TAKEOFF
BASS SCIENCE
TYPES OF RESERVOIRS
RecoGniZinG diffeRences in fisheRies can lead to BetteR catches By TJ Maglio
america is a nation of reservoirs . according to a 2017 report by the american society of civil engineers , there are an estimated 90,580 dams in the united states that impound more than 600,000 miles of river , stream and creek . these dams range in size from miniscule structures that form farm ponds to nevada ’ s hoover dam , which impounds a staggering 37 cubic kilometers of water and powers thousands of homes and businesses in the West .
Regardless of their size or location in the country , most dams have one thing in common : there ’ s probably a bass or two swimming behind them . however , despite the enormous number of reservoirs out there , there ’ s no official geological classification system for them . so what ’ s a bass angler to do when it comes to figuring out the different types of reservoirs and how to find and catch the bass in them ? in the 1970s , fishing legends al and Ron lindner developed a reservoir classification system that lumped impoundments into broad categories , and added
terms such as “ plateau impoundment ,” “ highland reservoir ” and “ canyon reservoir ” to the bass lexicon . as good as those classifications are , however , there ’ s a bit of variability between the types , and figuring out which category a local reservoir fits into isn ’ t enough to provide tangible help to most anglers . let ’ s look deeper into a few more definitive factors that differ between reservoirs , to explain what those factors are – and how anglers can use that information to catch more bass .
18 fLWfIshInG . com I january 2018