My brother and I got our first boat recently and have taken it out twice. It's a 14ft aluminum semi v with a 35lb minn kota. We have one of those portable battery operated fish finders, Eagle Eye is the brand i think. But it seems to be most useful as a depth finder. So, for now we are without electronics. Electronics will be our first upgrade when we can followed by a motor.

 

Our setup is very basic and simple. Now that we have learned (sorta) to tow, launch, trailer, and maneuver the vessel in the water, we have to relearn how to fish from it having bank fished almost exclusively. We went out this morning and started casting plastics, jigs, and frogs to the trees and brush along the shoreline to anything that looked like it might hold bass. Did this for a few hours. Felt like there were curious fish at times but no takers. Lots of active bluegill. Tried drop shotting and cranks in deeper water before we left. My brother got a nice rainbow on a fat chartreuse crankbait, but no bass today.

 

My game plan today was to fish visible cover. Started with the topwater frog into reeds, brush. Then jigs and other plastics into the same cover and towards the dike/rocky bank. none of this more than 10ft deep, slightly stained water. vegetation along the bottom. Temps have been in the 40's at night/60s day lately. Storm passed a few days ago. I'd like to blame it on the weather, but that won't help me next time.

 

 I've read alot on here over the winter and thought I had learned alot, but I'm finding its hard to put what i've learned into action. However, I did learn today that controlled casts are more important on a boat than distance like bank fishing. lol

 

How should I approach my next outing? What did I do wrong? What didn't I do?

 

I think you hit the nail on the head with the cast control.  That has been the most vital piece of the bank to boat transition that I have experienced.  The more accurate the cast, the better chance you have in catching fish....as long as you are picking out the proper targets, of course.  The other thing that I would work on is boat positioning so that both of you can work together to find the fish.  

 

Congrats!

when i began fishing, i began from a boat... i had never fished from the bank before... so, being in a boat, i wanted to cover as much water as fast as possible, thinking i would have more chances that way... we used to drift with the trolling motor along the shoreline, making casts at every piece of cover... of course, since i was moving fast, i could make one, maybe two casts per piece of cover, and i also missed some pieces because i was retrieving... we catched some bass this way, but then, we began noticing most of the other boats were fixed at one spot, sometimes even tied to the bank and making parallel casts to it...

 

later, my local lake prohibited motor boats, so i began bank fishing... at first it was hard, as i wanted to walk along the shore and cast, pretty much as i did on the boat... later on, i realized it was better to completely cover a spot, so i would go to the bank and fish for 1/2 hour or so without moving... if i didnt get a fish, i would walk maybe 40 yards to the next spot, and repeat... now i have several spots identified when i almost always catch a fish...

 

now, i took this same principle to the boat... it was hard to convince my partner, but now we drive to a spot, and completely cover it with casts... by doing this, we increased the number of fish, i would say we catch twice as much now than when we were always on the move...  sometimes we even tie to the bank if the fishing is good there... this way we have been able to catch several fish out of the same spot, when before, we would get one and by the time we did the next cast, we would already be 20 or 30 yards away from the spot...

 

 

im still learning, but i would say, fish as if you were in the bank, and see the boat as a vehicle to take you between bank spots instead of walking... thats mainly my approach, i fish as if i were on the bank, the advantage being that i can positiont the boat 5-10 yards off the bank and cast parallel to the shore, beginning right at the bank and each time casting a little bit farther from it until im casting completely parallel...

 

this is how i have been doing it, but im also new at this so lets see what other people have to say...

Depending on where you live, and what the fish are doing based on water temp, the shores don't always hold the most fish. If they're in pre or post spawn you would have more luck fishing the first drop offs next to the spawning flats. If they are spawning you may want to sight fish and saturate an area with casts until you agitate the fish into biting. If they are already in a summer pattern you can fish shallow early and late in the day (low light periods) but fish a little deeper during the heat of the day. My last advice is to not base too much on one outing. My brother and I (coincidentally also just got our first boat, too) have taught ourselves how to fish from the internet and it is not easy. Don't expect every day to be like you see in the youtube videos where guys catch a four pound fish every other cast. Hope this helps.

 

Brian

 

 

Edit: Sorry, I just re-read your post and realized this might not have completely answered your question. Hope it helps anyways.

Cold fronts are going to give the bass lockjaw. Sounds like you did everything right. Fish finders don't "find" fish. They allow you to identify depth, bottom composition, structure, and in somewhat deeper water, identify fish or bait. If you are beating the banks the finder is pretty much used to keep you from running aground. 

Don't know if others will agree with this advice but I am generally skunked for 2 full days after a front/major storm system. So if it hits on Tuesday, I will generally not start catching them again until Friday. Just personal observation and not based off any real knowledge. These forums have so many tips and tricks it's ridiculous to try and go out there applying everything, you should grab 1 or 2 things at a time that interest you and work them alone until mastered then move on to 1 or 2 more things.

 

If you are catching any fish on one of your first times out on the boat then you're already ahead of the crowd. I remember my first couple times I went on my new boat I fought it the whole time and barely even got a lure in the water. Big learning curve for me at least.

The outboard motor should be your next investment to allow you to get where you need be. The trolling motor is used to control the boat when moving slowly. You sonar unit will suffice to help you know what the bottom is like, where breaks are, what the depth is and locating bait fish etc.

My advice is fish the points to start with, points are visual structure and bass magnets. You might want to consider an anchor system, this will save your trolling motor power until you can afford a small OB.

Get yourself a topo map of the lake and start learning to read your sonar in between fishing.

Enjoy you new found freedom from the bank, be safe!

Tom

Its less about learning how to fish from a boat because its basically a moving shoreline. You fish the same way you normally would. The real key is learning boat control with that trolling motor.

 

 

im still learning, but i would say, fish as if you were in the bank, and see the boat as a vehicle to take you between bank spots instead of walking... thats mainly my approach, i fish as if i were on the bank, the advantage being that i can positiont the boat 5-10 yards off the bank and cast parallel to the shore, beginning right at the bank and each time casting a little bit farther from it until im casting completely parallel...

 

 

x2. forget about electronics and structure for now. first learn how to duplicate ur bank success from the boat.   if you both are successful slow dragging senkos from shore, do it in the boat.  if you're masters of drop shotting banks, do it from the boat. etc

after you achieve 'bank success' from the boat, then start to analyze deeper spots with ur electronics.  there are plenty of awesome threads on structure fishing. just do a forum search.

good luck and give us an update