Bank Fishing Forum

[coryn h. fishowl]

coryn h. fishowl, on 27 Oct 2013 - 20:17, said:

It is long overdue my friend.  I'm in the same boat as you.  With the exception that my parents still dictate my fishing times for the next year haha.  How's it feel to now be able to fish at will

 

I didn't get a chance to read all of the posts yet, so someone may have picked this out already but I thought it was funny that you said "in the same boat" while talking about bank fishing! No boats!

 

Unintentional hilarity!

[boostr]

Here in my part of western Washington there is almost no shore access. There's tons of lakes around here but all the shoreline is either private houses or full of thick brush and grasses. It's next to impossible trying to find a spot to stand and cast from. I've been spending my time lately browsing Google maps and making a list of some places to try and check out. Today I finally had a day off where it wasn't raining and I ran by four different lakes.

One of them was a private lake for neighborhood residents. One was so full of blackberry brambles and knee deep mud that it was impossible to get within 30 yards of the lake. Another had good shore access but was closed for fishing year round. Finally I found one spot on the last lake that looks like it could work! To get there I had to fight my way through a couple hundred yards of trees and stickerbushes but it was worth it!

It's a log that's stuck against the thick grass that makes up most of the shoreline. I almost didn't make it there because the lake didn't look promising from a distance but I slogged through the last 20 yards of muck and grass and stumbled right upon it. If I'd have been just a little bit further to either side I think I would have missed it. Here's a picture I took. It's pretty stable but I think I'm gonna leave my phone and backpack in the brush behind me just in case :-D

 

Sometimes you have to do  a little work to find that spot. I've done plenty of bushwhacking to get to a spot. I'm thinking about carrying a machete.

[Grizzn N Bassin]

Ill let them in on some over fished ponds if i kinda know them. But for the most part. Ill tell then about 2 lakes and 1 creek. Thats where theyll,have the best luck. Only bring a few people to my honey holes.

[Grizzn N Bassin]

Sometimes you have to do  a little work to find that spot. I've done plenty of bushwhacking to get to a spot. I'm thinking about carrying a machete.

Im always stomping thru the woods looking for another honey hole. To me thats one of the great things about pond hopping. Great exercise and great fishing = Win Win

[Grizzn N Bassin]

Any of you guys or gals put your own cover into a pond? Ive dropped a few xmas trees in there.

[boostr]

Im always stomping thru the woods looking for another honey hole. To me thats one of the great things about pond hopping. Great exercise and great fishing = Win Win

 

Just watch out for bears and ticks.

 

Any of you guys or gals put your own cover into a pond? Ive dropped a few xmas trees in there.

 

I don't know if its legal here to dump stuff not native to the area ie: the pond or lake I'm fishing on, but if I'm trudging thru the woods going to a honey hole, and there happen to be something substantial laying around and not a pollutant  I'll dump it in there.

[Grizzn N Bassin]

Just watch out for bears and ticks.

 

Last yeat i had one tick on me and fished pretty much everyday. I was suprised but i,do check everyday more than once.

 

I don't know if its legal here to dump stuff not native to the area ie: the pond or lake I'm fishing on, but if I'm trudging thru the woods going to a honey hole, and there happen to be something substantial laying around and not a pollutant  I'll dump it in there.

I dont dump pollutants into,the water. Famik6 freind owns a tree farm i,can,have a few when ever i want and submerge them.dont be throwing garbage in there! And,be sure to check. Most of,the ponds i,fish,are,private or,litterally in the middle,of woods where nobody is going walk or ride a quad to no trails other then mine

.

[SirSnookalot]

If you are saying that you will give away your secret honey-hole, then....CONGRATULATIONS, you have just become eligible for free mental-health counseling. 

You mean to say you don't help people, especially new to the area or just on on vacation?

[Grizzn N Bassin]

You mean to say you don't help people, especially new to the area or just on on vacation?

I wouldnt give me sercert honey holes, id,tell them of,local,spots on the river or creek. No way im telling them about the one,spot i weeded out of hours and hours of time spent to find it , walk to it and determine if its good or not. The creek i  tell them about is a great small mouth fishery. 

[bigbill]

My favorite fishing spots and lure training ground is fishing from the roads were man made dams were built over 200 years ago for water power. It's like standing up in a boat I have a view of the whole place. I wear polarized glasses so I see the short strike flashes behind my lures. I love testing new patterns with different lures. Seeing the weeds and the submerged pockets is we're I stop my cranks and do a river dance with my rod tip to call the bass up for din-din. This is how I seen the hogs hit my lure and go deep in the weeds. I lost a few new state records this way too along with some lures. Sometimes my long casts are my downfall with losses. But now my rod setups are longer and stronger plus my line test for topwater lures is stronger too. I should be able to turn there heads much faster and stronger now.

I have learned through the last decade+ fishing from shore can be successful if we fish it right. Where we cast and how we cast is very important. Most of my smaller places are brush free so I can cast 180 degrees. I cast parallel to the shoreline too. I stay 2 to 3' from shore. My PB of 10# was caught 2' from shore as I casted parallel to the shoreline off a low bridge and brought my lure from the shoreline into the open channel she hit it. I find the channel areas along side the weedlines rock in any body of water.

But it's being stealthy that matters the most, no noise. If you stand still and listen that's all the noise you should hear. My whole trip is libruary/church QUIET. I make no noise walking up to my spot, putting my rods and tackle boxes down. I clear my throat on the way there in the car. I seen a big wake from a big bass going away one morning as I cleared my throat. Make no noise, keep your noise footprint at zero minus. Nada, nothing. Just the birds chirping. In the dark as the sky starts to light up when we do it right we will see freshwater otters first. Then the deer will show up with their fawns to get a drink.

If your quiet you will see wild America at its finest right in your own back yard.

[bigbill]

I wouldnt give me sercert honey holes, id,tell them of,local,spots on the river or creek. No way im telling them about the one,spot i weeded out of hours and,houra of time spent to find it , walk to it and determine if its good or not. And,the creek,i tell then about,is a great small mouth fishery

I made the mistake of taking two of my buddies, so called friends to one of my favorite honey holes now it's crowded.

[coryn h. fishowl]

Sometimes you have to do  a little work to find that spot. I've done plenty of bushwhacking to get to a spot. I'm thinking about carrying a machete.

Did it myself....no and wish I'd done it earlier

[AnglerNo.2112]

Sometimes you have to do  a little work to find that spot. I've done plenty of bushwhacking to get to a spot. I'm thinking about carrying a machete.

 

Next time I go back there I'm bringing a machete with me to help clear a trail.  I just gotta try to hide it on my way from my car to the treeline, the spot I found is right behind a middle school and the last thing I want is an overzealous teacher seeing me and calling in a swat team!

[bigbill]

I do find most of the other places I fish at aren't fished right. I see guys constantly throwing one spinnerbaits over and over with no success but a well soaked and drowned spinnerbaits.

I know my bass are safe for sure. Most fisherman locally fish the same way. I see the same ones over and over all the time leave empty handed. They pick one lure and stay with it for hours. Sometimes I try to help them with a shot of scent. But there set in there ways. I have to laugh but it's sad that I know the bass are right in front of them looking for the correct lure and presentation. Either we fool the fish or the fish makes a fool out of us.

Trust me when I see these guys I know our secret honey holes are safe.

One hot spot I fish at I fish it 24/7 and I see new fisherman there try and never return. They tell me there's no fish there.

I just say yup it's fished out the past few years. The next morning I'm popping the bass out like popcorn when no one is there and it's quiet.

[Grizzn N Bassin]

How do you guys break down a new pond that you go to?  sunken holes , rock piles , sunken logs, brush piles etc. also find some difference in the pond structure? for me its a jig but it takes me awhile from shore. 

[ClackerBuzz]

I searched high and low for a video for 3 months to post on this thread its not gonna happen so i'm just gonna describe the technique and let others chime in to add to it. 

my friend was burning a buzzbait thru a lily pad field. normally very hard to do but his advice was to drop your rod tip and point it directly at the buzzbait. it takes all the pressure off the rod and prevents the rod from 'loading'.  ur reeling a lure on line only which makes it easily deflect off everything ie lily stalks without loading or burring a hook into them.

 

it works amazing for bank fishing b/c how many times do you have to cast over 20 ft of weeds, cover, timber muck etc to access open water. only problem is after ur finished fishing the productive water you still need to drag ur lure back thru the 20 ft of muck. you can save many lures by pointing ur rod tip directly at ur lure and reeling.  DON'T be tempted to use ur rod even if you get hung up.  Just keep reeling with more pressure and ur lure will pop free.  Using ur reel and line only prevents the rod load that slowly buries hook point into objects.

 

This works amazing for getting lures out of trees too  

(and for fly fishing).

 

last season i switched to beavers as my jig trailer while shore fishing.  you can use this technique while dragging a beaver jig thru tons of weeds/cover without losing claws every 5 min.

[TheycallmeBob]

I just really started fishing last year, and am stuck on the bank too.  My biggest issue with it is that during the summer, all the boaters on the reservoir I'm on kind of ruin the fun.  Huge reservoir, and only about 400 yards of public access shore to fish from, and of course all the boaters gravitate towards it.  If there is anyone in the Westfield/Noblesville Indiana area that has some better suggestions than Morse, I would love to hear them.

[Robert Coggins]

HJi new guy here, as many of you are aware most bass fishing in Japan is from the bank. Been finding many shore fishing vids by searching Utube with Japanes Bass fishing., These guys catch 5 6 pounders from ditches.

[coryn h. fishowl]

HJi new guy here, as many of you are aware most bass fishing in Japan is from the bank. Been finding many shore fishing vids by searching Utube with Japanes Bass fishing., These guys catch 5 6 pounders from ditches.

They have perfected finesse fishing, turning an art into a science. They are just so precise it's incredible....sometimes a custom swimbait will fetch up to $200 there.

[Grizzn N Bassin]

I just really started fishing last year, and am stuck on the bank too.  My biggest issue with it is that during the summer, all the boaters on the reservoir I'm on kind of ruin the fun.  Huge reservoir, and only about 400 yards of public access shore to fish from, and of course all the boaters gravitate towards it.  If there is anyone in the Westfield/Noblesville Indiana area that has some better suggestions than Morse, I would love to hear them.

Do a google map search of you area and I'm sure you'll be able to find some better spots. If your just starting out i would suggest finding ponds to fish and learn a few techniques. Make sure there not private and if they are ask permission to fish it.

[Robert Coggins]

The one thing I have leared from watching Jackall stations vids on youtube is that bass can be anywhere. Those guys pitch frogs into bushes and into floating junk anf then catch fish from that start. They fish alot of jigs with creatures, drop and wacky rigging is the strong suite. I have been catching them by using 65lb braid and pitching into the junk.

[gripnrip]

I went out yesterday.  Winds were out to the south, blowing 20 to 30 mph.  I used a jerkbait, swim jig, and a spinnerbait.  I hauled a bunch of water!  I fished for 3 hours from 11:30 to about 2:30.   Water temp was unknown.  Other than that it was a beautiful day to fish.  NO complaints here! LOL

[MO_LMB]

 

Caught two on a chatterbait about this size the day the ice melted, but I have been skunked since!

[Wpcat6611]

Got skunked today had muddy water plus the weather has been crazy here lately. I guess im gonna have to find some small spinner baits or something for situations like this didn't ever get a hit on the wacky rigged worm. All I had was a few small crappie spins an they short striked it everytime...

[fishva]

I went out bank fishing yesterday. I hit up a pond I hadn't been to before, and saw that the bass were on the grassy stuff in one particularly shallow area. My regular casts were spooking them, so I tied up a weedless rig and started casting onto the far bank and slowly pulling it into the water.

 

Some guy happened to walk by and saw me casting into the grass. He yelled out 'looks like you need some practice,' apparently thinking I was missing the water on accident. Gave me a good laugh, thinking about what it must have looked like.