Who here fishes from the bank?

[ba7ss3in]

;D

[roadwarrior]

Hey RW whatever works for you

These things have served me well at some of the small farm ponds I fish.Maybe they make a difference maybe they don't,just tryin to offer up some help 8-)

I don't use senko's or shimano reels and I still manage to cath a few bass :

Sometimes statements come across sounding harsh on the internet. I certainly did not mean to disparage you or the comments you made. I make long casts parallel to the shore and fish forward, so my approach or color ensemble doesn't come into play.

However, I am surprised people catch fish without a Senko or a Shimano...

J/K...Trying to lighten up the thread a little.

8-)

[Bankbeater]

I fish from the bank about 75% of the time. I'll use mostly t-rigged and c-rigged plastics from the bank. I'll swim a jig if I can get it through the weeds. Usually only throw cranks from a boat, since its a pain when they hang up.

[Kodiak Zach]

Alot of great info here.The only thing I would add,when fishing smaller lakes and ponds is be steathy,walk light wear more nutral colors try to blend in a bit.Also when i get to a spot I stop 20' or so from the bank and make some long casts before moving to waters edge.When moving I'll move back away from the water then move to my next spot and repeat.Alot of nice bass can be had from the bank. Good luck and have fun.

VERY VERY true if you fish the same small body of water all the time. I fish a 3 acre pond in my back yard every night. The fact that I can still pull a couple Bass out every night has to do with 2 factors:

1.) Exactly what you said, stealth is key. If I walk out wearing bright colors that don't blend into the background and the lake is calm, those Bass scatter and move out 30 to 40 ft before I ever get close to them. However, if I go out wearing a camo hat and a shirt/shorts that blends into the background/sky then I can sneak up on them and hook a couple.

2.) You have to change up your lures. Once these fish have had a lure thrown at them repeatedly, day after day, they file it away in the "don't bite that" file.

I think that stealth is the number one most overlooked topic in the quest for Bass fishing success on a pressured bodies of water and it is even more important to shore bound fishermen who have a lot less water to choose from.

[Kodiak Zach]

P.S. Fish do like it when you dress up for them:  

[roadwarrior]

Stealthy?

http://www.kevinvandam.com/about/

:

[Bassnbrett101]

P.S. Fish do like it when you dress up for them:

Its not a dress, but very nice!  Thats a good picture

[New Bass Man]

I mostly fish from the bank.  The best tip I can give you is don't stay in one place too long.  I move every 15 minutes if nothing is happening.

[Fish Chris]

I fish from the bank all the time at one of my favorite trophy bass lakes. Granted, my boat is always beached within 100ft of me. I just use it to get me to the right area, but when given the option, I believe its MUCH easier to sneak up on a giant bass by way of our own element (land) than by the fishes element (water).

I caught both of these two bass fishing from the shore last year:

14.40

15.60

Peace,

Fish

[Bassnbrett101]

Fishchris - no matter how many pictures of your fish I see they never cease to put me in awe, thanks for sharing them

[Gone_Phishin]

The majority of my bass fishing is done from our dock, which is situated on a medium sized flat. Several years ago I dropped a few BIG brushpiles in; the difference is night and day. Not only am I catching more as far as numbers are concerned, but I'm catching more quality fish as well.

Last year on opening weekend (first sat in May) I caught the second biggest LB of my life right off one of our piles. A 4" Senko, T-rigged, did the trick. She went a solid six pounds.

[Troutfisher]

P.S. Fish do like it when you dress up for them:

;D

What's the story behind that?

[Turtle.]

Stealthy?

http://www.kevinvandam.com/about/

:

LMAO

RW

I like that your still bustin my chops over that

KVD may not be as stealthy as me,but like me he doesn't use shimano reels either and he still manages to cath a few bass

[BassinBoy]

Stealthy?

http://www.kevinvandam.com/about/

:

LMAO

RW

I like that your still bustin my chops over that

KVD may not be as stealthy as me,but like me he doesn't use shimano reels either and he still manages to cath a few bass

O Funny you!  KVD rocks.  He could use a crowbar with steel cable on it and still catch fish.

[BassinBoy]

I fish from the bank all the time at one of my favorite trophy bass lakes. Granted, my boat is always beached within 100ft of me. I just use it to get me to the right area, but when given the option, I believe its MUCH easier to sneak up on a giant bass by way of our own element (land) than by the fishes element (water).

I caught both of these two bass fishing from the shore last year:

14.40

15.60

Peace,

Fish

Nice fish Mr. Chris

[crappiekid24]

I fish from the shore and walk the shoreline. I like to flip baits into pockets of the junk. That has always produced for me. I keep walking and tossing my bait.

[Kodiak Zach]

P.S. Fish do like it when you dress up for them:

;D

What's the story behind that?

Well you see, I got home from work and looked like this:

Wife started flippin her jaws and was mad at the kids not doin their homework. She needed to eat and dinner wasn't ready so I knew better than to stick around. Threw my sport coat on the couch, grabbed my Teramar with a 4 inch Storm Shad on it, told the dog to come on, and walked across the street to the dock. Drifted the bait around the pilings and first pass thru pulled up this 7.2-lb'er:

Called wifey and told her to bring the scale and the camera ;D

P.S. Don't ever fool yourself into thinking that Bass aren't keenly aware of your presence, especially when the conditions are flat and calm on a pressured body of water.

[Troutfisher]

Very interesting and good advice, thanks for sharing.

[nboucher]

I tried fishing from the bank, but there was no water near it, so I did a withdrawal and headed for a nearby lake.

Sorry, couldn't resist  :

[bigbill]

Get your self a humminbird portable fish finder. I mainly fish from shore too(disabled) and i would send my kids out when the ice was on to poke some holes and i'd us a weighted line to figure out the bottom structure, then in the spring i'd know how to fish it. I also find the drop off's and points as well as the flats. I now use the humminbird portable fish finder, the wrist watch and probe that gets casted out. I use a heavy rod with braid to cast out the prob so i can't lose it. I mainly fish in the early hours of the morning just before first light when the larger bass are right at the shore line ambushing the baitfish. You need to be very quiet and stealthy with your tacklebox and tackle. Walk softly too because they can feel the vibrations from your foot steps and don't step on any rocks on the ground they act as speakers that your there too. You can fool them with stealth. Wear dark color clothes too if you can see them they can see you. I wear my hunting camo. I make long casts and bring in my lures very slow so i don't spook them. Polarized glasses are a plus too.

You don't need a boat to catch decent sized bass.  Once you figure out what works were your fishing your good to go.

What works were i fish is;

BPS Topnocker color #25

Rapala orginal floater blue  2"

Bomber fat A in red apple craw

Manns baby 1 brown crawdad

Bomber fat A in green craw

Senko  Red flake  carolina rigged with a 1/8oz brass weight.

Grubs chartruse color

I fish smaller places that weren't fished before(some of them).  I get the most action in the smaller places.

[guitarkid]

I tried fishing from the bank, but there was no water near it, so I did a withdrawal and headed for a nearby lake.

Sorry, couldn't resist  :

I am glad I am not the only one. I think I caught an '88 corolla.

                -searoach

[Bassnbrett101]

I tried fishing from the bank, but there was no water near it, so I did a withdrawal and headed for a nearby lake.

Sorry, couldn't resist :

I am glad I am not the only one. I think I caught an '88 corolla.

            -searoach

LMAO!!!  

[Paul Roberts]

I don't own a boat anymore. I fish from shore and from a float tube.

Gosh, where to start... guess it'll be generalizations/tips:

-Fish paralell in early season -when bass are shoreline related.

-Fish more perpendicular in summer. In most waters, with depth or size, many bass move away from shore in summer. I carry (at least one) 7ft spinning rods with large spool reels filled with 15 or 20lb braid at these times.

-Explore different waters. Some are easier than others (fish population size, fish education level, number of ambush points, fit your style, etc...).

-Identify primary food shelves -shallow areas with food.

-Identify time of year and bass' likely behavior at that time

-Fish low light (sky, water surface)

-Stealth can make or break your fishing, especially under bright (high visibility conditions), and/or if the bass are fished over very often.

[Micro]

I fish from the bank about 1/2 the time I fish.  Mainly because I decide on the spur of the moment that I want to fish and don't feel like prepping the boat.  So grab a rod an a tackle bag and just go.  I have a lot of fun fishing from the bank/dock.

[Guest muddy]

I fish Frequently from the shore, there are a lot of ponds and stripping pits around here that hold nice bass.I use 2 2 piece Cabelas Gold Label 6'6" Med Spinning Rod I keep behind my truck seat, along with a small old one tray green metal tackle box . I have a couple of jitter bugs and some #11 Floating Rapala and a lot of plastics in it.

Some of the things that help me are I don't fish where everyone else fishes. Usually a cleared spot or a big rock on shore will draw most crowds. I fish where most of the time you get wet or on the side away from the road and easy acess. You would be surprised on even a heavily pressured pond, this makes a big difference.

I just got a blue gill set up and I will be toting that this year also.

Just something I do: I bring a trash bag with me, THERE ARE A LOT OF SLOBS OUT THERE THAT CALL THEMSELVES FISHERMEN. Those heavily pressured spots always have, styrofoam worm containers, Eagle Claw Sneeled hook packages,fast food debris and soda and beers bottles left on them, I bag em and throw them in a trash container when I get home. Then people wonder when you ask someone if you can fish thier property and they say no! 8-)