Take a look at "breaks" in the GD forum. Good thread on what a break line is.highrider26 said:
Tom
Had to run, in and out today. As I mentioned above read the "breaks" post, thats why I started it, it's easier to have a little heads up. Different regions have different terms for fishing or even names for fish, let alone terminology for things like breaklines.
When I was talking about the first breakline, I met the first significant change in the water depth, For example a large spawning flat may stay the same depth for hundreds of yards staying anywhere from 1 to 4 feet deep across the back third of a bay. However if there is a small creek channel that cuts back into the flat area, that would be the first breakline, even though it may only be 1 foot deeper, it has an edge and different soil with maybe gravel or even a few rocks here and there. As you make your way back out of the bay the banks should begin to change slope rate as the bay is about 1/2 way from the main lake, this is also a breakline and most of the time there will be another cove or creek channel entering the bay at this point of slope change, a breakline and one I like to call a primary secondary point, especially if another larger bay in connected to that transition point and forms a Y intersection. All this bottom contour changes are "breaklines", some very slightly and others fall off abruptly like deep channels or ledges and easy to find. Some breaks are just soil changes like a clay bank changing into a gravel or rocky bank, Those types of breaks almost always have a ravine associated with them and are well defined. With good electronics you can watch the grey or color line change density just before a soil change occurs and this is the best method to find soil changes underwater that you can't see above the water line. So sometimes you are looking for an abrupt depth change and sometimes just any change that might hold bass.
Tom
