Koz

My last bass was a one pound dink on Saturday. Today (12/31) I gave it one last shot to meet my goal for the year of a 7 pounder but only managed a 2 pound crappie. There's always next year.

Not lately. We've had daytime temps in the 60's and low temps at night in the mid 50's and the bank fishing has still been lousy. I fished a few hours on Saturday and a few more today and caught one dink bass and a 2 pound crappie. Those were the only bites I got those days. I'm going to take the next 3 or 4 weeks off from fishing. The pre-spawn down here usually starts late February but with the mild winter I'll give it a go a few weeks early this year.

I thought it was funny because for me it was so unexpected. As far as Ike goes, I love his passion for the sport. Some of his stuff is over the top and I could do without the swearing but I love his excitement.

https://twitter.com/mike_Iaconelli/status/1078103404524826624

I think there's a lot of skill and some luck involved no matter if you're fishing from the bank or a boat. It's one thing to do well fishing a pond or lake that you know, but it's another when you can go to new bodies of water, break down the situation, and catch a ton of fish that day. Another thing is that if you're using a boat you have a TON of choices to fish and that can cause issues as well. How many times have we seen a pro angler on MLF get skunked for a round or two because they have so many choices yet choose the wrong one? Meanwhile, another pro bags 15 pounds of bass during that same round. Side note: Yes, I'm posting on Christmas morning. Now that my son is a teenager he'd rather sleep on extra hour or two than get up early and open gifts.

That's the thing about the areas I fish - there are plenty of areas along the bank that have heavy grassy vegetation or woody vegetation that are technically fishable but I choose not to fish them because of the danger they present. I don't want to get ambushed by an alligator either hiding in the grassy vegetation or using that cover to stalk prey. Likewise, I stay away from heavy woody vegetation (i.e. dense saplings and occasional bigger trees) because if I wedge myself in there I might not be able to escape quick enough. That's too bad, because I'm sure some of these areas would be productive. Also, many of these lagoons are in residential communities that do not allow kayaks or other watercraft so I can't access them from the water either. Again, for those following this thread my original post wasn't a complaint or lamenting that one was harder or easier than other. It just struck me that the ways anglers fish boat and banks is completely different. But my my personal takeaway from this is instead of bombing casts either along the shore or in open water to cover a lot of water may not be productive. Instead I plan to start with shorter fan casting and work my way out.

I'm not complaining. Plus, I get a ton of exercise bank fishing. MY point is that it really struck me how bank fishing versus boat fishing is so different it makes it almost like two different sports sort of like baseball and cricket. If I was younger and not a full time single parent I'd probably buy a kayak. But at my age I'm honestly too scared to be that low in the water with the abundance of alligators we have down here. We have a few places like that here. That's when we load up our bikes and ride those the rest of the way. The only issue with that is I have yet to get a cart or trailer for my bike. Carrying the tackle bag and one rod combo is no big deal, but I'd like to be able to bring more than two bottles of water in with me especially on those hot days.

I was watching a repeat of MLF on Discovery Channel this morning and it suddenly dawned on me how completely different fishing from a boat is than bank fishing. I mean really different. Take lure presentation and working the bait, for example. There are a lot more things you can do standing on the boat above the water than you can on the bank. Granted, if I was 6'4" instead of 5'8" that would be a help as well. Then there are things like covering water. Obviously you can cover a lot more water by boat than walking along the bank. But lets take any given 150 foot stretch of shoreline. I cast 150 feet down the shore and hook up with a fish almost immediately. While reeling that fish in chances are I scare away every fish that was between me and my cast. On a boat, you work your way down that shoreline and have the opportunity to pick off those other 3, 4, or 5 or more fish along that same stretch of bank. I can tell you this - for now on when fishing parallel to the shoreline I'm going to work out instead of making multiple long casts. Then there's that 150 foot cast. By the time I make that cast and work it back, the guy on the boat can make 4 or 5 casts. On a boat there are also better angles to fish rocks, stumps, or fallen trees. Fishing from the bank also means minimizing movement so vibrations from walking don't scare off the bass or the baitfish. And of course, fishing from the bank there's almost no chance to cover deeper water when the bass are out of the shallows. We also can't see a lot of what's going on under the water be it vegetation, schooling fish or bait, or most structure - even with polarized glasses. And don't get me started about the advantages of electronics. On this board I see guys saying they catch 50+ bass in a day and unless I'm fishing a dink pond there's no way I'll come close to that. Of course, I only fish for 2 or 3 hours at a time and if I come out with 8-10 fish that's a pretty good day for me. Don't get me wrong - I do OK fishing the banks and I catch enough 5-6 pounders to keep me happy. But frankly, with the limitations of bank fishing it's almost a miracle to stumble upon fish that big when fishing from the bank. I'm beginning to realize that the chances of catching anything bigger than that are really, really slim at best. That won't deter me from trying. But those of use beating the banks day after day are at a real disadvantage. By the way, I'm not saying boat fishing is easier. There are challenges there as well. Heck, it's an art form to control the boat and fish at the same time. It's also a heck of a lot more expensive. Boat fishing just offers so much more in the way of opportunity. So, all you boat guys - take pity on us bank beaters. We're doing the best we can under the circumstances ?

March and into April is the best time to fish in eastern SC.

I like to take a soft bait like a frog, toss it onto the front of the rip rap, then slowly work it so it drops into the water fairly gently. Enough to make a ripple, but not a thud. I do the same thing with short grass on steep banks.

I used to wear my Gamecocks cap, BPS cap, or my Yankees cap but by the end of they were drenched in sweat. I switched over to a Huk Kryptek stretch cap and it breathes much better than my other ballcaps. I also started using a gaiter more often than not. I'd like to switch to a wide brimmed outdoor hat but I haven't yet found one that I like.

I'm lucky enough that I still fish with my son and my dad, so my choice would be Mike Iaconelli. If you saw my post from last night on Ike Live I asked him and Pete for their alligator stories. Pete responded and Ike asked for one of mine. He thought it was crazy to bank fish with alligators, so I'd like to get him out there with us just to hear him scream about something other than catching a bass. Aside from that, my son is in the moody teen stage. I'd like to fish with someone who's still passionate about fishing.

I just saw that Dick's has two of the Plano A-Series back packs on sale for $39.99 each. Each backpack also comes with 5 Plano 3600 Stowaway utility boxes making these pretty good deals. https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/plano-a-series-fishing-backpack-16plousrstcklbckptbx/16plousrstcklbckptbx https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/plano-a-series-2-0-tackle-backpack-18plousrs20tcklbctbx/18plousrs20tcklbctbx **UPDATE** Dick's sent me a $10 cash card the other day and I decided to use it on the Plano A-Series 2.0 Backpack (the second link above). It seems to be well made and the main zipper is heavy duty. Four Plano boxes fit inside and the fifth fits in the pouch on the bag. Again, it came with the Plano boxes so the sale price of $39.99 (regular price $79.99) plus the $10 Dick's gave me made it a great deal. The side pouches are large enough to hold my scale, iBobber, and tools. There is a vented zip pouch above the Plano boxes that can hold a decent amount of bagged soft plastic baits. I loaded all of the Plano's and my other gear and tried it on and it seems fairly well balanced. The shoulder straps have that cross strap that clips across your chest and prevents the shoulder straps from sliding off of your shoulders. Anyway, it seems decent. I'll know more after using it this weekend.

Fishing Planet?

I'm in a similar situation as we have thousands of lagoons in all sizes within a 30 minute drive. Lagoons are the predominant stormwater control measure here so there's no shortage of them. The first tool I use to determine where to go is Google Earth (not Google Maps - the desktop Google Earth). 1. Google Earth allows me to look for access points and areas that I can fish. Since I bank fish I need to see if there are places to access the bank. Many of the lagoons have houses around them and I never encroach upon someone's yard. Other lagoons are surrounded by dense vegetation making them impossible to fish. In most of the country dense vegetation because you can find a place to squeeze in here or there to fish. Down here we have some aggressive alligators and I never fish in an area that I cannot get out of quickly. Also, gators like to hang out in bogs in the woods, not just in open water. 2. Using Google Earth lets me know how close I can park to the lagoon or if I will need to park elsewhere and ride my bike to the fishing location. 3. Not only can I set map pins in Google Earth, but I can also add extensive notes to each marker. The map pins also help me keep track of the lagoons I have visited. I can also color code the markers to remind me of where I found good fishing, where the fishing was poor, where I want to go in the future, and where I never want to fish again. 4. Some of the satellite images do show what looks like vegetation in the water, but that;s not always reliable. For example, a few lagoons in one of our state parks show some vegetation on the satellite image, although you can't tell if it's algae or lily pads (it was lily pads). If your fishing larger bodies of water you can see where the docks are located. 5. You can also use historic satellite imagery to see how long the ponds / lagoons have been around. In your area that may not be an issue. But as I mentioned here, most of our ponds are stormwater retention ponds and new ones pop up all of the time. I choose not to fish any lagoons that aren't at least 8-10 years old. Anyway, that's how I determine the lagoons that I want to try next. Accessibility is my primary issue and Google Earth helps with that. Still, if I'm in the vicinity of one on my list I may stop by and look for access points in person. Last month I stopped by one surrounded by dense woody vegetation and managed to get in a few casts through a small opening and landed a 2+ pounder. It was just too much of a pain to fish. Too bad, because it's been surrounded by dense vegetation for a decade and I bet almost no one fishes there.

I haven't tried Zatarains creole seasoning but a lot of the other stuff is good. I was GM of a Marriott in Lafayette, LA a long time ago and both Tony Chachere's and Mcilhenny's were two of our top clients and they provided my team and I lots of free samples and merchandise. Since then I've been loyal to those brands. Even after I moved I'd buy Tony's by the case. Give it a try sometime.

One of my favorite seasonings for fresh fish is Tony Chachere's Original Creole. It's also great on beef, chicken, and eggs. https://www.tonychachere.com/Original-Creole-Seasoning-Multi-Pack-P1268.aspx

That reminds me of a conversation that I had with my 12 year old son this past year. He caught a bass just under 6 pounds and after congratulating him I told him that many anglers fish their entire life and never catch a bass that big. I then jokingly reminded him that his fish might be the biggest that HE catches in his entire life!

My fishing goal this year was to catch a bass of more than 7 pounds. With just a few weeks left to go in the season I topped out this year at 6.8 pounds so it looks like my goal will be the same for next year. If I have to pick another goal I guess it would be to fish slower when the situation calls for it. I almost exclusively bank fish and have access to hundreds of lagoons in my main fishing area alone keep moving and cover ground if nothing is biting. I need to bring a chair, sit down and slow my pace.

Most winter days here are in the 40's and low 50's, windy, cloudy, and damp. It's definitely not the worst weather, but being acclimated to the south it feels miserable. And year after year the fishing in November, December, and part of January is terrible. The bait fish and the bass move off to deeper parts of the lagoons out of reach of casting from the bank. But by the last week of January it's game on and it seems like every other cast brings in 3 pounders. I can't wait for that to start up again. That being said, I'll probably go out and fish a few hours each weekend. My goal for 2018 was to catch one over 7 pounds but the best I have managed is 6.8 pounds. Maybe I'll get lucky before the year ends.

I started using baitcasters last year and I've always had 30 or 50 pound braid on my baitcasters. But this fall I was doing some fishing at some clear water lagoons and switched to fluoro instead and what I have found is that compared to braid I really have to crank up the tension knob. While I'm not getting birds nests I have been getting more than occasional loops in the spooled line. All in all I prefer braid on my baitcasters and will stick to mono or fluoro on spinning gear.

Too bad! It has been really, really slow fishing the lagoons around here lately. Fishing from the bank I have been unable to locate the baitfish lately. No minnows or shad near shore and no boils of shad out in the further reaches of the lagoons. But that's normal for this time of year around here. But by the end of January it's game on again. Hopefully you get to try the area again in the early spring.

I agree with Catt but the OP still has a legitimate question. And while you can catch a big bass on any sized bait in general bigger baits (especially BIG baits) are a good way to target bigger bass. The trade off is that if you're fishing a really big swimbait you had better be prepared to be patient - really, really patient - in not getting a bite in a day, or two, or more. Personally, I can't do that. I have a few 5 inch swimbaits and just bought a few bigger S-Wavers (thanks Bait Monkey!) but I can't sit there and throw them all day long. So my compromise is using a big jig and a trailer. I haven't caught a DD on one yet, but I had my fair share of 5 and 6 pounders this season. If I throw it enough - in the right location - I'm confident that it will happen.

I did not want to spend a lot on my first baitcaster and bought a Lew's American Hero combo and it was and still is a good reel for the price. That reel is still in my arsenal, but I gave the rod to my son for his new reel. Last week he spent some of his hard earned summer chores money on a new BPS Formula Limited reel that he got for $50. I haven't tried his reel yet, but he was using my American Hero and he said the BPS reel is much smoother than the AH. FWIW, he just became a teenager and is in that moody stage where everything - including fishing - is now lame. But after using his new BPS reel he commented that he liked it so much he would have to get back into fishing a lot again.

Dynamite is cheating. Minnows and shiners are bait.