Bank fishing vs. boat fishing

[Susky River Rat]

I currently find myself in between boats. My new boat was going to be here mid august it’s now pushed back to mid October. My old boat is sold. I thought I had the timing perfect. 
 

pre boat I bank fished all the time. I just can’t get bank into the bank fishing mind set anymore. I feel like my freedom has been taken away. It feels like I am stuck when I go bank fishing.  My hats off to you bank only guys.  What do you bank guys do to keep it fresh?

[Mobasser]

I have a boat, but I bank fish two times a week also. Mostly because there's not time in the evenings to bring the boat.                                          What I like about bank fishing is not being tackle bound. I bring one small box that clips to my belt loop, one rod, casting or spinning depending on things.                        After fishing my lake for years I've found a couple of good spots that produce well from the bank.                                  It's more of a challenge, and I enjoy it.

[Captain Phil]

Florida has some of the best bank fishing in the country.   Before 1900 or so, practically the entire State was a swamp.  To drain the swamp, they cut thousands of canals and rock pits.  Practically every neighborhood has some fish-able water and golf course ponds  are everywhere.  Access is tricky sometimes, but there is enough to go around. I started bass fishing from the bank and still enjoy it today.  I usually carry one casting outfit and one spinning outfit.  My tackle box is a zip lock bag I carry in my pocket.  I've caught some nice bass fishing from the bank. Around here, a Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Worm seems to be the hot ticket and I never leave home without my Devil's Horse.

[Pat Brown]

I catch my biggest fish in general stalking them from the bank.  Get on in there and show em what you learned out there on the water.   ??????

 

Bank fishing is the same as boat fishing but you don't scare fish as much if you can learn to be sneaky.

 

Go very early or late right now IMHO.

[Catt]

58 minutes ago, Mobasser said:

Mostly because there's not time in the evenings to bring the boat.     

 

Or mornings, because by 9 ° clock it's already approaching triple digits. 

 

I keep in mind Nadine is still there!

 

[Bankbeater]

I feel like I have more options bank fishing.  When I fish a small lake out of a boat, that is where I will be fishing all day regardless of how the bass are biting.

When I fish from the bank then I move about every hour to an hour and a half until find them.  Sometimes I will move to an entirely different body of water. 

I also have more time to fish from the bank since I'm not having to take time to load or trailer a boat.

[bp_fowler]

I don’t own a boat, and if I’m lucky I might get out on the water 1-2 times a year on a buddy’s boat. So I’m ground pounding 99.9% of the time when I’m fishing.
 

The first thing I would tell you is that the easiest places to access from the bank are also going to be the most pressured.  So a big part of keeping it fresh for me is getting off the beaten path. My wife often teases me by saying that I don’t go fishing, I go hiking with occasional fishing breaks.

 

The other thing is it makes me constantly evaluate and reevaluate my gear.  After all you can only carry so much.  So a lot of time is spent on the thoughtful selection of gear and tackle so that I can pack light and maximize efficiency.  
 

It can also challenge you in a different way than fishing from a boat can.  I’m not saying that boat anglers have it easy by any means, I’m just saying that things you normally don’t think about on a boat become a big deal on the bank. For instance a big thing for me is casting.  A lot of the time because of vegetation or other obstacles you must make casts at weird angles from awkward and unnatural positions.
 

Last but certainly not least is I simply enjoy being out in nature.  I grew up in a city.  Not a big city but a city none the less.  As a boy if the was a small clump of woods or a creek few and far between as those were where I grew up you could bet I’d be nearby climbing trees or trying to catch crawfish.  Being out there just always made me happier and at peace.  

[LrgmouthShad]

Well, I’ll bank fish places that I’ve found in the kayak, if they are accessible, and if the wind direction sets up correct for them. I don’t want to be throwing into a crosswind. I like to keep it moving bank fishing, so I’ll probably bring one rod with either a spinnerbait or maybe or a worm or jig and then just cover water down an interesting piece of structure

 

Ive dismounted out of the kayak once this year because of heavy wind and had luck, and I plan on doing more bank fishing on spots in the future for a few reasons. 1. It’s super quiet 2. My retrieve is going to be different from any boat fisherman 3. It’s convenient and I don’t bring as much gear

[ironbjorn]

I prefer bank fishing ponds and wading known stretches of rivers. It's a lot easier to get on fish and a lot less hassle. I look at it the opposite as you. My hats off to you guys who are willing to spend all day searching and/or graphing and doing all that loading and unloading. I like pulling up with a small bag and a rod in hand and just going at it knowing I'm never far from a bite.

[roadwarrior]

Super User

Posted August 7 · IP

This guy mostly used his boat to move from place to place, then casting from

the bank.

T

[islandbass]

As a shore bound angler who isn’t so sure I want the “hassle” (as it’s not technically a hassle” of responsibilities associated with a boat - hauling, maintenance, fees, restrictions, etc.) that comes with boats, i am as mobile as can be and can hit many lakes in the same day. 
 

On the other side of the coin, as a shore-bound angler, I also face that at times, the fish are out of reach and this is where having a boat trumps being shore-bound. 
 

On My second outing this season, I caught 7 fish from two different lakes and would have gone a third lake but the fishing liberty time was near expiring, lol. I live within spitting distance of at least 5 lakes and can hit all of them in a day and sadly for these lakes (and a whole bunch more) they’re trolling motor only.  If I had a true bass boat, I would be sol. 
 

@Darnold335: So just bear with it and go fishing from the bank. Fortunately for you it’s a temporary situation ?

[PhishLI]

4 hours ago, Darnold335 said:

pre boat I bank fished all the time. I just can’t get bank into the bank fishing mind set anymore. I feel like my freedom has been taken away. It feels like I am stuck when I go bank fishing.  My hats off to you bank only guys.  What do you bank guys do to keep it fresh?

Get an inexpensive pair of hip waders and it's a different game. You'll reach stretches of the bank where others can't. You'll get to explore new places and find hot spots you had no idea were hot. Makes it way more interesting. Wading a lake or pond doesn't necessarily mean wading farther out from shore. It simply gets you away from open public cuts to new places along a tree-lined bank.

 

These are nearly bulletproof. A good set of gel insoles makes them quite comfy.

frogg toggs Rana II PVC Hip Waders | Dick's Sporting Goods (dickssportinggoods.com)

 

 

 

[thediscochef]

I focus on one lake because of where I'm at. A 27,000 acre reservoir is less than 25 minutes from me and there's a handful of bank spots that produce year round. I usually pick based on time of day, wind direction, and season. I catch probably 90% of my fish in the same 50 acre zone. It gets really boring this time of year when fishing shallow isn't so productive and I'm stuck to the fishing pier and riprap, but I catch plenty big ones. It's kind of a grind. I will likely never afford a bass boat of any kind, guides are expensive, and I didn't want to wait my whole life to catch a decent largemouth. So it's a matter of finding a spot with the most potential, and learning the snags well enough to stop burning a $20 bill on baits every trip 

[Bigassbass]

I have fished both; banks and boat. I have caught larger fish in ponds bank fishing, more fish in lakes. Bank fishing is easier and some ponds are big enough to be called small lakes and you need a canoe or some kind of boat to fish it.  It's all about what you like, what time you have and what you can afford.

[FishTax]

I like to bank fish private ponds in our area. Most of them have basically no pressure compared to the lakes I kayak on. It's nice to get consistent bites instead of going all day for only a few. I can use different baits than usual, etc. 

 

For example, yesterday I went to a buddy's 7 acre pond, he's having a grass problem he's upset about, but I happily got on a frog bite almost immediately that lasted longer than I could in the heat. There is never a frog bite at my lakes, they kill the grass because it's a water supply. I also don't understand how that works, but different subject I guess. 

[Susky River Rat]

Looks like I’m just going to have to take a walk down the creeks/rivers and cast like I would if I was in a boat. Everyone has their “milk run” of spots in a boat or on the bank. I no longer have a milk run of bank areas I would hit. It’s like relearning the areas. 
 

I think it comes down to me being a tad lazy. I walk 6-8 miles every day I  work. The last thing I want to do is walk around to fish. It’s temporary and I need that reel therapy. 
 

thank you for all the responses guys. I was actually shocked to see some of the responses of the boat being a hassle. For me it’s a tool that makes everything easier. Mostly because that is what I am used to doing.
 

Ironically every October for the last couple years we have been going down to stonewall Jackson as a vacation/ musky trip. My wife and I decided not to go this year. I may have very well dodged a bullet this year because I could be boat less.

[WRB]

Fishing from a boat you are Mobil to fish anywhere safely.

Fishing from the bank you are extremely limited where you can fish and tackle to use plus caution where you are walking.

With that in mind take 1 outfit and be prepared to snag and lose lures. Taking 2 combos means you need to set down the other to fish makes more restricted where you fish.

You catch bass from shore easier then from a couch.

Tom

[Koz]

Oddly enough, I think that I do better from the bank than from the kayak or boat. From the banks, I'll pick an area apart using different baits and techniques and if after that nothing is biting I'll hit the next spot.

 

In a kayak it's slower paced, but I'm still moving. In a boat it's a lot of run and gun. There's no real picking apart a spot with different baits because if you're not getting bit on whatever you're throwing you usually move on. Sure, you might switch up baits while you're on the move, but you rarely sit in one spot and pick it apart.

 

And that makes me wonder, how many times have we missed fish because we keep moving instead of fishing that spot thoroughly?

 

I realize that with live imaging this has changed for some, but not everyone has that luxury.

[Susky River Rat]

@Koz more water more problems. I learned to fish small in a boat. Just because I have 7 miles of river doesn’t mean I need to try to fish all 7 miles.  Same with new bodies of water. Even though I have that mind set bank fishing still seems like a burden I can’t just motor onto the next spot. Again it’s the laziness factor that I’ve been spoiled with a boat.

[gim]

@Team9nine mostly fishes from the bank and he posts a lot of bass.  I think most of his spots are oversized HOA ponds.

[IcatchDinks]

I'm a bank fisherman. The one thing I do to "keep it fresh" is walk. If I'm pond hopping, I'll walk all around the pond, fishing every bit of water I can, from all different angles. I love to wade the rivers where it's shallow enough. And where it's not, I'll climb out on the bank and fight my way through the trees, bramble, and overgrowth to a place I think I can catch fish. If I want to relax, I fish the ponds. If I want an adventure, I pick the river. It's as much a nature hike for me as a fishing trip with the river. I come home tired out and aching some days with, scratched arms, mosquito bites, sometimes a sunburn. That's not always the case, but there's always something new with the river. And it's always changing. The cover is always shifting, the water levels are always different, sometimes day to day. I want a boat, but bank fishing is loads of fun. 

[the reel ess]

On 8/13/2023 at 7:55 AM, Darnold335 said:

I currently find myself in between boats. My new boat was going to be here mid august it’s now pushed back to mid October. My old boat is sold. I thought I had the timing perfect. 
 

pre boat I bank fished all the time. I just can’t get bank into the bank fishing mind set anymore. I feel like my freedom has been taken away. It feels like I am stuck when I go bank fishing.  My hats off to you bank only guys.  What do you bank guys do to keep it fresh?

Do you have any fishing buddies? Either ones with boats or ones to go bank fishing with. I find that I enjoy company more when bank fishing. Honestly, I'd enjoy company kayaking, but no one around here fishes that way but me.

 

[IcatchDinks]

53 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

I find that I enjoy company more when bank fishing.

 

Thats funny. I'm the opposite. I prefer to be alone when bank fishing, but I enjoy company in a boat. 

[Bankc]

I have a kayak, but still do a lot of bank fishing.  For me, the biggest difference is the direction you're pulling your lure (towards the bank instead of away from the bank), and how thoroughly you fish a spot.  Other than that, they're not much different.

With bank fishing, you're limited in what you can reach.  So you often have to find a good spot and work it a lot longer.  I also take less tackle and tend to focus on variations on my retrieve more, and less on switching presentations.  That reduces the amount of gear I have to haul with me.  But in also increases your focus and slows you down.

 

On tough fishing days, I tend to do better from the bank.  I slow down and focus longer on high percentage areas.  In a boat, there's always the alure of a better spot somewhere else.  From the bank, and with the thick brush that grows around our lakes, you're usually pretty limited in where you can fish, so you make the most of what you have.  I find it's a lot easier to avoid the skunk from the bank.  But it's also a lot harder to have a really good day, as you'll often wear out the best spots and letting them rest isn't as easy.  And if there are a lot of other bank anglers around, it makes that even worse.  

 

Also, from the bank I almost exclusively fish a T-rig, shaky head, jig or topwater.  Anything weedless, as weeds are usually a bigger problem from the bank for me.  It's harder to get free if you can't get directly over your hangup.  

[casts_by_fly]

I used to love fishing farm ponds back home.  Around here, bank fishing is limited or crap.  Most lakes have significant private shoreline ownership (docks, lake houses, etc).  There is minimal access for a lot of them.  There are some ponds around which are public access and get hammered.  I'll fish them once or twice in the early season.  There are negligible farm ponds around to get permissions to fish (I've google mapped and marked everything within 45 minutes of here).  On the flip side, I've got 8-10 lakes worth fishing that I can drop the kayak into within 35 minutes.  That pretty much seals the deal for me.  I'll take whatever worthwhile opportunities are around and that's boat based stuff here.