Titans of Structure

The five fish mostly likely to break you off, and how to keep that from happening.

- George Poveromo

To be successful landing fish around structure, you must stack the deck in your favor. It's not so much about fighting a fish to avert a breakoff as it is understanding how gamefish interact with structure, and tailoring your approach and angling tactics accordingly. You still have to win the fight, of course-but why make it harder on yourself?

Below are five gamefish that are pure hell around structure. The following tactics apply to them and other species with similar fighting characteristics.

SNOOK

If possible, remain mobile when targeting snook around docks and bridges because anchoring limits your ability to quickly counter their moves. Trolling swimming plugs is deadly for pulling big snook out from under bridges and through inlets. But if you stop the boat upon hooking up, a big snook will take you to school, so maintain trolling speed until the fish is muscled away from pilings, groins, boulders and boat traffic. Once out in open water, slow or stop the boat and enjoy the fight.

When trolling along bridges, you generally find snook staged around upcurrent pilings. Turn the boat away from the bridge and into the current while advancing the throttle(s) as soon as you hook up. When trolling down-current sides, use the tide moving in sync with the boat to pull fish away from a bridge.

When pitching jigs or live baits near bridge spans, keep the boat lined up with the target area. Once hooked up, maneuver the boat to maintain a straight pull on a fish while easing into open water. Any deviation, and a fish can angle across a piling or into a groin.