Cover Your Bass

[yugrac]

When fishing shoreline cover I prefer to stay close to the bank and make parallel cast to the shoreline, casting out towards the open water more with every cast. My son will stay 150-200 feet off the shoreline and cast perpendicular to cover and bank, and moves down the shoreline quickly .  Any opinions on this? Other tactics? 

[papajoe222]

Fishing from shore requires a stealth approach.  If you can approach the shoreline without spooking every fish within casting distance, standing close gives you many more casting options.  Your son's approach, likely, will not spook any fish and seems to fit his style of moving quickly down the shore. Neither is better IMO, except that yours will hit the same target from different angles as you move down the shore.

[Dyerbassman]

Both approaches have merit and both will work. Depends on the situation. I always approach a spot carefully and cautiously when bank fishing so as not to spook the shoreline bass.

[plumworm]

"Cover your Bass" was an old Basspro T shirt and adds from 90's catalogs which featured some well endowed young girls. That went on for a few years and then Basspro became more family friendly and those pictures went away.

[SirSnookalot]

I agree both tactics work, pretty much depends on where the bass are.  In a pond I'll fan from shore line to shoreline, at time they do spook.  Canal fishing I pretty much cast about 45 degrees and work it back towards the bank, being up high fish don't seem to spook near as much.

[Sam]

Yugrac, it depends on the situation.

 

Structure, cover, water temperature, wind, cloudy or sunny and he time of year will dictate how to fish the shoreline.

 

You just have to try to find the pattern for that hour or day and exploit it.

 

One day your son will clobber them; and the next day you will clobber them.

 

This is what makes bass fishing a challenge.

[nascar2428]

50 to 60 yrds away from the shore line. That makes for one long cast. I use stealth and fan casting from the shore outward.

[lectricbassman]

150-200 ft seems like a long way. When he hooks up im assuming he moves closer to meet the fish at waters edge? If not i feel bad for those fish being drug for 100 plus feet! My point is, if hes catching fish hes going to get close to the shore at some point therefore id suggest working on stealthy approaches rather than distance.

[everythingthatswims]

I like casting parallel to the bank like you said, but I will do what I think is best for the situation. The only time I cast before getting to the bank is if I am directly approaching a "fishy" spot.

[BassnChris]

I fish more like your son......but not near that far out......I have 3 people in the boat usually....so it works better the run close to parallel to shore and everyone can cast towatds the bank.

[Ozark_Basser]

Steeper banks or bluffs are usually better for me if I approach them parallell or close to paralell. Points get approached from every angle.

[Paul Roberts]

I think yugrac may be in a boat and asking about fishing the shallows from inshore out vs off shore in.

 

It depends...

 

Boats, shadows, flash, noise, water movement, (as well as footsteps on the bank) can spook or put wary fish off. Dense cover can hide some of this, or at least make the fish feel more secure -although they may move deeper into the cover than they might have been otherwise. I suppose the more exposed the area, the more apt I am to keep my distance, although lures dropping in hard can spook fish too, and sometimes this can draw fish. Sky and water conditions weigh in enormously: Sun angle, clouds and/or some chop can allow you to move in, or fish more aggressively. Under brilliant blue fish can be a LOT easier to spook.

 

Accuracy matters. If they are tight to shore, or tight to dense cover -where accuracy really counts- I may have to move in to cast, pitch or flip.Heck, I've even bow-n-arrow casted in places. Some places with specific targets may require a closer more direct approach. Less discrete spots -like a long weed edge, a ledge or cut, may be better fished parallel.

 

Also where I expect fish to be matters. I don't often overlook the second breakline to get at the first. Outer weed edges, the first drop-off, can often hold larger fish than the shoreline or inside weed edge.

 

Potentially lots to consider and each spot and time can be different. You just have to weigh the factors as you become aware of them.