Bank fishing approach for late summer?

[Nepatizz]

Hi all, 

 

I've been in a bit of a slump and was wondering what you suggest I use for an approach when fishing from banks at this time of year? Weather has been pretty hot, at least 85 every day. I mostly fish small ponds with adequate vegetation and cover and a few reservoirs with rip rap. 

 

Where should the focus be? It's hard for me to tell where the bass are in the places I fish aside from them hiding in or around cover. Once I hit all the cover spots and the spots that really stick out to me, I don't really know what to do next. My thought has been to switch to fishing something off the bottom and casting out far but this method hasn't produced me any fish. I've mostly used spinnerbaits around more open areas and jigs, worms and creature baits t-rigged around the cover spots mostly. And of course the good ol' senko everywhere. I vary my presentation as much as possible. 

 

What do you think? 

 

Thanks 

[Hewhospeaksmuchbull]

In my local water I threw everything I could think of, but a crankbait. Banged a XD off the rocks directly in front of me and bam. I tried everything for weeks, worms, creatures, topwater ,  but that Xd slays them. Been much of the same since, even midday in 103 degree heat.

 

One of the best things I hear on this forum is let the fish tell you what they want, in my case mimic a bait fish, bounced off rock at a depth of about ten to fifteen feet. If I was better at reading and understanding the conditions I was being presented with I most likely woild have caught many more fish, so experience and some fishy education.

 

You have tried a lot. Anything missing? Baits not used? Presentations?

 

I haven't caught anything with the " good ol' senko " yet I keep at it. In fact I haven't hung one yet on any worm, I just can't figure it, that many fishermen can't be wrong!

[Sphynx]

How much cloud cover/wind, if any? Time of day? Early am, I'd say go shallow with a top water bait, frogs and buzz baits are personal favorites but it depends on the body of water.

 

After they quit hitting topwaters I'd say either go big, or go small, and if it's 85+, no clouds, and no wind, I'd probably take a pass on a spinnerbait, they'll either be out in deeper water or under whatever shade they can find mostly, jigs, 10 or 12 inch curly tail worms on a t rig, if they aren't going after the big stuff, toss a ned rig or a drop shot or a finesse presentation of your choice at them.

 

Later on as it starts cooling off you can probably go back to a moving bait, or a top water option. Bank beating in summer and winter are tough since we can't really get to the deep water, but I have found early AM and evenings right up til and even after dark are the best times to catch them shallow.

[papajoe222]

There is a big difference in fishing a retention pond vs. a reservoir or a pond formed by a dam, from shore.

The main difference is lack of structural changes. Bowl shaped ponds rarely offer well defined depth, or bottom composition changes. The fish are very cover oriented, but will occasionally suspend if there is sufficient depth.  For those ponds, changing presentations to the available cover is your best option. Don't be timid about getting into the thicker vegetation either.

For reservoirs and dammed ponds, look for areas with structural changes that have cover, or more than one structural element and use a suitable presentation. A weed bed bordering a drop in depth, or a bottom that changes from gravel to rock or muck along a drop. Points are an obvious structure, but others can be found using bottom contact lures.

[NYWayfarer]

8 hours ago, Sphynx said:

How much cloud cover/wind, if any? Time of day? Early am, I'd say go shallow with a top water bait, frogs and buzz baits are personal favorites but it depends on the body of water.

 

After they quit hitting topwaters I'd say either go big, or go small, and if it's 85+, no clouds, and no wind, I'd probably take a pass on a spinnerbait, they'll either be out in deeper water or under whatever shade they can find mostly, jigs, 10 or 12 inch curly tail worms on a t rig, if they aren't going after the big stuff, toss a ned rig or a drop shot or a finesse presentation of your choice at them.

 

Later on as it starts cooling off you can probably go back to a moving bait, or a top water option. Bank beating in summer and winter are tough since we can't really get to the deep water, but I have found early AM and evenings right up til and even after dark are the best times to catch them shallow.

Good advice.

 

On hot days start your session as early as possible and shallow. If you are still there in the afternoon downsize your baits and go finesse.

[Bass Junke]

It was right around 90 degrees on Sunday.Water temps were just above 80. Decided to go hit the bank around 7:30pm fish until dark. Brought 2 rods with me a spinning combo with a wacky rigged Yum dinger and a bait caster with a weighted Texas rigged Zoom super fluke. 

This pond is a couple hundred feet from my house and there is a decent amount of shoreline to fish and I hit a few spots with zero bites. 

It is now 8:30 and getting dark I have no flashlight so time to leave. There is a spillway I have to pass on my way home and the water was high enough to be moving. Had to at least toss a bait in there before I take off. Second cast of the fluke produced a violent strike from a 1lb bass, fluke was ruined. Cast out the Yum Dinger and it was crushed as soon as it hit the water, unbelievable. Yum Dinger was gone, I went home. 

I am kind of new to all this but I think the moral of the story was the fish were where the high concentrates of oxygen were. 

[scaleface]

When bank fishing rip rap , I use sinking baits  most . I cast to different depths , let the lure sink , then retrieve it following the contour of the rock from deep to the bank . Any sinking lures work but  snags are going to happen .  I use inexpensive baits such ad pre-rigged swimbaits , jig&grub... 

[Mobasser]

I bank fish a couple of times a week. I like to carry no more than 2 rods, one with a search type lure( beetle spin, grub, lipless). I stay on the move. When I catch a fish, I'll fish more slowly with a t rig plastic worm. If I'm not catching any, I rarely stay in one spot very long. Location has been more important than lure choice.

[Fishes in trees]

Back in the day, when I was a meat fishing bush hippie, summer bank fishing to me meant finesse fishing, all the time and don't think about doing anything else.  Buzz baits & spinner baits?  Nope - didn't believe in them.  Cranks?  Too expensive AND they got stuck too much.  Tx rigged worms?  Nope - then,(kind like now ) I believed that the jig was more reliable and got more bites.., lu the light action rod I was using didn't allow for the strongest hook sets. So,  I fished Brewer Sliders with the 4" Slider worm - fish low & slow and throw at everything.   Throw out as far as you can, low & slow, parallel the bank, low & slow.  The Charlie Brewer term was " polishing the rocks " - not a lot of rocks in the areas I fished so I took that to mean go as slow as possible without hanging up.   If you hang up a lot - you're going too slow, likewise if you're never touching the bottom, you're going too fast.   Back in the day, I threw the slider rig on a light action 6' spinning rod,  6 lb test line and hoped for the best.   I landed catfish up to 12 lbs on that rig - Bass to 5 lbs or so.  Mostly I was fishing for anything that I could fillet.  There were days I got broke off  some.  Some of that had to do with me being a cheapskate on line - fresh 6 lb line was better than 6 lb line that was a month or so old.

 

These days if I had to fish that way again I'd do it slightly different.  I'd bring 3 spinning rigs - Med to MH 6 1/2 to 7' long.   I'd have the reels filled with 10 or 15 lb braid - real clear water I'd use a short (foot or so) fluorocarbon leader, stained water I wouldn't bother.  Rig #A would be a Brewer Slider rig with a 4" worm.  Rig #B would be a Slider rig with a 4" to 5" paddle tail worm.  Rig #C, I'd have a fluke or a senko -  maybe weighted, maybe not.  I'd probably have some finesse frogs as an option. 

 

I'd have hip boots on and wade out a little from the bank so as to make paralleling the bank easier.  I'd pay more attention to sunscreen and anti-sunburn shirts than I did then.

[TriStateBassin106]

Fellow bank angler here, on my local pond here in NJ I've been using a mix of topwater and Texas rigged pitboss and when the temp reaches 90 I'm only using T-rigged and shakeyheads, the fish are either deep or in cover. Try pitching into cover, (overhanging trees, pond fountains and under lillies if your pond has them) the algae and weeds can be a pain in the summer, some ponds get infested with it at the bank but I still cast into them or next to them. 

 

 

But please keep yourself hydrated and cool, if you can buy some HUK UV resistant shirts and pants, it'll keep you cooler, also boonie style hats to keep your face shaded. This can all be found on HUKs website. 

 

 

Also go in the morning or evening, I have the most luck when it's past 6:00 in the evening. 

[islandbass]

15 hours ago, Hewhospeaksmuchbull said:

In my local water I threw everything I could think of, but a crankbait. Banged a XD off the rocks directly in front of me and bam. I tried everything for weeks, worms, creatures, topwater ,  but that Xd slays them. Been much of the same since, even midday in 103 degree heat.

 

One of the best things I hear on this forum is let the fish tell you what they want, in my case mimic a bait fish, bounced off rock at a depth of about ten to fifteen feet. If I was better at reading and understanding the conditions I was being presented with I most likely woild have caught many more fish, so experience and some fishy education.

 

You have tried a lot. Anything missing? Baits not used? Presentations?

 

I haven't caught anything with the " good ol' senko " yet I keep at it. In fact I haven't hung one yet on any worm, I just can't figure it, that many fishermen can't be wrong!

All I can say is and pardon the pun, but STICK (lol) with it.  I was the same way. I signed off on those senkos in 2007 for the most part, only using the 3" ones while drop shotting.  Fast forward to this season. I bump into a guy on the dock of my home lake. He was planning to trout fish but after talking a bit, I learn he's looking to catch his first bass and he had a couple of things with him, among them a pack of 4" senkos, pumpkin green, black flake.  I told him that's a bass killing bait, but I didn't tell him that they have never worked for me with any consistency.  I quickly accessed from my memory bank everything I learned from using them and we realized he didn't have the right hooks. As unlikely as it was, I actually found an ancient (but pristine) bag of light wire 2/0 Gamakatsu straight hooks in my bag. I set him up Texas rig and taught him to texpose and the basic retrieves.  I had my doubts since my home lake bass are stingy and even "stingier" on senkos. I have never caught a bass here on any stick type bait. He casts it not 12' off the dock over some grass and WHAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not even 10 seconds fish on and his rod went down hard.  Nice 1.5" bass and excellent first bass.

 

My lessons learned -

1) Don't sign off on lures. That don't "work" for you or in your area. There is a time and place. You need to find both.

2) You had better get your butt to sportsman's warehouse and get senkos - 297, lol

 

Over the course of my fishing season, I have been killing them during my short fishing stints.  Surprisingly, the BPS stickos have been working too and their action is close enough to the senkos. All others like the SK zero are have yet to get on the scoreboard and the YUM dinger a measley 1 bass. 

 

Senkos work.  However, as we all know, you can have the best presentation, but you can't catch what is not there.  It's a harsh reality for us shorebound folk.

 

 

[Hewhospeaksmuchbull]

17 minutes ago, islandbass said:

All I can say is and pardon the pun, but STICK (lol) with it.  I was the same way. I signed off on those senkos in 2007 for the most part, only using the 3" ones while drop shotting.  Fast forward to this season. I bump into a guy on the dock of my home lake. He was planning to trout fish but after talking a bit, I learn he's looking to catch his first bass and he had a couple of things with him, among them a pack of 4" senkos, pumpkin green, black flake.  I told him that's a bass killing bait, but I didn't tell him that they have never worked for me with any consistency.  I quickly accessed from my memory bank everything I learned from using them and we realized he didn't have the right hooks. As unlikely as it was, I actually found an ancient (but pristine) bag of light wire 2/0 Gamakatsu straight hooks in my bag. I set him up Texas rig and taught him to texpose and the basic retrieves.  I had my doubts since my home lake bass are stingy and even "stingier" on senkos. I have never caught a bass here on any stick type bait. He casts it not 12' off the dock over some grass and WHAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not even 10 seconds fish on and his rod went down hard.  Nice 1.5" bass and excellent first bass.

 

My lessons learned -

1) Don't sign off on lures. That don't "work" for you or in your area. There is a time and place. You need to find both.

2) You had better get your butt to sportsman's warehouse and get senkos - 297, lol

 

Over the course of my fishing season, I have been killing them during my short fishing stints.  Surprisingly, the BPS stickos have been working too and their action is close enough to the senkos. All others like the SK zero are have yet to get on the scoreboard and the YUM dinger a measley 1 bass. 

 

Senkos work.  However, as we all know, you can have the best presentation, but you can't catch what is not there.  It's a harsh reality for us shorebound folk.

 

 

Wow, nice words of encouragement.

 

Unfortunately, this morning I spent 2hrs with nothing but weightless senko's, I could see the bass sniff the bait and leave. I'm done they may work for others, I'd rather fish a bait I feel has a chance. Just an inefficient way to fish, wasting two hours on a bait I have zero belief in.

It's me I'm sure, or maybe someone snuck into my tackle bag and coated the baits with anti-fish goo.

 

May be when I get to my new home water I'll find they work there.

[cyclops2]

Ambush  ambush points. The fish burns no energy ( what he loves doing. )

[Derek1]

Bank fishing can be tough right now. You really just have to keep at it. They can still be shallow just not always when your there. I fish when I can, sometimes that ends up being the worst times and conditions. Some of those trips have paid of big. If your like me you only have so many spots you can cast from around the water. I cast to the same lay downs and rocks every time I go. Some times there there sometimes there not. This one was in 12” of water at 90 degrees chasing bluegill in the sun.  

[Dom Hendricks]

57 minutes ago, cyclops2 said:

Ambush  ambush points. The fish burns no energy ( what he loves doing. )

This and if there is a creek feeding into it would be my first few stops. It might take a few trips in the evening but you will notice splashes and blowups in certain areas. Focus on those late with top water. If it’s open enough, a black jitterbug is hard to beat. 

[islandbass]

3 hours ago, Hewhospeaksmuchbull said:

Wow, nice words of encouragement.

 

Unfortunately, this morning I spent 2hrs with nothing but weightless senko's, I could see the bass sniff the bait and leave. I'm done they may work for others, I'd rather fish a bait I feel has a chance. Just an inefficient way to fish, wasting two hours on a bait I have zero belief in.

It's me I'm sure, or maybe someone snuck into my tackle bag and coated the baits with anti-fish goo.

 

May be when I get to my new home water I'll find they work there.

What type of line are you using? What size and color of senko?  Go basic. Some type of green pumpkin (297) or watermelon something.  Also hook type and size. I cannot put my finger onto why right now, but both EWG which is naturally offset and the offset straight shank is producing zero and little respectively, say less than 10% vs using a light wire straight shank hook. 2/0 or 3/0. I can best guess that perhaps the hook is affecting somewhat the senko's descent. I need to figure this out because I only have a few  2/0-3/0 light wire hooks left and I can't find any more locally. 

 

I am using 10# mono, and it's outfished fc in one outing. Shocking but true. I know because the guy with FC (technically braid with fc leader, I was pure mono) is my buddy, lol.

 

I would honestly prefer 8# test and I do like fluro for my drop shotting when I feel like splurging a bit on invizx, but 10# mono has been killing it and I am not going to change what isn't broken.

 

I try to use the lightest line I can get away with and for my conditions, 10# is the ticket. It didn't matter, spinning or casting. Mono is killing it. WHY?? Shaming FC all the way to the bank. HOW??? Refractive Shree-smactive index nothing. FC should have smoked mono by a country mile. Maybe line type also influences the senko's descent enough to trigger bass to strike, meaning the bass didn't care for the FC descent, and preferred the mono descent?

 

You also said that you could see the bass which means that they could see you. Maybe you need to be a little more stealth and less visible too.

 

I'm going to do what I can to help you get your first senko bass, and I've only been at it in its tradition use (t-rig, texposed without weight AND non-drop shot).  I also got my first bass on a senko wacky rigged. It was awesome. Gut said there was bass hidden cover and the t-rig had no takers. Switched to wacky direct (no O ring) and dropped it into the same spot and bam! Don't forget about trying it wacky rigged.

[cyclops2]

There is a chance that your Senko rubbers ARE  ARE copy cats. That have a water smell that repels the fish. Senkos look like big grubs. They should inhale, mouth & spit out if bad copy cat lures.  If bad smelling ? they may just look & move slowly away. Catch & release of bank fish REALLY makes them spooky of people by the water.  Try to pick spots with TALL FULL LEAFED out trees BEHIND you. Wear a green outfit. Hat Top & bottom. Helps a lot  Green moving in front of green is tough to make out the shape of you while moving. 

 

In my fish boat I get more bites CLOSER if I sit on the LOWEST cross seat compared to sitting in the higher padded swivel chair.

 

Bank fishing is MUCH MORE difficult than from a boat.  At 81 I still do both.

[cyclops2]

About  fish getting well fed by now & not racing to a lure & sucking it all the way into their throat. If the bait is slow & they know it can not escape at all. The come up from the rear where a baitfish has NO lateral  line sensing for protection. Worms & grubs.  They pull up circle around An then move in for a bite. No more rushing. UNLESS.... 2 bass start moving in together.  Then it is a race & full suck in job for the winner.

I use 4 # mono & 4 # braid end of July to end of September. I have tested both lines with everything identical. Mono wins in crystal clear. Green braid in any not clear water. Braid is far better because it is smaller & STRONGER & no stretch when heated by sunlight.  Mono 4# is useless unless you keep MAXIMUM TENSION into the net. S M B can still toss the hook at any time.

[TriStateBassin106]

19 hours ago, Derek1 said:

Bank fishing can be tough right now. You really just have to keep at it. They can still be shallow just not always when your there. I fish when I can, sometimes that ends up being the worst times and conditions. Some of those trips have paid of big. If your like me you only have so many spots you can cast from around the water. I cast to the same lay downs and rocks every time I go. Some times there there sometimes there not. This one was in 12” of water at 90 degrees chasing bluegill in the sun.  

I was out yesterday at my local pond and managed to get a really good bite right by a water fountain on a swimming dinger, in the late afternoon before the sun went down, I've noticed that bass in the summer time can be so confusing since we have these precidents about what they're doing, surprised bass even chase things in 90+ temperatures hahaha

[Bankbeater]

On bright, hot, sunny days I stay away from the rip rap later in the day.  I'll fish around it at night, and early morning, but after about 9, or 10 am, I've moved on to the shallows where the vegetation is growing.  Late morning and in the afternoon I'm noticing around here that the warmer the weather is, the deeper into the slop the bass are.

[cyclops2]

My findings also in shallow ponds / lakes.

[GreenPig]

I always take into consideration the food sources  before I fish a small pond. I start with small and fast lures no matter the season or water temp and allow the fish to show me which way to adjust. A 1/4 oz buzz bait, 1/8 to 1/4 oz spinnerbait, and small floating Rapala are baits I'll start with at basically any pond.  If I'm catching small bass pretty good and fish a piece of cover and don't catch any that's when I stop. Then I will throw a stick worm, fluke, or trick worm weightless and pick that area apart thoroughly. That's where I tend to catch my bigger fish. They'll run off the smaller fish. 

[Hewhospeaksmuchbull]

Welp, I consider myself a worm fisherman now. Ran out to AZ and the bass here love my sorry presentations with the stick type worms. Been throwing Yum dingers and SK shim e stick, in green and green pumpkin rigged wacky and weightless.

 

Kinda prefer the dingers, action seems better.

 

Happy I stuck with it, in fact I havent fished anything else since my first comment in this thread, really like being able to put the wood to em as I see my line take off in improbable directions.

 

Now to feel the bite on a tighter presentation

[Black Hawk Basser]

If you can access any docks - that is my saving grace all summer long here at my local lake.  I can pluck a fish from under almost every boat on a hoist with jigs and T-rigged creatures.