Bank/boat Fishing Checklist

[Balshy Fishing]

So, as a bank fishermen, do you have any sort of checklist you follow/specific lures you throw first if in weeds, rock, etc.

I was just out for 3 hours on the and came back empty handed. Its my second time fishing from a boat so I wad disappointed.

I found myself being unsure of what lures to throw in certain situations as opposed to being on land.

I tried a dropshot, Buzzbait, live target baitball, kvd 1.5 squarebill and a senko.

I'm losing my mind fellas!

[deep]

I don't think you were on fish.

 

 

License, polarized glasses (I wear sunglasses *only* when I'm fishing), nail clippers (my line cutter), lucky hat (which stays in my car anyway when I'm not wearing it), water.

 

Rod(s), reel(s), 2 or 3 baits per setup max. For casual fishing whether from the shore or from a boat, if it doesn't fit in one of my many pockets, I won't be needing it.

 

For more serious kind of fishing, I'll sometimes bring along a small backpack. 8 to 12 inch swimbaits are kinda hard to fit in my pockets. Plus my 15 feet Mike Long Stringer, and a scale.

[Balshy Fishing]

I wasnt on fish, I know, haha. I was just guessing where they might be based on the structure and what not. I suck lpl

[Senko lover]

-My rods (DUH) 

-My tackle (believe it or not, I've actually left it at home) 

-Scissors and pliers, which I'm notorious for leaving. 

-Water bottle and snack, which I forget a lot as well. 

[zachb34]

Anytime you go from bank fishing to fishing on a boat there's a learning curve. I've gone through that learning curve twice, and still find myself stumped sometimes. My advice would be to learn your body of water and study it before you even get there. When bank fishing your usually limited where and what you can fish on a smaller body of water. Now all of a sudden you have so much water to cover. Being it's summer and post spawn the typical areas to focus on would be main lake points, docks, and vegetation provides some shade. All of which should have deep water near by. If you have sonar it's useful and will show you where in the water column there's the most activity. Constantly be on the look out for areas that show there's life and the fish are active. Now on the boat it's much easier to cover water, so I suggest to take advantage of that and power fish early on in the day. I like to throw a lipless crankbait or a square bill to cover water. If there's a lot of vegetation I use a paddle tail swimbait. You may need to slow down and fish deep with a T-rig or a C-rig. For docks I like to flip a jig or throw a senko around them.

[OntarioFishingGuy]

Bank: Rod, assorted tackle, forceps/scissors, leader material, license, hat.

 

Boat: PFD(!!!!!), necessary safety equipment, depth finder, net, boating license, boat documents, everything above.

[FishTank]

As far as bank fishing goes, I take a medium amount of stuff nothing major.

-Two maybe three setups and a backpack of cranks, soft plastic, sunglasses, bug/sunscreen, a small flashlight, knife, water, and pliers. 

 

In my inflatable pontoon boat

-Two setups, mainly for soft plastic>it's based on how deep I want to fish>A cooler with lunch and all the stuff above just more of it. 

 

I too was bank fishing yesterday at my favorite pond and just caught one.  It was hot and nothing seemed to be biting.  I could see fish hitting the top of the water but nothing was hungry.   When it is like this, I just fish slower.  It seems to work for me. 

[Choporoz]

Actually, a 'lure/presentation' checklist isn't a bad idea.  I've considered it, but haven't gotten around to doing it.  Rare is the outing that I didn't get home wondering, "Why didn't I try using xxx...(or doing yyy)?????"

[deep]

"knowledge is the key to fishing success"

 

This is the best advice I can give you. Structure, depth, speed; in that order.

[Fishes in trees]

There isn't anything stopping you from making a list of the different techniques you're rigged for - to give you various options.   Writing stuff down and having it in front of you is generally better than trying to remember different things.

 

Back to the notion of a "checklist", back in the day when I was bank bound, I generally kept a list of the different stuff that should be in the car prior to leaving on a fishing trip.  These days, I'm not bank bound but I still keep a list - more of less - of different stuff that needs to be in either the truck of the boat.  Back in the day, I remember being  absolutely bummed because I left the "glaucoma preventative" at home - wasn't on the check list.   That was one of the things that you had to remember independent of the check list.