Bank Fishing Tactics: Fish It Out or Cast and Move

[Team9nine]

1 hour ago, fishwizzard said:

More or less what I do, but I carry more lures. Usually something to cover each part of the water column. I start with my best guess and if I move a few times with no hits I will switch up lures.  If I am at a spot I know well I will change lures before moving but most of the time I have better luck switching spots. 

I do carry extras stuffed in a pocket...never know when you might break off or hang up ? I don’t change lures though unless necessary.

[fishwizzard]

18 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

I do carry extras stuffed in a pocket...never know when you might break off or hang up ? I don’t change lures though unless necessary.

Do you have a usual “single lure”?  

 

When I’m trying out a new spot I will generally pick a weightless trickworm or a fluke for my first reconnoitering trip as they can cover the entire column if I am patient enough.  

[J Francho]

2 minutes ago, fishwizzard said:

Do you have a usual “single lure”?

I do, a spinnerbait.

[Team9nine]

10 minutes ago, fishwizzard said:

Do you have a usual “single lure”?  

 

When I’m trying out a new spot I will generally pick a weightless trickworm or a fluke for my first reconnoitering trip as they can cover the entire column if I am patient enough.  

Just depends on where I go and what I expect conditions to be. Could be topwaters, frogs, shallow cranks, etc. Last year it was predominantly blade baits through winter/early spring, then wacky jighead worms the rest of the year. Those baits just fit the places I fished well. 

[fishwizzard]

16 minutes ago, J Francho said:

I do, a spinnerbait.

I wish I had the confidence in a moving bait but I am a diehard plastics nut. 

 

5 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

Just depends on where I go and what I expect conditions to be. Could be topwaters, frogs, shallow cranks, etc. Last year it was predominantly blade baits through winter/early spring, then wacky jighead worms the rest of the year. Those baits just fit the places I fished well. 

Very reasonable. 

[geo g]

I fish 5 days a week from the bank, and then from the boat on weekends.  I have confidence baits I will stick too because I know if there in the mood they will bite it regardless of conditions.  I will change techniques, like dead sticking, fishing weightless fast, hopping along the bottom, just a slow drag.  They will tell you what they want that day, that hour.  It always changes depending on time of day, weather conditions, and water conditions.

[the reel ess]

38 minutes ago, fishwizzard said:

Do you have a usual “single lure”?  

 

When I’m trying out a new spot I will generally pick a weightless trickworm or a fluke for my first reconnoitering trip as they can cover the entire column if I am patient enough.  

To me, the Trick Worm is about the most year-round lure there is. It's versatile. It can be a jerkbait, a weighted T rig, wacky worm or you can just drag it weightless (my buddy's method). I will also second the spinnerbait. You can get them with tandem Colorado blades that allow you to almost drag the bait on the bottom with the blades still spinning.

[Glaucus]

If I'm fishing a pond it's usually on the smaller side and I typically walk the whole length trying a lure. Once I get back to the starting point I switch and do it all over again until I find a lure that is working and a spot that is holding fish.

 

I don't bank fish lakes and I only bank fish rivers at the dams. I yak/wade those. 

[Koz]

5 hours ago, NYWayfarer said:

I can't seem to wrap my head around the 1 rod, 1 bait method of bank fishing.

 

That surprises me as well. Part of that is because I hop from lagoon to lagoon and each is unique in its clarity, structure, and even depth in a few of them. When I fish I have my backpack and 5 Plano boxes of lures.

 

But what I cannot imagine is hitting a lagoon with only one bait, fishing it for an hour and not get a bite and be faced with the stark realization is that my only choice is to keep fishing it or go home. It's bad enough I suffer from the "just one more cast" syndrome, but I can't imagine complicating that with "why the @^%@ didn't I bring other lures!"

[nascar2428]

When I'm bank fishing, I fish an area from top to bottom then move to the next spot and repeat. Once I've been around once I may change a couple of baits and make another round. I always have a minimum of four rods{two spinning and two baitcasters}and my backpack.

[Fishing_FF]

Both?!? ?

 

I generally carry a pair of rods, sometimes 3, when I'm bank fishing. I'll work the area with the rods I have and then move on to the next area. If I find a different pattern or two the fish are on later, I'll hit the previous fished areas again. A fair amount of the lakes I fish are only accessible on a side of two (because of a major road, heavy vegetative growth dozens of feet deep, or private property), so those are out and back trips. What is nice about the out and back trips is being able to revisit an area with another technique or presentation the second time around. 

[schplurg]

On the river bank here I switch baits until I get a strike, eventually moving if I don't. I have a back pack with one Plano for terminal tackle, one for plugs n spinners, and a pocket with some plastics. Extra line, a little food and water too.

 

I've been using snaps/clips lately so I can switch out baits quickly - cranks, jerks, and a few other hardbaits only. If I have any luck I will tie the bait on from that point. My other rod usually has plastics tied on.

 

I can walk easily with two rods, never tried more as I own only two  One rod only is nice though because you can move continuously without forgetting rod #2, or stepping on it.

[The Bassman]

20 hours ago, Team9nine said:

Move, move, move. 1 rod, 1 bait. Simplicity and maneuverability are a bank anglers best friends.

This. Except for me the challenge is to give one bait a chance. Always thinking that something else may be better. Just yesterday I was cleaning up with a small bladebait then decided to try other options. Cycled through several lures then came back where I started and picked up where I left off.

[Chowderhead]

21 hours ago, Koz said:

In other cases I might encounter an aggressive alligator that forces me to abandon that lagoon for the day.

One of the few times I am thankful to live in the cold Midwest. ?

[fishwizzard]

I put the “single lure” theory to the test yesterday afternoon.  I hit my usual after-work pond with one rod and a 5” GP/WM Senko tied on.  Tried a few spots and tried to interest a few visible bass in the shallows to no effect.  I moved on to my next “spot”, a group of laydowns all in a row.  That’s where they were and I got four in quick succession.  

 

Went back to my car, grabbed a pile of lures and went to work on those visible bass.  Nothing doing.  I threw everything I could think of at them and managed to catch one by jigging a little paddle tail infront of his nose for maybe 2 min. 

[Koz]

4 hours ago, Chowderhead said:

One of the few times I am thankful to live in the cold Midwest. ?

 

But it's going to be 77 and sunny here in SC today

[CrankFate]

7 hours ago, The Bassman said:

This. Except for me the challenge is to give one bait a chance. Always thinking that something else may be better. Just yesterday I was cleaning up with a small bladebait then decided to try other options. Cycled through several lures then came back where I started and picked up where I left off.

Me too. I move a lot even if I’m fishing “one spot” - how far and wide I might travel depends on factors I would not be able to explain. 

[Black Hawk Basser]

I guess it depends on where I'm fishing, as mentioned by others.  There are shore spots on larger bodies of water that just absolutely produce consistently for me year after year after year, especially pre-spawn.  So, I find no reason to move until I've tried a few things with no results.  I've gotten to know these areas so well that if two to three baits don't produce within an hour, then I know it's time to move on.

 

I generally fish small bodies of water with a kayak; but, if I were bound to shore, I would probably move more often in this situation.

 

When I am hitting the local river(some would call it a stream), I definitely don't stick around long.  It's small enough that even after I've caught a few fish, I generally move on, as I've probably fished out the area to the point where it's worth trying somewhere new.  I may return later in the day and see if fish have returned, though.

[blckshirt98]

You have to do both but you have to feel it out how much you want to stick in one spot.  As a shore guy when I see bass in the water I always see some fish hovering around in the same general spot, or, I see bass cruising along the shoreline (sometimes in packs).  I'll always start with a finesse bait and fan cast, to try and see if any of the ones hovering around their spot will take it, or if any of the fish cruising around will find it.  Once I'm done fan casting with a finesse presentation I may try something else depending on the cover and structure of the spot I'm at.  If it's a point I'll run some squarebills or lipless baits, if it's a stretch of flat muddy bottom I might not throw anything else and just move on, if there's a transition between muddy bottom and rocks/gravel I'll throw the kitchen sink because there's a high probability there's a fish there, etc.