure breaks and scout for brushpiles more easily,” he reported. “Moreover, I didn’t have to worry about local anglers or other tournament contestants following me and finding them, as well.” Brian Snowden prefers to build brushpiles from sycamore trees about 15 feet tall and 9 feet wide. “Sycamores are durable and don’t quickly rot away,” he notes. “Their broad branches give bass many places to hide, but you can work a worm or jig through the cover without hanging up too much.”

Shortly after the 2007 season ended for professional anglers of the Bassmaster Elite and FLW Tours, I sat with Rick Clunn, Brian Snowden, Edwin Evers, Tim Horton, and Tommy Martin at Table Rock Lake in Missouri. As we chatted and reminisced about the tournament world, the pros focused on major changes in tournament strategies.

From the perspectives of Clunn and Martin, who’ve plied the tournament trail since the early 1970s, the most important change involves the new GPS chartplotter systems, which integrate electronic maps with GPS data. Martin, who has fished and guided on Toledo Bend Reservoir on the Texas-Louisiana border for four decades, says that, to his dismay, his best spots have become community holes, thanks to these newfangled devices.

Clunn agreed and added that one solution was to place brushpiles to create new hotspots in areas where other anglers would not be quick to find them. From our vantage point at Table Rock, I reminded them that much of the art and science of brushpiling has been honed on the hard-fished waters of the Ozarks.

Brushpile Beginnings

When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers impounded Table Rock Lake in 1958, it flooded the trees on the banks of the White River and its tributaries. To this day, the remains of many flooded trees are evident across the reservoir’s 43,500 acres and 800 miles of shoreline.

Because so many flooded cedars and hardwoods adorn Table Rock’s topography, the notion of adding manmade brushpiles might strike as odd the legions of anglers and guides who regularly fish this reservoir. But legendary guide and early pro angler Charlie Campbell of Forsyth, Missouri, claims he and other guides and anglers began building brushpiles straightaway. “In the early years, we built piles in shallow bays and along shorelines,” Campbell recalls, “primarily so we could find them again. Moreover, beating the bank with spinnerbaits, worms, and crankbaits was the norm, with just a few pioneers probing offshore structure in those days.”

In the late 1970s, Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris, with the assistance of Campbell, instituted an annual midwinter event. Local bass clubs adopted portions of Table Rock and constructed shallow brushpiles from Christmas trees that Bass Pro Shops collected and delivered to the lake. Situated near Springfield and Branson, Missouri, Table Rock’s shoreline soon was developed by exurbanites and vacationers. Along with residential and vacation homes came boat docks, and owners began placing brushpiles in boat slips and at the corners and sides of docks.

Brushpiling Today

During the past 25 years, fishing pressure on Table Rock’s largemouth and spotted bass populations has intensified dramatically. Obvious piles, lying in shallow water and around docks, are constantly bombarded by anglers, making them low-percentage producers.

Coupled with the increased fishing pressure, the crystalline water clarity in lower portions of reservoir cause a large portion of Table Rock’s bass to occupy deepwater locales far off the bank for most of the year. These offshore bass exhibit a pelagic nature, moving significant distances to feed on schools of threadfin shad. But bass stop roaming for a spell if they come across good cover objects on key offshore humps, flats, and points. It’s always been difficult, however, to pinpoint these structures and the pelagic schools of fish.

Eventually, a group of savvy anglers and guides discovered how to make bass fishing on Table Rock’s deep offshore coverts more fruitful by building brushpiles. Brian Snowden of Reed Springs, Missouri, and Tim Sainato of Walnut Shade, Missouri, belong to this group, and both are accomplished guides and tournament anglers.