I see comments about covering water. I have a hard time with covering water. As primarily a shore angler, I don't cover a lot of water. I normally get to a spot, and try 3-4 lures, working the area pretty good before moving on.

 

One reason is, I am trying to determine what the fish want that day.

 

Would it be better to just take a lure that I think will work and just walk the shore?

 

How far between stops, 25-30 yards?

 

How many casts per stop? Do you just give it 4-5 casts to the prime spots, or do you fan cast each time?

Yes to all - the fish will tell you kinda and sometimes you feel like a few different retrieves or casts are in order but generally putting my bait as many places as possible as quickly as possible is the name of the game and I may alter surface bottom or mid column as I walk and will vary retrieve until I get bit and then try to replicate that in other areas etc.

30 minutes ago, Bazoo said:

Would it be better to just take a lure that I think will work and just walk the shore?

 

How far between stops, 25-30 yards?

 

How many casts per stop? Do you just give it 4-5 casts to the prime spots, or do you fan cast each time?

Covering water from shore isn’t that much different than being in a boat. Start with a single presentation that will allow you to effectively fish the predominate cover and depths available. Moving distance depends on a variety of factors, but generally the more open the shoreline, the more likely I am to just move 15’-30’ down the bank at a time while making a few casts ahead of me to high percentage areas. If you catch a fish, take a few extra exploratory casts depending on the situation; otherwise, keep moving along. You can always return to productive spots, or make a second or third pass around the place with a different presentation each time. Eventually, you’ll learn the high percentage areas and options at each body of water, and can fine tune future tackle and tactics.

It’s difficult to answer without knowing the shoreline contour/ topographic elevation. Example a flat shoreline tree lined vs a steep rocky terrain.

My method was to locate a point that has shallower to deeper water to start with. Seasonal period plays a major role to determine where to fish.

Aquatic vegetation determines what lure cab be effectively presented to the bass.

Since you are fishing from shore uphill presentations or surface and or shallow running lures should be a consideration.

Time of day is another factor to consider, lower light the bass maybe shallower, brighter sky they may be deeper or under the cover or docks.

My favorite shore presentation is using soft plastics slip shot rigged. I fan cast the area cover 180 degrees 1/2 circle if possible. Make about  5’ distance between where each cast landed, this covers the area. Then move down to where the 1st cast landed and repeat the fan pattern.

Tom

 

Thanks @Team9nine.

 

How best to handle shore that is void of cover and all looks the same?

 

How best to handle a good long stretch of riprap?

1 minute ago, WRB-2.0 said:

It’s difficult to? To answer without knowing the shoreline contour/ topographic elevation. Example a flat shoreline tree lined vs a steep rocky terrain.

My method was to locate a point that has shallower to deeper water to start with. Seasonal period plays a major role to determine where to fish.

Aquatic vegetation determines what lure cab be effectively presented to the bass.

Since you are fishing from shore uphill presentations or surface and or shallow running lures should be a consideration.

Time of day is another factor to consider, lower light the bass maybe shallower, brighter sky they may be deeper or under the cover or docks.

My favorite shore presentation is using soft plastics slip shot rigged. I fan cast the area cover 180 degrees 1/2 circle if possible. Make about  5’ distance between where each cast landed, this covers the area.

Tom

 

Thank you!

I like to start with a spinnerbait - it allows me to cover the entire water column, and get an idea of their behavior on a given day. 

 

As was said above, fan cast and cover the entire spot, then move on and repeat.

 

When we’re hitting the urban ponds that I know get hammered or when fiddling around on the river, I will forget the spinnerbait and tie on a short (6-8”) dropshot with a #1 EWG hook and a 4” curl tail worm rigged weedless, cast it out and slowly drag it in. If I don’t get a bite on this, I move on.

2 hours ago, Bazoo said:

How best to handle shore that is void of cover and all looks the same?

 

How best to handle a good long stretch of riprap?

If it is truly void of cover and uniform, then likely any bass in the area are just cruisers or opportunists, and you can fish through the area rather quickly. The trick is figuring out if it is truly void of features that will hold fish.

 

Riprap is pretty straight forward. You have the first couple feet out from shore (an edge or breakline) that is always high percentage, and you almost always have a depth at which the riprap ends - it doesn’t run out underwater forever. That is also a critical breakline. Fish those two stretches thoroughly. The rest (the in-between stuff) you can quickly cover with search bait until you determine specific anomalies that will regularly hold bass.

3 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

If it is truly void of cover and uniform, then likely any bass in the area are just cruisers or opportunists, and you can fish through the area rather quickly. The trick is figuring out if it is truly void of features that will hold fish.

 

Riprap is pretty straight forward. You have the first couple feet out from shore (an edge or breakline) that is always high percentage, and you almost always have a depth at which the riprap ends - it doesn’t run out underwater forever. That is also a critical breakline. Fish those two stretches thoroughly. The rest (the in-between stuff) you can quickly cover with search bait until you determine specific anomalies that will regularly hold bass.

I guess it's not truly devoid of cover and uniform, in the literal sense. It has an occasional sparse bush in the place I'm thinking. It isn't laden with cover that I can see. Occasionally you'll feel a stick or see a stick sticking up out of the water. There isn't very much in the way of cover.

 

There is one place I know there is a creek channel which produces good, but everyone else fishes that too.

 

The structure doesn't have much in the way of contour or depth change.

 

What it does have is sort of a short bluff wall, made of mud. It's about 2'-3' in that spot. There is a few minor scragly bushes and small amount of buckbrush there. I haven't been able to figure out how to fish that yet, but I have pulled a few fish by throwing parallel to it. Mostly nothing though. It's a clayish mud along that bank.

 

When I'm bank fishing I walk the edge and fan cast the same lure for 30 minutes or so. Fishing any cover(lay down etc)I can find(either around it with my ml rod or in it with my mh rod) 

 

1 hour ago, Bazoo said:

I guess it's not truly devoid of cover and uniform, in the literal sense. It has an occasional sparse bush in the place I'm thinking. It isn't laden with cover that I can see. Occasionally you'll feel a stick or see a stick sticking up out of the water. There isn't very much in the way of cover.

 

There is one place I know there is a creek channel which produces good, but everyone else fishes that too.

 

The structure doesn't have much in the way of contour or depth change.

 

What it does have is sort of a short bluff wall, made of mud. It's about 2'-3' in that spot. There is a few minor scragly bushes and small amount of buckbrush there. I haven't been able to figure out how to fish that yet, but I have pulled a few fish by throwing parallel to it. Mostly nothing though. It's a clayish mud along that bank.

 

 

Here's an old post I did giving you an idea of what might be around...

 

 

First, a there are few things to consider while fishing from the green side.  Before I leave for a fishing trip I will attempt to find depth charts for that particular Body of Water.  I will also check it out on Google earth, and the local weather forecast for that area.  If I have the time I like to get eyes on the place beforehand as there’s often little details that photos and maps don’t show.  This can tell me a lot about the ease of access.  More on that later.  

    The weather obviously plays a big role.  Wind speed and direction can help me choose what lures I use, which bank I want to start at or target.  I’m not going to go too far into this as this has been beat to death already. 

    Next is the terrain and vegetation.

This is where that ease of access I mentioned earlier comes into play.   It can matter a lot  because the easier the bank is to walk, the more water you can cover.  The more water you can cover the more fish you can put your lure in front of.  At a well maintained public lake or pond you maybe able to walk the entire perimeter of the body of water, while at the other end of the spectrum something like a strip pit pond deep in the backwoods, you may only be able to fish from a handful of spots which means I’ll usually spend more time picking apart everything within casting distance.  

    The vegetation/terrain can even affect things like what clothing and footwear I’m wearing. For example if I’m going to have to hike over rough terrain to get where I’m fishing I’m going to wear hiking shoes and pack light.  Maybe only one rod and a fanny pack with extra lures and/or soft plastics in a zipper baggie, a handful terminal tackle in an old film canister, and some spare line.  On the other hand if I’m at the nice public pond I’m probably wearing street clothes, tennis shoes and I’m bringing all my gear/rods, although I may leave most of that in my vehicle and I can run back there and grab what I need when I need it.

    Now after all that comes the actual fishing part.  I will always try and approach as stealthily as possible.  When I first started out I don’t take this that seriously but after seeing giant bass take off from right next to bank more than a few times, I learned my lesson.  This is why it helps to fish like during hours of darkness or at least low light.  Not because I believe they necessarily bite better but because it’s harder to throw a shadow and spook the fish.  I will still use slow and deliberate movements while close to the bank.

    I will make a few casts from a distance in order to check the immediate area around where I’ll be standing on the bank. I have on several occasions caught fish this way.  Granted depending on the vegetation/terrain you may not be able to do this.  

    If there is any obvious cover/structure within casting distance I try and target that first.  Next I’ll make casts parallel  or as close to parallel to the bank as possible.  If there is another linear feature such as a weed or shade line I’ll cast along that as well.  Lastly I’ll fan cast around an area before departing.  Usually this will be approximately 3-5 casts depending on nearby vegetation which may limit where and what direction and/or angle you can cast. Also if I’m carrying a second rod with a follow up bait I’m might use that here.

    After that I’ll move stealthily to the next spot, if possible no further down the bank than I had previously presented my lure.  Often times I have no clear path along the bank to my next spot.  That means I’ll have to repeat the process from the top.

 

Speaking of which the times that I do best are the times that I’m able to stay mobile and cover water from the bank.  The more you can do this, the more potential fish you can put your lure in front of, which in turn means more strikes.  It’s a numbers game really.

 

15 minutes ago, bp_fowler said:

 

First, a there are few things to consider while fishing from the green side.  Before I leave for a fishing trip I will attempt to find depth charts for that particular Body of Water.  I will also check it out on Google earth, and the local weather forecast for that area.  If I have the time I like to get eyes on the place beforehand as there’s often little details that photos and maps don’t show.  This can tell me a lot about the ease of access.  More on that later.  

    The weather obviously plays a big role.  Wind speed and direction can help me choose what lures I use, which bank I want to start at or target.  I’m not going to go too far into this as this has been beat to death already. 

    Next is the terrain and vegetation.

This is where that ease of access I mentioned earlier comes into play.   It can matter a lot  because the easier the bank is to walk, the more water you can cover.  The more water you can cover the more fish you can put your lure in front of.  At a well maintained public lake or pond you maybe able to walk the entire perimeter of the body of water, while at the other end of the spectrum something like a strip pit pond deep in the backwoods, you may only be able to fish from a handful of spots which means I’ll usually spend more time picking apart everything within casting distance.  

    The vegetation/terrain can even affect things like what clothing and footwear I’m wearing. For example if I’m going to have to hike over rough terrain to get where I’m fishing I’m going to wear hiking shoes and pack light.  Maybe only one rod and a fanny pack with extra lures and/or soft plastics in a zipper baggie, a handful terminal tackle in an old film canister, and some spare line.  On the other hand if I’m at the nice public pond I’m probably wearing street clothes, tennis shoes and I’m bringing all my gear/rods, although I may leave most of that in my vehicle and I can run back there and grab what I need when I need it.

    Now after all that comes the actual fishing part.  I will always try and approach as stealthily as possible.  When I first started out I don’t take this that seriously but after seeing giant bass take off from right next to bank more than a few times, I learned my lesson.  This is why it helps to fish like during hours of darkness or at least low light.  Not because I believe they necessarily bite better but because it’s harder to throw a shadow and spook the fish.  I will still use slow and deliberate movements while close to the bank.

    I will make a few casts from a distance in order to check the immediate area around where I’ll be standing on the bank. I have on several occasions caught fish this way.  Granted depending on the vegetation/terrain you may not be able to do this.  

    If there is any obvious cover/structure within casting distance I try and target that first.  Next I’ll make casts parallel  or as close to parallel to the bank as possible.  If there is another linear feature such as a weed or shade line I’ll cast along that as well.  Lastly I’ll fan cast around an area before departing.  Usually this will be approximately 3-5 casts depending on nearby vegetation which may limit where and what direction and/or angle you can cast. Also if I’m carrying a second rod with a follow up bait I’m might use that here.

    After that I’ll move stealthily to the next spot, if possible no further down the bank than I had previously presented my lure.  Often times I have no clear path along the bank to my next spot.  That means I’ll have to repeat the process from the top.

 

Speaking of which the times that I do best are the times that I’m able to stay mobile and cover water from the bank.  The more you can do this, the more potential fish you can put your lure in front of, which in turn means more strikes.  It’s a numbers game really.

 

Nicely Done ~

A-Jay

1 hour ago, Team9nine said:

 

Here's an old post I did giving you an idea of what might be around...

 

 

Thank you for sharing.

 

I'll definitely have to look a bit closer for minor changes.

44 minutes ago, bp_fowler said:

 

First, a there are few things to consider while fishing from the green side.  Before I leave for a fishing trip I will attempt to find depth charts for that particular Body of Water.  I will also check it out on Google earth, and the local weather forecast for that area.  If I have the time I like to get eyes on the place beforehand as there’s often little details that photos and maps don’t show.  This can tell me a lot about the ease of access.  More on that later.  

    The weather obviously plays a big role.  Wind speed and direction can help me choose what lures I use, which bank I want to start at or target.  I’m not going to go too far into this as this has been beat to death already. 

    Next is the terrain and vegetation.

This is where that ease of access I mentioned earlier comes into play.   It can matter a lot  because the easier the bank is to walk, the more water you can cover.  The more water you can cover the more fish you can put your lure in front of.  At a well maintained public lake or pond you maybe able to walk the entire perimeter of the body of water, while at the other end of the spectrum something like a strip pit pond deep in the backwoods, you may only be able to fish from a handful of spots which means I’ll usually spend more time picking apart everything within casting distance.  

    The vegetation/terrain can even affect things like what clothing and footwear I’m wearing. For example if I’m going to have to hike over rough terrain to get where I’m fishing I’m going to wear hiking shoes and pack light.  Maybe only one rod and a fanny pack with extra lures and/or soft plastics in a zipper baggie, a handful terminal tackle in an old film canister, and some spare line.  On the other hand if I’m at the nice public pond I’m probably wearing street clothes, tennis shoes and I’m bringing all my gear/rods, although I may leave most of that in my vehicle and I can run back there and grab what I need when I need it.

    Now after all that comes the actual fishing part.  I will always try and approach as stealthily as possible.  When I first started out I don’t take this that seriously but after seeing giant bass take off from right next to bank more than a few times, I learned my lesson.  This is why it helps to fish like during hours of darkness or at least low light.  Not because I believe they necessarily bite better but because it’s harder to throw a shadow and spook the fish.  I will still use slow and deliberate movements while close to the bank.

    I will make a few casts from a distance in order to check the immediate area around where I’ll be standing on the bank. I have on several occasions caught fish this way.  Granted depending on the vegetation/terrain you may not be able to do this.  

    If there is any obvious cover/structure within casting distance I try and target that first.  Next I’ll make casts parallel  or as close to parallel to the bank as possible.  If there is another linear feature such as a weed or shade line I’ll cast along that as well.  Lastly I’ll fan cast around an area before departing.  Usually this will be approximately 3-5 casts depending on nearby vegetation which may limit where and what direction and/or angle you can cast. Also if I’m carrying a second rod with a follow up bait I’m might use that here.

    After that I’ll move stealthily to the next spot, if possible no further down the bank than I had previously presented my lure.  Often times I have no clear path along the bank to my next spot.  That means I’ll have to repeat the process from the top.

 

Speaking of which the times that I do best are the times that I’m able to stay mobile and cover water from the bank.  The more you can do this, the more potential fish you can put your lure in front of, which in turn means more strikes.  It’s a numbers game really.

 

Thank you for sharing. I do use google earth to check out all the spots I fish. Sometimes you see some interesting stuff.

Believe it or not, I actually caught big bass when I was a kid trolling from shore.  I fished a small lake where the bank was steep and dropped off 5 to 10 feet within a couple of feet of the shore.  The bank was rocky, with some irregular small bays and points.  I would walk to each point and cast a spinnerbait parallel to shore.  This stretch of shoreline was my big bass place and if the wind was blowing hard could produce all along the bank.

 

One day I decided to fish while walking between points.  There was a cattle trail along the bank, and the walking was fairly easy.   I would cast my spinnerbait out, hold my rod out as far as possible, then walk slowly feeling my spinnerbait bounce along the bottom.  If I couldn't feel bottom I would slow my walk, until I started making contact again.  When I would get to the next point I would slowly reel the lure in and make one cast back towards where I had been and a couple towards the the part of the bank I had not walked yet. Then would start trolling to the next point.  After going to the end of the 1/2 mile bank, I would work my way back doing the same thing.  I left my tackle box on the bank where I started and when I got back to the box, would change lures and do it all over again.  

 

I landed my PB that lasted for  43 years old while trolling a black and yellow Colorado blade spinnerbait from the bank. 

 

Yes, I like to cover a lot of water while fishing from shore.

Great posts in here. I don’t have much to add. Great work by @Team9nine and @bp_fowler. Fish can be quite sensitive to your movements along the shoreline, as others have already pointed out. I used to fish a small reservoir in NY that was surrounded by a high wall on half of the reservoir. You can step up the wall and cast from on top. As soon as you do, some fish will see you. I used to see fish dart away as soon as I climbed up. That being said, my preference when I’m shore fishing is to move, and move a lot. Until I find some.

20 hours ago, Bazoo said:

 

Would it be better to just take a lure that I think will work and just walk the shore?

 

Yes.

 

20 hours ago, Bazoo said:

 

How far between stops, 25-30 yards?

 

Use your gut, but generally, stop way more than that. 

 

20 hours ago, Bazoo said:

 

How many casts per stop?

 

Again, listen to your hunches.

 

Watch Your Step When Bank Fishing | The Ultimate Bass Fishing Resource Guide® LLC

10 hours ago, GreenTrout said:

 

Watch Your Step When Bank Fishing | The Ultimate Bass Fishing Resource Guide® LLC

This is good info. Thank you. Any other tips like this?