shore fishing

[bassmedic46]

New to Bass fishing and have watched dvds from some of the pros and read a few books. Everything seems geared for being out on a boat and I can't afford one right now. Do the same principles apply when fishing from shore. Thank you for any input  

[berniemac]

I do the majority of my fishing from the shore. I'm not sure what principles you have learned from watching and reading, but I would say that the same general guidlines apply, i.e. different baits to try in different conditions, ways to present different baits. The thing with fishing from the shore is you will(most likely) have a much more limited mobility, meaning you need to be a little more versatile, or just persistant. Hope this helped somewhat, I'm sure someone else will have something a little more insightful to say. Good luck!

[slomoe]

Same rules apply, but sometimes its tougher to use one presentation over the other. Deeper diving cranks tend to get caught up on there way back to shore.

[bassmedic46]

Thank You for the input, I can't wait till the snow melts

[Crestliner2008]

In between my boating excursions, I'll sometimes go down to a local pond or river to fish for an hour or two to relax. Same things apply as would in a boat, but you are very limited with your mobility - obviously. To be successful, you have to know your lake/river intimately; where do the insides of points lay? Does the river take a course close to shore in this spot? Is there a deep hole off that spot? Etc... You just need to put yourself in the best possible location to present your offering to as many fish as possible. Impossible to give you detailed information on best presentations. Depends on your body of water, temperatures, target species. Not an easy task, but an enjoyable adventure. Key is, don't be discouraged!

[berniemac]

Yes! As Crestliner says, don't be discouraged. There will be a few days that you will not catch anything, but don't let that stop you from trying again!

[Bass_Akwards]

Try some of what I did starting last summer. I rekindled my love for fishing and got back into it in June of last year. I only fish from shore, so I used google earth, and located 20 ponds within 15 miles of my house.

Then I started calling the Fish and Game department from my state, as well as parks and open spaces to name a couple. I talked to biologists, and others who had access to topography maps for some of the ponds, and learned.

I came to this site and asked what seemsed like a million questions, and have learned a ton. There's so much knowlege here that when any single problem you have as a fisherman, can literally be solved in seconds, just by coming home from fishing, and posting the problem in a thread here. You want to know what lures work best in the fall and why? Come here. If you have no clue what soft plastics to start with, just come here and ask.

My advice for shore fishing is to listen to the guys who have the boats. When we fish from shore we dont have the luxury of fish and depth finders, advanced topography maps, etc etc, but what the guys in the boats do, thats what you should do. Things like...

1. Targeting heavy cover

2. understanding what the fish's main forage is at whatever pond youre fishing.

3. Understanding water temperature and how it effects the fish

4. Using the correct lures for the particular structure and cover youre fishing

5. Having basic knowlege of bass behavior like you've already read about

6. Look for things like stumps, points, dropoffs, trees, hydrilla and other bass hangouts, cast past them and let your bait wirk it's way THROUGH ambush points. Don't cast AT them, cast OVER them.

7. Some believe in the barometer more than others. Some believe in moon phases and how they effect bass behavior more than others, but my advice is to try and find a pattern with both.

If you fish for three months or a year or whatever and see no corolation between the barometric pressure and fish activity, I'd be very surprised. The 10- 2 hours hours before a big drop in barometric pressure has always increased how many fish I catch and how active they are.

Do the same thing with the moon. I've noticed, however ironic, that the bite was always much better here in Boulder Colorado, when the moon is only half full. Werid. Perhaps I'm full of it and just fish with more confidence, when the moon is half full, therefore increasing my numbers, but it's always a good idea to chart the moon and barometer and how it effects fishing where you live.

8. There's a big difference between a good "pattern" and just finding a good lure thats working well that day or a series of days. But either way, if you find either one, don't change. Keep tossing that lure from shore untill it just isn't working anymore.

9. Dont get discouraged if you are slamming them one day or even three days in a row in a certain part of a pond or ponds you're fishing, and then come back and don't catch anything for a day at the same exact place you were slaying them at a couple days ago. It happens. Move if you don't find fish after 30 minutes or so, and try somewhere different on the pond. Hit new structure. Cast to new cover and see what happens.

10. Get good gear bro. Have a rod and reel and line that can cast as far as possible. Us shore fishermen can just pull our boats up next to the best cover and pitch and flip, we have to target cover 60 yards out and cast to it. In my opinion, I catch more fish that lots of other shore anglers I see fishing, simply because I can cast to cover they dont get to because they dont have the reel or rod to do it.

As a matter fo fact, I am getting even better stuff this year to make even longer casts, and people have recomended the Shamano stradic 2500fh or the Sadona 2500fb for a great reel for under 100 bucks to do what I need.

Hope that helps a little.

Cheers

[bassmedic46]

Thank You everyone,  You are right, there is definately a lot of good knowledge on this site. I wish that I had started fishing years ago but my 3 yr olds will definately start doing it soon  ;D

[Raul]

For the better part of the 34 years I 've been fishing I 've fished from the bank and still do, I do own a boat but not always I fish from it. the advantage the boat gives you is that you can fish places that you can 't fish from the bank but that depends on the type of lake you are fishing, also, you can move to another place a lot faster than having to walk to it but walking to the place is part of the fun.

Do you need a boat ? not really

You want to release yourself from the bank ? there are a lot of alterantives without having to purchase a boat, unless you live where gators live a float tube is a good answer to the problem of being shorebound.

[bassmedic46]

I might purchase a jon boat with a small motor that will give me a little more diversity. but I never thought of a float tube. Thank you for that idea  ;D

[Sam]

The main difference between fishing from a boat and the shore is that on shore you can't fall out of the boat and in the boat you can's step on a snake.

Just throw what you believe will work.

I caught my three largest bass fishing ponds.

I lost my three biggest bass fishing from a boat.

Welcome to the forum. Glad you are with us.

[bassmedic46]

Thank You, everyone seems to have a lot of good advice. What do you suggest for for rods I have 2 1 piece 6' ugly sticks lite and 1 7' ugly stick. I'm thinking of bying the Shimano fishing backpack from cabellas and not sure whats out there in 2 piece rods.  ;D

[LooksLikeSinbad]

Thank You, everyone seems to have a lot of good advice. What do you suggest for for rods I have 2 1 piece 6' ugly sticks lite and 1 7' ugly stick. I'm thinking of bying the Shimano fishing backpack from cabellas and not sure whats out there in 2 piece rods.  ;D

- I would save your money on the backpack. I have found that a regular ol' backpack works great for my tackle needs.

- BPS has a nice 2-piece Bionic Blade rod that goes on sale periodically.

- St. Croix Premier comes in 2-piece too

- When stuck on shore, I really enjoy wading. If it's safe near you I would def. recommend it.

[Joel W]

Plenty of excellent info. One thing that you have to realize is that when the fish move to deeper water, your ability from the shoreline reach them will be very limited to unreachable.

Fishing from the shore lends itself to smaller bodies of water.

[bassmedic46]

Wading sounds like a good idea, as well as just using a regular backpack. What are good waders to get  ;D

[ksdog]

I shore/wade fish ALOT and having good equipment has really helped me enjoy the experience more. A product called 3rd grip pole holster goes on your hip and holds the second rod wonderfully. The plus side to shore fishing is that there are no long lines at the boat ramp to deal with, no boat mechanical issues to deal with, and just the overall exercise involved if you cover alot of water.

[bassmedic46]

That is true you save on gas and ins as well. I haven't seen the 3rd grip pole holster in either cabellas or bass pro, Can you get it at Dicks?  ;D

[Guest muddy]

Same rules apply, but sometimes its tougher to use one presentation over the other. Deeper diving cranks tend to get caught up on there way back to shore.

Try this : Cast out your crank; hold the rod low to the water and start cranking back; keep raising the rod tip torwards 12:00 as you come closesr and closer to shore, the higher the tip of the rod, the shallower the bait can go,

I just got a cranking DVD, and Fritts says to do the oppisite from a boat c; cast shallow , reel in deep and keep the rod tip moiving closer to the water during the retrieve, So I can't wait to hit some of the ponds I fish and try the oppisite.Be banging that crank along them rocks all the way to shore!

[bassmedic46]

I will try that can't wait to get out

[Mustang]

Ah one of my favorite subjects.  I bank fished for 40 years until I got a kayak last summer.  A few thoughts:

    1. Many times the fish move shallow in the morning and evening.

    2.  Cast parallel to the bank as much as possible.

    3.  Cast upstream the majority of the time.

    4.  Walk softly.  I've caught many fish so close to the bank I could have touched them with my rod.

     5.  Fish shade on sunny warm days.

     6.Travel light.  Two rods and a small tackle box are all you need.

Most of the boaters you see will be casting to the bank.  Gee I wonder why.  You'll lose a lot of lures if you're fishing where you should but its still cheap recreation.  If you decide fishing is for you, a canoe/kayak with the essentials can be had for $800 to $900.  Go catch some fish!!

[jwo1124]

After taking al ook at some crude Topographical maps of a couple of the ponds I fish in, I have noticed that most areas youa re going to fish from shore, the deepest water you will be fishing in about 10'. On a long cast, plan on you lure being in 10' of water, based on fishing from shroe where the slope is gradual. Some spots in one pond, you can cast out over 20', these are good spots for the stocked salmon and trout.

Anywaym when fishing in bass territory from shore, use lures that are made for shallower waters like topwaters, buzzbaits, spinenrbaits, jerkbaits, shallow cranks. Also try jigs and soft plastics for working the bottom.