Terminology Question

[Guest Buck Creek Mike]

I was reading a report from another site that said to try "roll off gravel points". Can anyone give me an explanation of this? My guess is it would be where a rockslide comes in on a bluff end? Probably not, but that would be my guess.

[TroutRinger]

That's a new one to me. Your guess was pretty similar to my initial reaction.

[Guest csfishinfool]

I always defined a gravel roll off as a sloping underwater hill, that eventually falls off into the channel. But these roll offs are not underwater water bluffs. More like a steady decline into deeper water.

[powerdive]

The definition is in this post, courtesy of guide Bill Babler:

http://ozarkanglers.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=28609

In essence: long, gently sloping underwater points, usually associated with moderate pea gravel shorelines. "Runout" would be the long point structure itself, "rolloff" would be where it starts to drop into deeper water (gravel usually has a less severe drop than chunk or slab rock). At least that's my understanding.

[Jeremy Rasnick]

I think it is a term that people say when they dont' wan't you to figure it out. I've been catching them on gravel roll off point channel swing backbone humps near pole timber. Its pretty isolated right now : )

[Stump bumper]

If you look on the shore for gravel you will see points extending out, usually on the opposite side of the lake then then bluffs. I guess a different term would be pea gravel covered points. By watching the shore line it is a good predictor of what is going on under the water. Those gravel points make natural ambush areas since the fish can hide on the deep side and wait for bait to come over the top and they will move in and out on those points with water temps and bait movements.

I hope someone comes along that can explain this better, if I was on the lake pointing to the shore and depth finder I would have no trouble, but it is hard to paint a word picture.

[powerdive]

Jeremy, my favorite is "bluff ends." It's self-explanatory, I guess, but around here you've got a bluff end about every 50 feet. Without bass eyes, I just don't see the attraction of those places.

[Kevin Wagner]

I think it is a term that people say when they dont' wan't you to figure it out. I've been catching them on gravel roll off point channel swing backbone humps near pole timber. Its pretty isolated right now : )

Now that is funny!

[rps]

You've gotten some great answers. Don't know that what I say will help, but try this.

Look at the hills and pastures around here. Some hill sides extend forever. Others slope down for a while and then abruptly end with a drop down. Others are kind of bordered by a creek and that side is is steeper. The abrupt end of the slope and the steep fall off on the creek side are roll offs. Where the flat point rolls off to deeper water at the depth the fish are hanging is what you want, especially if you can find one with an additional something like a sunken lay down.

On my end of the lake, that means I run out on a flat point and see if it keeps going or falls into the channel of the White or Roaring River or into Owl or Rock Creek. I have a small mental list of roll offs at different depths for these points and fish the one that the current lake depth puts the roll off in the target depth zone.

Have I made this thread clear as mud? Good. I'll quit now.

[junkman]

might be one of those whachamacallit's that someone tried to give a name for they had no idea what else to call it. Or maybe it is that Ozark lingo.