I was reading a FLW article about fishing mainlake bars and really did not understand what one is. Hoping someone here can explain or even show a screen shot of Navionics or Lakemaster that demonstrates what a mainlake bar looks like.

It's a shallow ledge. Imagine a point jutting out in the lake but instead of tapering off, the edges are a 2-3 foot sheer drop.

Like that but if it were underwater

I beg to differ with you KD, but I have always heard the term "bar" associated with sand. As in sand bar. Which to me is a un-vegetated underwater point that tapers off into deeper water.

In tidal water bars are normally exposed at low tide. In rivers and streams sand bars are something a boater must look out for so as not to get stuck on one when the tide is going out.

Like "Sand bass" are called "White bass" up north, a bar may be the same as a saddle. A shallow underwater ridge between islands, or between an island and mainland.

I don't know....

Can you give the link to the article; so we can better understand the exact wording of the write-up.

From the ones I have fish on the TN. River and Ohio River they are silt, shell and sand deposited usually on the bend in the river. They are also called shoals and developed by shale deposits and build up right next to the river channel. Some of these are man made from dredging. All of them are not related to points, as they stand alone and can very well be there one year and gone the next due to flooding. Bars are formed by the current on a river system as the water moves silt, shells and floating debris down the river. This material will begin to hang up on the lip of the channel and continue to build in height and width over time producing a high spot next to the channel. How fast these develop depends on the lay of the contour in that area and the bend in the river producing the power to pile these debris up in one spot.

Good article. I will stick with the same explanation of what a bar is and how they are formed on the TN. River. Although in some of his explanation of a bar it is connected to an island or high ground and extends out toward the channel.

Sand and pea gravel bars that are usually at the mouths of coves on the Tennessee river. They also r on the main river coming off islands and shallow ledges.

Thanks. I thought the article was very interesting as well

A guy on Fork has a bar on his dock, he once gave me a beer when I was fishing around his dock.

There's one on the main lake on Lewisville that I often fish around

Bars are created by the river flow and the shallow ones can change somewhat throughout the years depending on river flows and flooding. You can have multiple bars that parallel each other between the main river ledges and the shoreline or an island. Some are sand, some are gravel and many are a combination of both. They tend to have holes created by current on the downstream side of them. If you find the right bar and it has a shell bed on it you might find the goose that laid that golden egg.
Hope this helps.