Cypress trees or more correctly, Bald cypress, pronounced “SY pras”, is a cone-bearing tree with pale-green, feathery leaves.  The bald cypress is not a true cypress but belongs to a separate species of trees.( For simplicity sake, and habit, we’ll just call them cypress trees for now.)  It is a large tree, often with a fluted, tapering base.  The roots of the tree produce growths called knees that protrude above the water.  The knees provide air for the roots.

Cypress swamps extend from eastern Texas into the Southern Coastal Plain of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina. They also occur in Arkansas, western Tennessee, southeastern Missouri and as far north as southern Illinois and to southern New Jersey along the Atlantic Coastal Plain.

For the bass fisherman cypress trees offer a year-round bass catching opportunity. But to be proficient in finding bass in a ox-bow lined with cypress trees or a vast flat filled with cypress, you have to understand the anatomy of the tree below the water.  

Most notably is the vast root system of the cypress tree. Cypress “knees” are part of the root system that may protrude above the water line of cypress trees in up to 4 feet of water. These knees vary in height and many small ones are found below the water line also. Cypress knees may extend away from the tree as far as  the  limbs extend outward from the tree and sometimes farther. These outer knees are smaller and less dense than knees close to the tree. Also, small roots split out from the trunk of the tree itself. This root ball, also known as black roots, grow from the water surface down to the bottom of the tree. This black root ball offers an attractive home for small baitfish and crawfish. 

 These living trees offer more options for habitat than dead trees. Insects, small animals, snakes, lizards and other animals live in the above water areas of the tree. These trees offer a lot of things to eat below the water, also. Shad, bream, minnows and other baitfish as well crawfish offer a variety of  food for bass to munch on too.    

The size of the tree is also a factor in determining the fish holding potential of a cypress tree. Small trees are bushy and have limbs in the water. These are good bass habitat during a high water situation, providing cover in the limbs Medium size trees have good size roots systems as well as limbs that may hang low to the water offering shade as well as cover for bass away from the trunk of the tree. Also, the limbs harbor insects and other creatures important to the food chain. Large tree have trunks with large indentations, offering a place for large and small fish to hide. Also these large trees have massive root systems and provide much shade from the large limbs.

Cypress trees offer year-round bass habitat. Spring time means warming water temperatures and movement by bass into shallow water. Also the dark color of the bark of cypress trees make water around trees on the north-west banks warmer than other waters. When the water temperatures approach 60 degrees bass can be found spawning around cypress trees from the slanting bases of large trees to the cypress knees surrounding trees. If it’s spawning season and you can’t find fish directly besides the trunk of the trees, try water several feet from the tree. Start by positioning your boat as far away as possible from the tree and making long casts. Then use a slow steady retrieve all the way back to the boat to locate bass that may be holding on the perimeter of the trees. A Lake Fork Tackle (LFT) Top Dog Lizard or Trophy Tube. Also a Gary Yamamoto Ika or Hula grub rigged with a LFT Mega weight works well around the thick cover of the cypress trees. And, the smaller size of the Mega weight doesn’t hang up as much in the root system of the tree. Also, spinner baits and Rat’L Traps are usually a sure bet to find bass around cypress trees. Casts made closest to the tree and collisions with parts of the tree bring reaction strikes from bass holding in the roots system.

 As spring turns into summer vegetation around the cypress trees becomes important. Usually trees with vegetation offer more bass holding possibilities than trees void of vegetation. Also shad spawn more readily around trees with vegetation as well as other small baitfish. Large cypress trees provide much shade which helps cool the water and this attracts bass and bait. Also vegetation around  cypress trees begins to grow in size and begins producing much needed oxygen. In the early summer I also like to look for trees with branches hanging in the water. These branches hold lots of insects and the small baitfish are always close by. This is a good time to try a floating worm, like a  Lake Fork Tackle 6” twitch worm or a  LFT Magic Shad or a Gary Yamamoto Senko. Also a Smithwick Rogue is always a popular bait around cypress trees. Slow retrieves on top water or steady jerking around the trees is always productive in the early summer time.

In the summer time the position of the cypress tree becomes extremely important. Isolated trees may indicate a hump with deeper water close by. This deeper water could indicate an old creek channel or a drop-off near by. Also, lone cypress trees seem to hold large bass that are usually relating to something different in the area.

Dead cypress trees in a row or with a space in-between them almost always indicates a creek channel with deeper water near by. During the summer time this helps give bass a retreat to deeper, cooler water as well as an escape route and a migration route. Fishermen get the benefit of an easy way to find deeper water, ledges, creek channels and changes in contour by using cypress trees as an indicator of shallow and deep water. Here try using deep diving crank baits, carolina-rigs, and worms. Also try using a wobble head for suspended bass in really hot weather. Make casts as close as possible to the base of big cypress trees near the channel. The slower, the better, when retrieving a wobble head in the scorching heat of summer.

As Fall approaches bass begin to follow shad back up the creek channels of the main lake into the creeks of the lakes. Finding the migration routes is very important since bass use these routes to move from deep to shallow waters in the fall. Bass will herd schools of shad onto the flats and around shallow humps that have close access to deeper water. Finding the deeper water and humps is easier when cypress trees indicate the depth changes in the lake. Cypress trees line the deeper creek channels of lakes showing the deeper areas by their absence. Fishing these shallow areas and flats with deep water near by can be some of the best action of the year. I like using spinner baits, buzz baits, and crank baits to locate bass. Usually this is the time of year when you can find large concentrations of bass stacked up in small area.

Winter time usually means deep water fishing. Fishing the deeper cypress trees in the winter is one of the patterns that is usually productive. Again, locating the drop-offs, ledges and deep water areas becomes easier by understanding the topography of the body of water your fishing. Cypress trees are the indicators of the contour changes that show you were to fish. Try using a pig-n-jig, brush-hog or hula grub to SLOWLY fish the drop offs and bottom cover of the cypress trees. Occasional warmer days may find the bass moving up on the shallow sides of ledges to feed in the cypress knees.

Cypress trees may not hold bass every time you go fishing. But, more often than not cypress trees are great bass habitat year-round.