Official Bank Walkers Topic!

[Joedodge]

A lot of the ponds and lakes in my area are quite pressured finding those un fished gems is pretty rough. Lots of hydrilla also makes it tough. I have t had to so stealthily quite tho. I'm sure it helps. But I'm also out for size and numbers I like catching fish. We have fields of pads I mean thick weighted ribbon tails or a top water frog seems to do the best.

[Senko lover]

Here's something that I've learned in the last two weeks.

Been seeing a lot of carp lately, and discovered something important.

When you see the big carp rooting around in the bottom, kicking up a lot of mud, they also attract bass.

I've caught several bass throwing a worm into the mud. I guess the carp are throwing around a lot of small worms & such and the bass are taking advantage of such an opportunity.

Try it! It works.

[BW208]

I also see bass around carp a lot.  That makes sense.

[Joedodge]

Here's something that I've learned in the last two weeks.

Been seeing a lot of carp lately, and discovered something important.

When you see the big carp rooting around in the bottom, kicking up a lot of mud, they also attract bass.

I've caught several bass throwing a worm into the mud. I guess the carp are throwing around a lot of small worms & such and the bass are taking advantage of such an opportunity.

Try it! It works.

Hmmmm the carp have been spawning like crazy here. I never thought about this attracting bass in anyway!

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

Carp may disturb some crawdads and the bass get'em

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

Here are some bank catches from earlier today used Spro Bucktail jig to get them. Hair jigs are another to me I feel not so common lure that a lot of people pass up. Just do not get much recognition. They cast great compact basically a sinker with a little bit of hair that catch fish. Good in early season cold water conditions

 

1st pic 3.28#, 2nd/3rd pic 3.83#

 

 

 

[Paul Roberts]

Hair jigs ARE great baits, and not just in cold water. I've also liked marabou, which few people use it seems. Only drawback to 'bou is it has a tendency to pick up algae and detritus in weedy places. Although not needed I often use a trailer -pork chuck, strips, or plastics. I also have clip-on overhead spinners in my hair jig box which can slow speed and add flash, motion, and vibration. All jigs are great -plastic, hair, or feather. They'll teach you to fish any bait better.

[SirSnookalot]

Jigs are one of my mainstay baits, from bluegill to sailfish they are one of the best producers.  I make marabou jigs for peacocks, LMB bass don't seem to reject them.  One of my favorites is a flats bonefish jig for bass fishing.

There isn't a species I target in both fresh and salt that won't strike a bucktail, or any other material for that matter.

[J Francho]

There are anglers who used to fish Lake Mission Viejo (before the yellow algae fish kill) who would pass up 12 lb fish on beds.  They were hunting a world record and would not spend any time on anything that looked smaller than 15 lbs.  So they qualify as someone who caught at least a 12-2, but would not spend six hours fishing for one that size.  They would spend six hours fish for one that went 22-2, but not one that most of us would call the fish of a lifetime.  In other words, it is all relative to what you consider to be the largest fish you could ever catch.

 

I wonder if Tom (WRB) would spend six hours trying to catch a 12-2 bedding fish?  Based on his accomplishments, I would think not.

We're they fishing from the shore?

[Dogmatic]

Here's something that I've learned in the last two weeks.

Been seeing a lot of carp lately, and discovered something important.

When you see the big carp rooting around in the bottom, kicking up a lot of mud, they also attract bass.

I've caught several bass throwing a worm into the mud. I guess the carp are throwing around a lot of small worms & such and the bass are taking advantage of such an opportunity.

Try it! It works.

I've noticed this also. I once observed a "wolf pack" of 3 lb LMB following two channel cats that were rooting around in the grass. They literally followed the cats all over, hanging right on their backs, just waiting for something to scurry away. They were very difficult to catch because they were so focused and moving pretty fast.

[J Francho]

I've seen some similar activity. A REALLY fast moving bait sometimes works. Other times it just scares them, or they ignore it.

[RSM789]

We're they fishing from the shore?

Where in your comment that implied anyone who has caught a 12-2 before would be willing to spend 6 hours on a bedding fish did you specify that only applies to shore anglers?  I do realize that bank fishing is what this thread is about, but your comment made no division between the two.

 

Are you trying to say that shore anglers are willing to spend more time trying to catch a large bedding fish than boat anglers?  If so, then how do you classify the author of that post, because he was launching his boat when he spotted that 12-2.  He would have used his boat to catch him, but he had better access from the shore.

[J Francho]

relevance? See the title of the thread.

[RSM789]

Are you referring to your post or mine?

 

BTW, no need for snarkiness in responses.

[J Francho]

Do you have any useful tips for shore fishing?

[RSM789]

Yes I do.  

 

If you are shore fishing & get your lure hung up on a log that has little feet & big teeth, just cut your line and walk away.

[J Francho]

That is a good tip. Your purpose is clear.

[RSM789]

Thank you for the compliment, that is a very nice thing to say.

[Catt]

The best big bass guy on this site is Fish Chris, he has been known to get out of the boat to catch 18# plus bass!

[Starchalopakis]

Got my first bass on a jig! Got it hitting the banks of a golf course pond at night.

[Paul Roberts]

Here's something that I've learned in the last two weeks.

Been seeing a lot of carp lately, and discovered something important.

When you see the big carp rooting around in the bottom, kicking up a lot of mud, they also attract bass.

I've caught several bass throwing a worm into the mud. I guess the carp are throwing around a lot of small worms & such and the bass are taking advantage of such an opportunity.

Try it! It works.

 

I've noticed this also. I once observed a "wolf pack" of 3 lb LMB following two channel cats that were rooting around in the grass. They literally followed the cats all over, hanging right on their backs, just waiting for something to scurry away. They were very difficult to catch because they were so focused and moving pretty fast.

I've seen this too -bass obviously hunting behind carp and catfish -like egrets following cattle and gulls following tractors. I've caught the bass too a few times, by throwing a worm or jig in their path.

[Paul Roberts]

A bank fishing tip:

 

One thing I do when I arrive to fish, esp on a new water body to me, is to walk the bank before I wet a line. So worthwhile. This has saved me from tons of unnecessary casting, from spooking fish I could have been aware of, helped me get a bead on conditions, identify best locations, and home in on most appropriate lures. Fish are not randomly distributed.

 

Here's a pithy example:

I used to drive around a lot knocking on doors asking permission to fish anything I saw that looked interesting. One day on the way home from a bit of pond-hopping with a buddy we stopped at a farmhouse that had a tiny little pond out back. It had nice water color and the owner was out putting a tractor away. Easy stop.

 

“Sure!" he said. "Just put ‘em back. There are 5 bass in there; my son put ‘em in last year.” We went down to the water and my buddy immediately set out to casting. I walked. From the pond’s high side I spotted 4 dark shapes in one corner of the pond –something like a little cove with some emergent vegetation and overhanging shrubbery. There were 4 of the 5 bass in the pond right there -each about 13". My buddy was not aware of them and was still a third of the pond bank and 20-some casts away.

 

To my left was a darker colored corner so I walked down there and found a deep pothole, obviously dug when the pond was built. I tied on a small twister jig (Phenom worm tail on a jig head) made one cast and caught bass #5 from the depths of that pocket –a good 18” 3-1/2 lb fish.

 

Walking costs nothing but time, and it’s time well spent.

[hatrix]

If there are places you can't reach because of brush or have to make awkward casts because of branches I would recommend a machete. That is as long as it will be ok and depending on how dedicated you are to get there. I started using one last year to reach places way back in the woods no one has ever fished. Or to make casting easier in places and give you that angle or distance you could never get.

As for the square bill guy you don't have to bang them off rocks and stumps ect to catch fish. Being on the bank you have the best position to parallel the bank and just grind them along the bottom. They are also very effective over weeds. You just need the correct crank for the depth and one with the correct bouyancy. It takes some practice to get good but it can pay off huge. I caught a bunch of fish today running them over grass a foot or so below the surface. A minus 1 can really put a hurt on ponds that are choked almost to the top with weeds.

[SirSnookalot]

The more casts I make the better my chances are.  Catching a fish is easy but the great fish (not so easy) is having your lure thrown in the perfect place at the the perfect point in time, a few seconds either way can mean a strike or not.  As I'm retrieving my eyes are roving looking for the spot to place my next cast.  I waste as little time as possible, measuring a fish that appears to shorter than my rod butt, what's the point.  I try to keep a constant flow, dry lures catch nothing.

[HoosierHawgs]

<- that's an 8-08 NLMB in my profile pic (from the bank), btw.

Small structured reservoirs.

I also fish small structured reservoirs. That and I wade a lot of creeks on summer nights. Even though the fish aren't as big there is usually no one there and its a great way to connect with friends and nature.... Which in the end is what its all about.