Old dilapidated homesteads inundated during the forming of a reservoir or the changing of a channel on a river have become prime dwelling places for bass.
Bassmaster Elite Series pro Keith Combs frequently targets old building foundations at Falcon Lake, where he notices the foundations are major pieces of bass cover in the Texas reservoir. “A lot of times, foundations will have crumbled- up rock, which is going to attract baitfish,” Combs said. “Probably more so than anything that makes foundations good is that generally they are always isolated because houses were usually built in a clearing and not in the middle of a forest.”
The Texas pro notes bass are drawn to foundations for a couple more reasons. “There is usually a depth change around the house, where the rocks are a little bit higher, and there will be a hard bottom there,” he said. Fellow Elite Series pro Bill Lowen also notices how an old, flooded building attracts bass. “Typically, a foundation is so good because it is a piece of cover that doesn’t have anything else around it,” Lowen said. “It is on a flat or something that used to be a field back in the day that got covered up by water. So it’s always a big plus when you can find a piece of isolated cover like that.”
Finding foundations on unfamiliar waters requires some research and map study, followed by scouting on the lake with your electronics. Combs suggests looking at old county maps to find where houses were before the land was flooded or looking on Google Earth when the lake level is at its lowest point to find foundations. He suggests some foundations are marked on paper maps and electronic charts.
