Before we talk about what they are, we need to talk about why they're important. If you've read any of my previous blog posts or even any other post about locating fish, you likely came across the terms "primary" and "secondary" points. Points are important for a number of reasons. First, they tend to hold a large congregations of fish. This is because points have direct access to deep water, shallow water, shorelines, and often coves or creek mouths. All of which can be hotspots for fish. The second, and arguably more important reason, is that this is where the shad build-up happens. Predatory fish like bass, walleye, and crappie will push shad up shallow, forcing them to have no other outlet. We see this happen the most during fall and late spring (post spawn). In fall, they're bulking up for the winter. In late spring, the shad spawn happens in really shallow water. During these times, it's best to fish these points with fast moving, shad imitation baits, like jerk baits and crank baits. So, now that we've learned why they're important, lets dive into what primary and secondary points actually are.
Primary Points
Primary Points are going to be the first set of points that are right off the main lake. Since these points are directly off the main lake, they tend to experience more wind, which makes fish more active. When specifically fishing off points, you'll always want to start here. Most lakes have tons of these so finding the right one can sometimes be difficult. There are two things to look for when finding a good primary point. It's either going to have a steep drop-off directly out from it, or one that's nearly completely flat, also just simply called "the flats". Just about any species can be found on either, you just have to know what to throw. The flats make it easy to push bait up shallow. When you have a deep drop-off, there's lots of room for fish to be deep or shallow, which can add to the number of fish off that point. Below is a picture showing the difference between the two. Red circles show primary points, and the blue circles show secondary points.
Secondary Points
As you just read, secondary points are the blue circled points above. They're the points that run further back into a cove or creek mouth. These points are also good, but for different reasons. One being that these points will typically be the first place post-spawning fish will go. Mostly all fish species will spawn up shallow. Walleye choose shallow rocky areas, while bass and crappie will choose grass, mud, and fallen timber to spawn around. Lots (but not all) of fish will run back into coves and creek mouths to spawn. Once the spawn is over, secondary points will be their first place they go before eventually reaching primary points and/or open water. Think of secondary points as a truck stop in that regard.
Another reason secondary points are good is pressure. Since primary points are 99% of anglers first casts when fishing a specific channel, they can sometimes be over-fished, or in some cases, just crowded. Secondary points are good for when there's just too much pressure at the primary points.
Here's the same picture as shown above, only with depth lines instead. The darker the shades are off the points, the steeper the drop-off. All 5 of these points circled would be great places to make a few cast!
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