Bank Fishing vs. Boat Fishing

[Guest basskid17]

Is bank fishing quite a bit different than boat fishing? i am thinking about starting tournaments and have only been "boat" fishing a couple of times. what do you suggest i do to become a better "boat" angler?

[squid]

Are you wanting to start a bank fishing tournament?  Kinda limiting your space to fish, unless on a river.

Yes bank fishing is a whole lot different.  You are throwing out to deeper water and bringing it up to shore.  Lure selection might still be the same, maybe no spinnerbaits though.  Still have to concider the water conditions, forage, weather conditions, just about the same.  Just running into more weeds if fishing ponds and most lakes...rivers are fun to fish from shore.

To be a better boat fisherman you need to keep fishing from a boat on different types of lakes.  Find a local angler and see if he/she can show you a few things to help you learn too.

[Shad_Master]

I would suggest that you look into joining a local club and fish some tournaments.  This is probably the best way to learn a lot in a hurry.  I have been fishing my whole life (soon will be 55 years), but bought my first boat about 4 years ago.  After I bought the boat, I looked around and found a local club.  We have two types of tournaments.  The club tournaments are for year-end points, trophies, etc. and the "calcuttas" are more for bragging rights.  I have fished the club tournaments as a non-boater and the calcuttas as a boater.  I have learned more by being in the back of the boat from guys who have been tournament fishing for a while, but now I feel that I am ready to starting driving.

The main difference is that you are fishing backwards from bank fishing.  You throw to the bank and bring your bait out to the deeper water.  But you also have the advantage of getting into some of the better fish holding spots that you may not be able to get to from the bank.  I still like to bank fish and spend a lot of evenings at a local pond trying out different techniques, but fishing from the boat will increase your productivity a lot.

[Shad_Master]

That's twice today that Squid has jumped in while I was typing my reply.  I guess I shouldn't be so long winded ;D

[Nick.Culver]

Big difference between boat fishing and bank fishing is that you are going to fish more structure. You will be fishing humps and ledges. If your running the boat you need to rely on electronics. My biggest suggestion is to backseat in a local club for a few years.

[squid]

Sorry Shad_Master..15 yrs younger so I type faster...lol

[Shad_Master]

Don't worry about it Squid -- you know what they say:  Old age and treachery will out do youth and vigor ;D

[roadwarrior]

Boating simply opens up more opportunities. I fish small ponds from the bank regularly and by their nature, I can cover them throughly.  On the other hand, I also fish some big water, the Tennessee River in particular, and would be lost without a boat.  The main difference is fishing relatively shallow from shore versus deeper structure from a boat. Again, the opportunities presented in fishing from a boat are vast, whereas limited from shore. If you just consider the amount of water you can cover from a boat, I think the differences are obvious.

[fatbass]

I bought a jon boat last summer and spent a lot of time controlling it.  The new trolling motor should help.  I'll fish from shore most often because of convienence. I look forward to the lessons in structure fishing from the boat.

[earthworm77]

With bank fishing, you are forced to slow down and you don't have the ability or desire to burn up water quickly like you do in a boat. It is very easy to get caught up in moving around alot when you have that ability.