Must read for bank anglers … will no doubt increase your catches this summer

[Catt]

@Takemetothebank With minor adjustments to suit my bodies of water your original post is spot on!

[LrgmouthShad]

OP, I really like your advice, but I’m having some trouble. I can hardly count the number of tags you put on this post on my two hands. Having some real trouble there, I’ve only got 9? I think fingers. Then, when I had to read your list of steps…. I’ve got no more fingers left to use! 

[Sphynx]

I generally agree with this idea. @Catt is right about access, lots of places simply cannot be fished from the bank, too steep, too far from safe footing to the waters edge, too much vegetation of one kind or another, certainly limits your options. That said I find that the high level take away from this is MAP YOUR FISHING HOLES. You can do it with electronics if you have them, either on a boat or use something like the Deeper device to do it, or you can drag a bottom contact presentation slowly and work out where your finding underwater vegetation, brush piles, rocks etc, you can take it a step further and figure out depth in a general sense with this approach too, and using a fixed float will get you even more accurate. If you aren't actively obtaining a map (mental or otherwise) of what your fishing, your really just guessing and hoping for the best. If you only have one casting direction available it applies just as much as being in open, unobstructed water, personally I don't prefer to use skirted jigs for this simply because it costs a lot more when you lose them that T-Rigs or other, less expensive heads, but that's just personal preference really.

[OkobojiEagle]

I'd don't buy the excuse that "access is preventing me from fishing spot XYZ".  Throughout the year I'll be fishing from my boat, canoe, belly boat, wading or walking the bank; there aren't many spots I haven't been able to fish.  Weather, on the other hand, is a more often deterrent...

 

OP,  what I took from your initial post is your success might be due more from time of day (evening) than bait or tackle...

 

oe

[Sphynx]

1 hour ago, OkobojiEagle said:

I'd don't buy the excuse that "access is preventing me from fishing spot XYZ".  Throughout the year I'll be fishing from my boat, canoe, belly boat, wading or walking the bank; there aren't many spots I haven't been able to fish.  Weather, on the other hand, is a more often deterrent...

 

OP,  what I took from your initial post is your success might be due more from time of day (evening) than bait or tackle...

 

oe

That may be true some places, but there's spots up and down the Columbia River in Oregon and Washington where it's a sheer drop 15+ feet some times of the year, hook into a big bass on a M/F Spinning rod running 6lb or 8lb leader on 15lb braid and your in real trouble, because there's no way your landing that fish, it's just plain irresponsible to fish that spot when the river is that low. I bet there are other rivers/lakes with a similar issue. There are plenty of terrain based challenges, you just haven't fished in those spots if you believe they don't exist. 

[Takemetothebank]

8 hours ago, Catt said:

 

Glad you have unlimited access to the banks you fish, some of us don't.

 

Just because I have limited access don't mean the fish ain't there.

 

That an 11.3# from the bank while standing in chest high roseau cane.

 

This is exactly my point and while yes there are baits that may be more effective on certain days even with a brush hog you can stroke it and they will hit it similar to a spinnerbaits this is an easy way for someone who has never bass fished large public lakes before go out and have a good chance at some nice fish my success is due to countless hours on the water mapping the bottom and finding what the fish are biting o also commonly throw a jerkbait and shakeyhead and paddle tail swimbait i don’t however believe bank fisherman should power fish and should tend to try and focus on slower presentations like shakeyheads and slow dragged Texas rigs general in the summer in the heat of the day fish are not actively chasing moving baits 

[LrgmouthShad]

24 minutes ago, Takemetothebank said:

i don’t however believe bank fisherman should power fish and should tend to try and focus on slower presentations like shakeyheads and slow dragged Texas rigs general in the summer in the heat of the day fish are not actively chasing moving baits 

Think I need to say first that I think your advice is quite solid and so glad you've found a system that works well for you. I just don't think there is any easy answer for everyone fishing at all bodies of water from the bank. Up in NY, there is a reservoir I bank fish that is painfully tough to fish that I know very well. I could probably fish it with my eyes closed. Despite the vast majority of my time on the reservoir being spent throwing jigs, often slowly, my best two fish out of there have been on spinnerbaits. As a side note, it amazes me how differently fish seem to behave between NY and NC waters I've fished.

 

Again, though, I love your system and think you have a great approach and you are obviously confident in it. Hope reading about it helps someone. 

[WRB]

My advice to bank anglers is fan cast soft plastics T-rigged or Slip shot rigged. This technique covers the entire water column that can reached.

Night fishing during warm water periods can be very productive fishing from the bank. Watch were you are walking or standing as poison snakes and other dangerous critters are nocturnal hunters.

Tom

 

[fin]

10 hours ago, Catt said:

Fishing out of any boat is way easier!

 

Not for everyone.

[Takemetothebank]

6 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Think I need to say first that I think your advice is quite solid and so glad you've found a system that works well for you. I just don't think there is any easy answer for everyone fishing at all bodies of water from the bank. Up in NY, there is a reservoir I bank fish that is painfully tough to fish that I know very well. I could probably fish it with my eyes closed. Despite the vast majority of my time on the reservoir being spent throwing jigs, often slowly, my best two fish out of there have been on spinnerbaits. As a side note, it amazes me how differently fish seem to behave between NY and NC waters I've fished.

 

Again, though, I love your system and think you have a great approach and you are obviously confident in it. Hope reading about it helps someone. 

I love ny smallmouth fishing the Niagara river is killer I have family that lives in Buffalo and the Niagara is where I caught my first musky and smallmouth larger than 1 lb 

[BrianMDTX]

18 hours ago, WRB said:

My advice to bank anglers is fan cast soft plastics T-rigged or Slip shot rigged. This technique covers the entire water column that can reached.

Night fishing during warm water periods can be very productive fishing from the bank. Watch were you are walking or standing as poison snakes and other dangerous critters are nocturnal hunters.

Tom

 

In my local ponds, sometimes I have better success casting Texas rigs from the bank and working them back in towards the shoreline, then I have when casting towards the bank and working them back to the boat. The presentation is essentially the same. My guess is that if the bait is coming towards a bass in shallower water, they might be more prone to attack it vs. chasing it out into deeper water. 
 

It’s kind of mind boggling that I’ve caught many bass fishing out of my inflatable boat on various local ponds, but all of my 5 lb.+ bass have been caught from the bank. Either on a TR or WR. 

[rtwvumtneer6]

I'm so far into reading this, I forgot what I came here looking for...?

[Drew03cmc]

Where's the hardbaits? 

[Hammer 4]

Just now, Drew03cmc said:

Where's the hardbaits? 

 

Shhhh..We don't want them catching the big uns...?

[Takemetothebank]

On 7/10/2022 at 10:19 PM, Drew03cmc said:

Where's the hardbaits? 

For someone who has never bass fished before and is heading to a pond to have a picnick with his family I don’t think hardbaits are the best option. However if your a seasoned angler you know that cranks, deep jerkbaits, and walking baits  offshore during the summer absolutely kill it. But with no way to contour the bottom your best bet is a football jig drag followed up with a big worm otherwise your just guessing 

[Drew03cmc]

1 hour ago, Takemetothebank said:

For someone who has never bass fished before and is heading to a pond to have a picnick with his family I don’t think hardbaits are the best option. However if your a seasoned angler you know that cranks, deep jerkbaits, and walking baits  offshore during the summer absolutely kill it. But with no way to contour the bottom your best bet is a football jig drag followed up with a big worm otherwise your just guessing 

Hmm, I would think the opposite. A beginning angler will not know what they're feeling with a jig or big worm, but when a bass blows up on a Plopper or popper, they will definitely know it. Heck, one of the easiest, most successful baits to throw, which coincidentally, is easy for a new angler, is a spinnerbait. Your football jig to big worm advice is more suited for an angler who knows what they're feeling or doing.