Once the boat’s hanging back on the open loop formed by the rope tied to both bow-cleats, take a few minutes to determine if its yaw is favorable; then, shut off the motor(s).

I realize that this is a lot to be said about a task that’s often given little thought -- but thinking about it will assuredly lead to greater rewards and less grief. This particular method is predominantly a safety measure, but the entire procedure keeps disturbance to a minimum, and that can have a direct, positive effect on any upcoming action.

And I’ve seen the contrary happen time and time again: An angler will tear up to a structure, high-rev his outboard several times in both forward and reverse while his “podnuh” tries several times to toss a rope around something, eventually bangs the boat against the structure, and finally gets it secured. He and his crew then each make a half-dozen or so casts -- almost always without favorable results. He then fires up the outboard, unties from the platform, and takes off to try another structure.

Believe me: A guy like that will not catch any specks here. Worse, he’ll also make it terribly hard for other anglers to do so, either -- even if they go about the business in exactly the right manner.

Once your boat’s been secured to an offshore structure and its yaw determined to be satisfactory, and after its outboards have been shut down, take a short break to allow even the slightest disturbance you might have made to be forgotten by the fish that could still be around, and, if so, probably quite near. This step is seldom taken, but in effect, it prolongs your stay, and the longer you allow yourself to remain at an offshore structure, the more likely it is that you’ll catch some specks -- assuming, of course, that any are there in the first place.

Never give up on one of these sites without investing at least a half-hour in it! Also, keep an eye on any nearby prospects -- you sure don’t want to waste time around one that somebody like our engine-revving angler above has just left!

Working an offshore structure with jigs is pretty basic. Make your first casts upcurrent, and in a manner that will allow the jig to be retrieved alongside the structure. Let the lure sink to increasing counts until you hit bottom or detect a strike; then, retrieve it slowly with fairly long, easy pumps. If that doesn’t work, flip the jig to the base of the structure just upcurrent of your boat, allow it to sink, and jig it slowly back towards you while retrieving very little line -- and keep the racket to a minimum.

Both at sites like these and around structures in shallower water, a hot bite can suddenly go cold. Several factors can cause this, the most common being that the fish have either been caught to the point that any remaining have quit biting, or you’ve somehow spooked them.