Official Bank Walkers Topic!

[lectricbassman]

I went out this afternoon and tried a shakey head for the first time. Ive always assumed it wasnt an effective shore technique but let me tell you it works! Im a believer as of today.

[SirSnookalot]

I've caught my fair share of 25" bass from the bank, no question in my mind I'm at a disadvantage. There is just so much bank I can walk, in a boat I could keep going for miles and I can cover both sides of a canal.  IMO it's easier to land a fish from a boat vs the bank, I'm pulling them away from cover and not up a high bank.

What is easier from the bank is sight casting for peacocks, in a boat you can't see them it's more blind casting.

[Catt]

gulfcaptain, I'll not get into the politics of why y'all can not fish dock/marinas but its self inflected.

As a bank angler I must accept the fact some areas will simply not be accessible because of terrain, surrounding vegetation, & weather. I have to take what is accessible & then formulate a game plan that is effective; I may have to run-n-gun or stay & play.

Probably the #1 excuse I hear is "I can't fish structure because I'm stuck bank fishing".

The first breakline is the waters edge!

[Catt]

Really!

When did this become a fishing report?

No wonder bank fisherman can not keep a thread going!

[lectricbassman]

Alright thats my fault. Guess i should discuss the technique of shakey head fishing from the banks rather than posting pics of the results

[J Francho]

I shore fish lakes and ponds. I bank fish rivers and streams.

The big key for me is to have a run of spots to fish. Fish aren't biting, try another spot. That might mean a short hike, hopping in the truck to another location. I sometimes come back to spots later as well.

[Catt]

So we gonna move this back to the general section or continue to irritate the bank fishermen?

[kingmotorboat]

Hopefully y'all can move it back. This topic could be huge

[J Francho]

Not sure why it's in reports, but here you go.

[Catt]

Not sure why it's in reports, but here you go.

Thank ya sir

[Senko lover]

Here's a little something to keep this sucker going: most productive lure for ponds? I really like a 4-inch finesse worm with a split shot. That produced well over a hundred bass for me last year. As much as I want to say a senko, it didn't catch as many as the finesse worm.

[C0lt]

Here's a little something to keep this sucker going: most productive lure for ponds? I really like a 4-inch finesse worm with a split shot. That produced well over a hundred bass for me last year. As much as I want to say a senko, it didn't catch as many as the finesse worm.

I think this question has a lot to do with the types of pressure a pond has experienced. I am fortunate enough to live next to a man who has a large pond in the back of his property, a pond my grandfather and the original home owner dug out (construction is the family business) and stocked themselves. Since that pond was filled and stocked in the 60's, there have been maybe two dozen different people to fish it, so the fish swimming that pond have most likely only experienced any sort of artificial lure pressure from me and maybe a handful of neighbor hood trespassers, so there are tons of methods that work. For me, its a finesse worm as well as a 7-8 inch worm that produces the numbers, and a frog in the summer that produces the size. 

[ThurmanMerman]

I've had some success on Missile baits fuse. I've had small success on craws in my pond. My Siebert jigs have produced most of my fish. I swim, drag, and flip 'em. I continue to try different methods and baits' but Siebert jigs always get the job done for me.

[Paul Roberts]

Marinas are another overlooked bank fishing opportunity. I won a couple tournaments walking the boat slips of the old Fin & Feather Marina.

With all the lights they are great night fishing!

Yep. Once, quite a few years ago, one of my beats was a particular marina and one Saturday morning a "big bass" tournament weigh-in booth was set up right there. Although I wasn't registered for the T I weighed in the 2nd place fish, catching my entry from a dock pile within sight of the booth, while contestant boats roared out into the lake.

 

I think a big problem for me is that there are areas that I wanna fish so bad but cant. Whether the shore it's too thick of brush or trees you can't walk it or get to the water. Too steep of a bank. A big disavantage. I mean I've dealt with this for years. But just recently it's starting to bother me. All the lakes I fish are either tree or brush lined or cliff banks.haha. what do I do. Chainsaws and climbing rope??

Such is bank fishing. Some -many- spots you just can't hit. I do carry nippers with me, but you should check regulations before going hog wild. Forget the chain saw and ropes and get a float tube -which is getting off topic. Brush and steep shorelines are one of the reasons I always have a spinning rig with me, and is my GoTo rig when exploring new ponds. 

 

Here's a little something to keep this sucker going: most productive lure for ponds? I really like a 4-inch finesse worm with a split shot. That produced well over a hundred bass for me last year. As much as I want to say a senko, it didn't catch as many as the finesse worm.

Boat or bank, lures work the same. I may have to use lighter weight lures at times due to the near-shore shallows, but otherwise lures are best matched to sky and water conditions, depth, speed, cover, and prey type, more than they are to water body size. My bank GoTo's are pretty much the same as my boat GoTo's.

[lectricbassman]

I fish a lot heavily pressured waters, my hole is next to a business park and i am almost never alone on the water. Im most successful with finesse style baits in natural colors. Another thing i do is pick up trash as i go, this helps my reputation with the pond owners but it also serves another purpose. Alot of lures get left on the ground especially used plastics. I take note of the type and color of bait-and try to throw something completely different. Its a minor thing but i believe it has helped my fishing. Another tactic is to find older lures. Most white bucket brigaders go in to the big box stores and buy the latest and greatest. Nothing wrong with this but it means the fish see a lot of new stuff. Old lures caught fish then and they will now!

[DocNsanE]

I have to depend on my buddy if I want to get out in a boat, so most of the time I am bank fishing. I love it though. It really teaches you to slow down and break an area apart. I can spend 20-30 minutes casting to the same sunken log with different presentations and catch multiple fish off it.

 

 

Best location I fish is great in the spring / early summer. It's about midway up a creek channel at the foot of a bridge with a lock of small rock pilings that always hold nice fish in the spring. The area also has submerged vegetation, sunken logs, reeds, averages around 8 feet but there's a hole that's about 15 feet deep within casting range. I've caught smallies from this spot with everything from crankbaits, poppers, wacky rigs, t-rigs, buzzbaits, frogs, etc... but the most fun I had was in the heat of summer throwing a black jitterbug at about 10pm at night. The excitement of getting hit on a top water in the pitch black night is unreal.

[Catt]

Huh!

5 pages of bank fishing & the guy that wanted a separte bank fishing sub forum aint made at comment!

That's a strong commitment

[Senko lover]

Yup, I agree. It takes dedication to keep a thread going. This one won't die if I have anything to do with it.

[uga1785]

I primarily bank fish. Every now and then I will fish from my kayak but you can usually find me fishing from the shore of my brothers neighborhood pond. I use several different baits but I've had the most success on a 6" green pumpkin U-tail zoom worm. 

[kingmotorboat]

I plan on bank fishing this afternoon at a friend's pond unfortunately we don't catch much there hoping I will today. Lacassine seems like it would be rough this afternoon

[Bruce424]

For evening fishing, buzzbaits in shallow waters work well. Just parallel the bank. I also like winging out a walk the dog style bait to the middle of the lake then working it back for awsome hits.

[kingmotorboat]

Fished for 3 hours caught 1 on a sieberts dredge brush jig. It was a skinny skinny fella

[IDUTBass]

Do any of you guys throw crankbaits from the shore? I haven't seen anyone mention them much. That produced pretty well for me last year. Mainly shad raps, lipless cranks as well as a few live target baits.

[Catt]

I'll throw Rat-L-Traps, shallow cranks, & Rogues

[Cgrinder]

I'll throw Shallow Shad Raps and a variety of lipless cranks, ranging anywhere from an original Rat-L-Trap to a Megabass Vibration X. Free tip of the day: a 1/4 oz Rat-L-Trap is a killer in shallow grass.