hey guys, i am a non-boater.... have been fishing form the "courtesy" docks on lake waco....i have fished two different ones and cought a small bass at each.....my question is weather or not i am wasting my time on these docks....they see alot of traffic...people park the boat at the dock while they park the truck....boat in and out of there all day long...should i focus on the areas along the bank away from the actual dock?  the docks have cover within casting distance(tree,brush) but the shorelines away from the dock are pretty bare....not much cover that i can see.....i am having fun anyway...i did catch two bass....but i am just wondering if i might do better away from these busy docks...thanks in advance!

Cliff

At the lake I fish, sometimes I would go down and throw around that dock to cover.  Most of the time here, it might be the same way where you are, if there is a tournament that weekend the bass that were caught are gonna be released around the launch and will go to first cover they can find.  If you can trick them into biting, I say go for it, as long as you are clear when someonce comes to launch.  

Fishing right at the boat ramps is probably not the best place. There is lots of oil and gas in the water near them and lots of boats in and out like you said. If there are fish hanging around there, they are probably real skittish. Night time may be a better choice.

Most of the lakes around me don't allow fishing from Public use ramps or the courtesy docks.  That said, if the use area is known for hosting bass tournaments you may want to try fishing areas away from the ramp and dock if possible.  Of all those bass released at T's, some of them hang around afterwards and most T's have an off limits fishing restricition for the area in and around the launch site.

Go down there early in the morning and hit the area with a white/silver buzzbait. The fish are there. Go have some fun. Once the sun comes up work a Shad-Rap or a Carolina rigged salamander this time of year and in a month switch to U-tailed worms of various colors. When the fish are jumpin' try a Rapala floater and work it like a wounded minnow.

All these tricks work just fine around docks and from shore.

Good Luck!