Fish catch success boat vs. bank in a 10 acre pond

[kiteman]

I'm just wondering if you had perfectly round 10 acre pond with no structure (or the same structure) exactly around the entire pond, where no single point in the pond was much different than any other point, how many more fish will you catch in a boat vs. a bank?  I guess the obvious answer is if you can only reach 15% of the pond from the bank with your gear then you are not catching 85% of the fish in the pond, but I don't know if that's really true since maybe the fish are more likely to be closer to the bank than in the middle of the pond.  Or maybe it's the opposite, or maybe it just depends on the circumstances.  Maybe the question is if you only bank fish and can't boat a 10 acre pond, what percentage of all the bass in that pond will be accessible from the bank over the course of a season?  Will some of them never come close to the shore, and therefore be completely uncatchable?

 

In a massive lake of course boat fishing is going to yield exponentially better results, but I wonder about smaller ponds just how many bass you will never be able to catch because you just can't even reach where they frequently are hiding.

[BrackishBassin]

Depends on the day. If they're up against the bank feeding, bank angler will crush a boater. Much more stealthy approach. If it's hot and they're hunkered down in the middle, the boater is going to outfish the guy on the bank. 

 

Read something funny a while back and it's so true. Boaters are always wishing they could get closer to the bank, and bank anglers are always wishing they could be casting out further into the middle. The grass is always greener on the other side, or so we think. 

[MasterBasser]

14 hours ago, BrackishBassin said:

Depends on the day. If they're up against the bank feeding, bank angler will crush a boater. Much more stealthy approach. If it's hot and they're hunkered down in the middle, the boater is going to outfish the guy on the bank. 

 

Read something funny a while back and it's so true. Boaters are always wishing they could get closer to the bank, and bank anglers are always wishing they could be casting out further into the middle. The grass is always greener on the other side, or so we think. 

I find the frustrating part of bank fishing is finding bank to fish from.  So much of the lakes and ponds around my area are very grown up around the sides and there are just a few places you can fish from.  Boats seem like the would open those areas to allow for fishing, maybe not, as I don't have a boat.  

[Preytorien]

I understand the frustration from both sides of the fence. I decided to do something about it and bought an inexpensive, easily portable fishing kayak. Problem solved! I rarely fish large lakes with it, but I frequently fish these larger size ponds like you describe and the kayak does great for that. I've seen a lot better success and enjoyment being able to do both. Many times I'll bank fish in the early AM when they're up shallow feeding, then get the kayak out as they start to transition to deeper waters as the sun goes higher throughout the day.

[Koz]

I have the same issue as @MasterBasser with overgrowth along the shoreline. I did buy a big machete and have hacked a few areas clear but it's hot as heck out here and a few weeks ago I angered a wasp while clearing some brush. Gators also nest under the banks in these heavy foliage areas so we have to be really, really careful.

 

Gators are also the reason I'm too scared to kayak fish. If you're cruising around in a kayak or canoe the gators pretty much leave you alone. But even when fishing from the bank if you have a fish on the line and there's a gator around that alligator usually comes at you and your catch full speed. I don't want to experience that on a kayak. I'm pretty sure I'd die or at least lose an arm or leg.

 

Yeah, I know I've had a bunch of comments on here about alligators and it's like beating a dead horse. But they scare the #^@& out of me sometimes and they are a huge nuisance when fishing the lagoons. I need a bigger body of water and a bigger boat.

[Dens228]

I disagree that you're missing 85% of the fish.  I fish a 15 acre pond that's basically oval with no structure.  It hits it's max depth of 4-5 feet within a couple feet of the shore.   I take my kayak out on it and catch 99% of the bass within 30 feet of shore.  Basically hitting lily pads and under overhanging trees.  I still use my kayak to get around on the pond. It's in a subdivision so the entire shoreline is someone's backyard.  Nobody cares if you fish their yard and many do, but I would rather be in the middle and cast towards the shore.  I caught my far and away PB, 8 lb 4 oz, 10 feet from the bank, fishing from the bank.  

 

I take back the no structure part........the structure is pretty much weed lines and the sharp rise from the bottom to the shore a few feet out. 

 

[J Francho]

6 minutes ago, Dens228 said:

I disagree that you're missing 85% of the fish.  I fish a 15 acre pond that's basically oval with no structure.  It hits it's max depth of 4-5 feet within a couple feet of the shore.   I take my kayak out on it and catch 99% of the bass within 30 feet of shore.

 

This.  The bass are using the structure as normal.  They use the shoreline to contain their prey.  I find the same thing to be true.

[RPreeb]

22 hours ago, kiteman said:

I'm just wondering if you had perfectly round 10 acre pond with no structure (or the same structure) exactly around the entire pond, where no single point in the pond was much different than any other point, how many more fish will you catch in a boat vs. a bank?  I guess the obvious answer is if you can only reach 15% of the pond from the bank with your gear then you are not catching 85% of the fish in the pond, but I don't know if that's really true since maybe the fish are more likely to be closer to the bank than in the middle of the pond.  Or maybe it's the opposite, or maybe it just depends on the circumstances.  Maybe the question is if you only bank fish and can't boat a 10 acre pond, what percentage of all the bass in that pond will be accessible from the bank over the course of a season?  Will some of them never come close to the shore, and therefore be completely uncatchable?

 

In a massive lake of course boat fishing is going to yield exponentially better results, but I wonder about smaller ponds just how many bass you will never be able to catch because you just can't even reach where they frequently are hiding.

 

I guess that in my limited experience, I have to say that it depends.  Years back, I fished areas both from shore and from boats, and it "seemed" to me that I got noticeably more success when retrieving a lure away from shore toward the boat than I ever did fishing from shore.  Same areas, same lures, different success rate.  Even in an area where I waded out to waist deep water then cast back toward or parallel to the shore, I had better luck that just casting while standing on shore.  This was the Wisconsin lake where I spent my first 17 summers, so I knew the shoreline in our bay so well that I could fish it blind.

 

When I lived in Montana, I know for a fact that trout would take a Joe Hopper fly that landed near shore, while ignoring one that was cast from shore to a hole out in mid stream.  I remember one day (late 1960's) when two of us were fishing from shore on the upper Missouri River west of Great Falls and had 3 small 13-14 inch rainbows in about an 8 hour outing.  We had walked at least 2 miles of river bank that day with minimal success.  As we were packing up the car, a couple of guys who had drift fished the same stretch of water (they did about a mile more than we did) in a raft pulled in to unload, and showed a stringer the guy could barely lift out of the water.  All of us were fly fishing with hopper imitations.

 

All this means only that I've had better success from a boat even when fishing near shore.  I don't know that it would translate to any better luck for you in your hypothetical situation.

 

 

[JustJames]

I catch 60% of my fish within 5 feet of shoreline bank walker or kayak (more on kayak of course). The different is with kayak, it is more like stealth approach casting into shoreline working the lure back into water more naturally and less spooky.

I see a lot of bank fisherman that walk right into shoreline and keep casting out into middle of the lake and(that would spook fish close by from noise vibrations etc). And when they working the lure back, they don't work it back all the way but rather just reel in fast for next cast when approache 5-10 feet, and that where a lot of strikes would happen.

 

Now kayak gain another advantage that they can fish behind grass or tree where bank fisherman can't, but your don't have any of those so that might not apply to your case.

[J Francho]

21 minutes ago, JustJames said:

I see a lot of bank fisherman that walk right into shoreline and keep casting out into middle of the lake

 

If you're a good bank fisherman, you fish almost parallel to the shore in a pond as described.

[WRB]

Bass in your hypothical round featureless bowl shaped 10'acre pond will be feeding on dermasel or terrestrial prey that is located near the bank. If this pond is completely covered by weed mats or pads then the aerator system in the middle of the pond could also be a good area. Bank angler can easily fish this pond if the shoreline is accessible.

Tom

[J Francho]

In other words:

 

[BrackishBassin]

On 8/1/2017 at 7:57 AM, MasterBasser said:

I find the frustrating part of bank fishing is finding bank to fish from.  So much of the lakes and ponds around my area are very grown up around the sides and there are just a few places you can fish from.  Boats seem like the would open those areas to allow for fishing, maybe not, as I don't have a boat.  

 

I have the same issue. I just put on long pants, a long sleeve shirt, a hat, a buff, about a gallon of Deet, and I go bushwhacking. This last go round I must've gotten a spider under my shirt or something. Total of 12 bites that took two weeks to heal completely. Left cool looking scars though. 

[thinkingredneck]

Get a kayak.   Not expensive and easy to transport.  It will open up a whole new world.

[J Francho]

On 8/2/2017 at 8:45 AM, BrackishBassin said:

Left cool looking scars though.

 

Chicks dig scars, man.

 

But yeah, look into a little 10' kayak.  You don't need anything as fancy as I run.  Just a simple sit on top with a rod holder and some tackle storage.  Get off the bank, and you got a whole pond to discover.

[BrackishBassin]

6 minutes ago, J Francho said:

 

Chicks dig scars, man.

 

But yeah, look into a little 10' kayak.  You don't need anything as fancy as I run.  Just a simple sit on top with a rod holder and some tackle storage.  Get off the bank, and you got a whole pond to discover.

 

Not in the budget at the moment, but looking at them for the future for sure. My fishing time is crazy limited at the moment. I've got twin 14 month old boys at home.