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I fished cypress trees today in dingy water. I got skunked on them. I jigged them, pitched them w/ soft plastics, threw a buzzbait at them, and some other things. Nothing bit me. I had one bite and I believe it was just a trash fish. I was just wondering how to catch fish off of this structure. Any information would be helpful. The water is dirty with some other types of grass and one patch of small lily pads. I used all kinds of things. We saw a good many fish turn and splash, but never caught one of them. Thanks for the time and advice.

Bassmaster,
You fish cypress trees the same as any other tree. Fish completley around the tree and pay special attention to the "knee" area of the trees. Also, these trees have extended root systems, be sure to fish at least 6 to 8 feet out from the tree trunk too. Spinnerbaits, worms and especially jigs are good baits for tree fishing. Try to pattern the trees, are the fish holding close to the kness or roots? Are the fish found on large tees or small? Are there fish where there is a mixture of tree roots and grass or weedes? When you do catch a fish ask yourself the above questions to create a pattern. Follow that pattern. You may need to fish the weeds, lily pads and grass more than the trees. These areas hold some big fish. Good luck my friend, Johnnie

Thanks for the information Johnnie. I will definitely ask myself these questions next time I go to fish this area. Maybe next time I will be more prepared than I was this time. We did fish all of these baits and no bites, so we must have bee doing one little thing wrong that we did not pay close attention too.

Jeremy, I agree with Johnnie about fishing the other structure. I prefer weeds and only fish cypress trees in lakes where that is the only structure. The best advise I can offer is that the fish will tend to rest in the shade so cast parallel with the shadow if the trees aren't too thick and the sun is shining on the water. Our cypress ponds are dark stained water and have little vegetation due to little light penetration. I usually start and stay with a worm with a simple Texas rig when fishing cypress ponds.