whats the best way to find bass from the bank?

[BassHunter69]

i dont have a boat so i could use some sound advice on catching bass while im on a peir , or bank.

[Maxximus Redneckus]

Look for deep water like 5 foot,wood,grass, rocks, shade and stained or muddy water keep a low profile and pitchh if u can to any cover use smaller lures with natural colors too find out if  fish are aggressive or lazy

[David P]

When fishing from a dock, I directly target the sides of the dock, casting out along weed lines or tulies and such. Don't just directly cast out, look for weed lines and vegetation.

[grimlin]

Jigs are my go to bait as well as a great bait to scan the bottom for rocks,trees and holes.Like others mention look for weed lines...Fish love hiding in those weeds.

[RoLo]

The very first, and sometimes the only thing you'll need is the best available Contour Map.

Without exaggeration, 60 seconds with a good chart can literally save years of toil circumnavigating the bank.

The chart answers vital questions like where's the inlet, the outlet, where's does the channel approach the bank, holes, ridges ~ ~ ~

The rest is easy, just visually locate cover, especially where two weed species merge with a drop-off.

Roger

[John J.]

Just like the others said. When I fish from the bank I search for wood, grass or cover in the water. If I am on the pier or dock I fish all around it and stand on the bank beside it and cast either a YUM Dinger wacky under the dock or a texas rigged worm.

But I'd search for weeds, trees, logs, stumps, grass, etc.

good luck!  8-)

[Matt Fly]

Walk lots of bank, fan cast to it all.    I like a spinner bait for searching and plastics after finding a few bass with the spinner to probe harder.     With bank fishing, sometimes its hard to find prime areas.

if you can bank fish it, so can others.

Matt

[grid]

The 2 ponds I have next to my house are not that big.  I just walk around the shore doing what matt said and fan fish.  We do have a few that fish these ponds as well.  I tend to see what they are using all the time and use something different.  Fish arn't dumb!  They will fiqure what not to bite.  A few weekends ago I caught 30 bass fishing a total of 4 hours.  (Saturday morning for 2 hours Sat. night for 1 and Sunday morning before Church for an hour)  I went to Church with fish smelling hands. ;D

[Guest avid]

Same as from a boat.  The shoreline cover is there whichever direction your coming from.

Just don't want right up to the water edge and cast.

stand back 20 feet or so when first approaching a spot and cast to the water edge,

no sense spooking em.

[vaparrothead]

I do about 90% of my fishing from banks.  Everything you hear about finding fish from a boat applies to fishing from the bank.  Look for any change to the water; change in clarity or current movement.  Look for shadows (large rocks or stumps in the water).  Watch what the land does as it enters the water; if there's a gentle slope down to the waters edge chances are it'll continue into the water; steep drop offs the same way.

Good luck.

[Del from philly]

Thanks for posting this topic

i actually put up the same topic, but after reading my post, their was no real question, and it just made me sound stupid....lol

thanks again

[BassHunter69]

wow i never expected a reply so fast thats awsome. thanks alot guys i apperciate the input from each of you. what kind of baits would you recomend in lures as well as live baits ,also what tactis could i study and practice even if im not on the lake or river. Years ago as a kid i lived in illinios and fished every year in wisconson back then i targeted walleyes,pike and muskie. so bass'n is new to me,as well as the big game here in Alabama.

[bubbler]

jiGS /SENKOS SENKOS SENKOS.

fishing lice bait use what ever is plentifull i the lake.

once you find fish try more fines techniques.

try the guies said, find cover and fan cast.

I fish dock and shore to.

these work best for me. hope this helps!!!!!

[benpsut]

Yes this site and these forums are very helpful, just like you I had no idea on how to bass fish but these guys taught me and I taught myself.  I'll share my knowledge with ya........

First thing I must tell you is go WEEDLESS!  Eagle Claw makes some nice weedless hooks.  Very nice weedless hooks.  Gander Mountain, Cabelas, Dicks, Wal Mart.....any of those stores will have them.  The weedguard is very durable.  Ive only had one weedguard come off only because a bass was gut hooked and instead of pulling on the hook i pulled on the weedguard with the pliers.  Why use hooks with weedguards instead of texas rigging?  Well, second thing I need to tell you is use stick baits, whether its Senkos, Tiki Stiks, or Yum Dingers.  And you need to use them weightless.  You can use a texas rig with out the weight but we're going to fish the senko type bait wacky, right thru the middle of the worm.  So the weedguard protects the exposed hook from weeds.  Fish weed edges parallel  to the shore not right in front of you.  And more than likely you will end up in the weeds which is a good thing because bass will be IN the weeds.  But try to stray from casting into the weeds, it will be more productive when fishing the edges.  And slowly bring the stick bait to you by just reeling in a little bit and let it sit.  You can do this with any type of bait but recently senko type baits are very popular.  Once you've fished the weed edges all around the impoundment you are fishing, throw some jig n pigs out in the middle and slowly bring it back to you, this will scope out structure holding bass and makes you get a feel for the lake.  Carolina rigged worms work great for this too.  Top waters and cranks/swims.......eh, i've had a few on them from shore but not many.  Spinner baits tho are superb buzzed right along the weed edges.  Hope this helps.

[Sam]

I had enough of work so Monday afternoon I went to the local pond to try my luck and get away from the phone calls and meetings.

Threw a firetiger crankbait along the weed line to my left off the dock and wham!, landed a nice two pounder on the third cast.

Changed to a 1/4 ounce chartruse and white spinnerbait with two silver willow leaf blades and threw to the weeds to the right of the dock and wham! I landed a two and a half pounder.

I nailed a few smaller ones, probably from last year's spawn, around 6 to 8 inches and caught one bream on a Rooster Tail just for the fun of it.

So the guys have told you exactly what to do.  Throw along the bank or weed lines or into the grass. Senkos are dynamite; crankbaits and spinnerbaits can produce good results; a Chatterbait is a different presentation that can be a good tool to use; and always throw a Rooster Tail just for the fun of it.

But always remember two rules for fishing ponds. First, since the fish can hear and see you, walk at least 50 to 100 feet from the bank when you move from location to location; and second, don't fall in!  

I almost fell in on Monday but caught my balance and avoided the tradegy.  Now I leave my car keys and cell phone in the tackle box!

[Del from philly]

im pretty much a 100% bank fisher, far from an expert........ it can be great fishing, but sometimes chaleneging to find a good spot...especially where

Best way to fish lakes from the banks is find the patterns....and ask yourself these questions

1) where have i caught bass at this lake, and when?

you will often find that the small cove may be really good fishing at 8pm, but during the day their is not 1 bass within the area, you need to find a consistant spot at the time you go fishing, like me, i know i hacve to walk

2) Is the pattern consistant?

Do i usually catch fish at this one spot in late afternoons or is it coincidence..you need to know if its a true pattern, or just what happened one day

3) where do i catch my biggest/bigger bass??

you will find many medium sized largemouth in many areas, but i guarentee the big ones will probably be consisentrated in a certain area, remember the spots where you have caught big bass and mark them

4) Find the place where you can get a descent cast out AND catch bass

Their will be many spots where bass hide that you cant cast into without hanging up into a tree every other cast....at 6 bucks a lure sometimes, this isnt worth it, and their will be many spots where you can get a great cast off, but their are no fish, you need to find the middle ground

hope it helps

John Del Sordo

[BassHunter69]

1st and formost i want to say you guys have been the best here with tips,advise and such i recently fixed up one of my poles and changed out the reel and line since i prefer the spincast this one is set up with a 6 lb pole and an ugly spin good for up to 8 lbs with 6 lb cajun line. my favorite pole which is my med action ugly stik spin cast is good for 15 lbs, again i had to change out reels when i bought the combo it wasd only good for 8lbs so i added an old berkly spincast reel ive had since i was a kid which is great for 15 lbs. my delima is should i get the 15 lb ugly braid or the 14 lb cajun line for this set up.?

i kinda figured the cajun lines good for weed cover but the ugly braid great for trees,rocks ect.... would i be right about that?

[Sam]

OK, now you are opening another can of worms: line.

May I suggest throwing either 8 or 10 pound Extra Smooth Trileen on your spinning rig, and no higher for a pond?

6 pound test can work well, too, but always check your drag as if it is too tight the line will break and if it is too loose you will not get a good hookset.

4 pound is great for bream but it tangles easily and can drive you crazy.

I use braid when there is a lot of grass or rocks.  Otherwise, it is either mono or fluorocarbon.

Be sure to spool your spinning reel with the line coming off the spool in a counter clockwise manner and spray pure silicone or Van Dam's Line and Reel Condition on a face cloth, getting one square inch wet, and running your line through it as you spool your spinning reel or baitcaster.

You may also consider using a swivel when throwing twisting baits.  A small swivel.  It will help control line twist if your bait is a twister.

And ask your line question in the Tackle area of this forum and hold on for all the respons you will receive.

Today I fished a pond I have seen since 1972 for the first time.  Nailed one on my trusty firetiger crank bait and a second on the chartruse and white spinnerbait. Had a baby bass jump clear out of the water and try to eat my blue/black Senko.  I think the Senko was almost as long as the baby bass.

The wind was too strong today so I left but it was fun and I finally got to fish that pond.

[BassHunter69]

well i know what sam says is true about that can of worms. turns out i couldnt find the ugly braid the guy at dicks sporting goods which i talked to talked me into a 14 lb stren mono cuz he said it was low memory and decent abrasion resistant. while i was there i got a blue gill looking like red eyed shad,as well as a green watermelen booyah boo jig, then i got 2 bags of yum crawdad's to add to my arsonal . im going to be at wheeler dam this saturday where i know theres lots of weed cover and lots of rocks.

oh i almost forgot i got a rainbow trout like walker or popper bait. got plenty of spinners for twisters and storm perch like swim baits think i got enough YET? lol

Naw lures are like golf balls ya can never have enough of em in my book.

[327]

I fish on the bank of a small lake most of the time, so this thread will help me too.

I find that if I walk to the waters edge, I have to remain still and wait about 10-20 minutes before I can start to catch a decent amount of fish.

It is very possible to catch great fish on the bank. I caught my biggest bass from the bank at night (6lbs)