As much as I like fishing from my kayak, when I travel, I typically don’t have access to a boat.
And plenty of anglers – me included – cut our teeth on the bank, casting from dry land into the shallows or working visible structure and cover.
Not having access to a boat doesn’t make you a worse fisherman than someone running the latest and greatest bass machine, but it does call for some serious saavy.
If you’d like to improve your bank-fishing game, you’ve come to the right place, so keep reading!
Bank Fishing Basics
Casting from shore for bass isn’t rocket science, but experienced anglers keep a few basics in mind.
Location, location, location
You’ver probably heard that the real estate market is dominated by location. So is bank fishing.
When I scope out a new lake – and when I’m fishing from shore it’s almost always in unfamiliar waters, I’m looking for a few ques to tell me where to start casting.
If you can find a point, that’s a really good start.
Bass will often be staging or actively hunting the sides of a point, and while you may not have a bathymetric map of the bottom, you can bet that a patch of dry land that extends out into the water is a prime spot. Even if you had access to a boat, you’d be looking for this kind of structure, and you’re at no serious disadvantage casting out rather than in.
Partially submerged trees, visible stumps, and even bare sticks breaking the surface give you a sense of where bass may be waiting in ambush, and floating aquatic vegetation like lily pads or hydrilla are also prime spots, especvially if you can position yourself such that you can make long retrieves down their edges or past floating islands of weeds.
Hit the water on weekdays
Boat launches may be crowded on Saturday and Sunday, but you’ll often have a lake, river, or pond to yourself the rest of the week.
Reduced fishing pressure can really imporve the bite, and you’ll have your choice of spots to fish when it’s just you and the water.
Shorter rods should be your first choice
As much as I love the range that a 7-foot rod gives me from the bank, getting snagged every cast on overhead branches or gnarly underbrush takes the fun out of fishing really quickly.
A shorter rod, somwhere in the neighborhood of 6-feet or less, can keep you casting and improve your accuracy.
And for me, absolute casting distance isn’t nearly as important as pin-point accuracy: when I’m fishing from dry land, I want to be able to make the most of every opportunity, and that means dropping my lures right where I want them.
Spring and fall are your friends
When the sun is baking the water, bass will retreat from the banks due to a combination of heat stress and low oxygen. And while they won’t move too deep – there’s not enough dissolved O2 for them at depth – they’ll back of the shallows quite a bit.
Cold water temperatures will drive bass deep in search of warmer water, making they much harder to target from shore unless a hole or channel is withing casting distance.
But in the fall and spring, mild weather and plentiful oxygen allow bass to move shallow, right where you want them if your fishing from shore.
Expert Tips
I’ve covered some of the basics already, but years of experience on the bank have taught me a few, more advanced lessons I’d like to pass on.
Bring a folding saw
Where it’s legal to cut branches and underbrush, I like to bring a good folding saw.
That allows me to trim back any potential snagging limbs or low branches, giving me a better position from which to cast.
I’m judicious in my use of my saw: I’m not cutting saplings down or stripping trees bare on the water-facing side. I just want to create enough space for side-armed casts.
Be willing to wade
If you know where the bass are holding, say, over and around a live weed bed adjascent to a steep drop off, but you just can’t reach it from shore, try investing in a good set of hip waders and be willing to walk out into thigh- or waist-deep water.
If you’re careful, you’ll gain yards of distance for your subsequent casts, putting you in range of structure or cover that’s otherwise unreachable from shore.
Stealth pays off
Trout aren’t the only fish that are easy to spook with a shadow, and when the bass are hunting the shallows, you need to be quiet and work the light.
Stay off the edge of the lake and hang back a few yards on your first casts. Often, a nice fish will be waiting in ambush right where you planned to start fishing, and it’ll be gone by the time you walk up to the water.
Find a map
Do your homeowork: you can often find accurate maps of lakes, rivers, and ponds online, and armed with in-depth knowledge of the bottom, you can pick your spot on the shore to maximize your chances.
Invest in a castable fish finder
Fishing electronics are getting smaller and smarter all the time, and options from companies like Deeper really do narrow the gap between anglers on shore and fishermen in a boat.
Bring two rods with you: one to cast your fishfinder and one to catch fish.
And if you’ve got the time, spend a day or two mapping likely spots before you actually hit the water in earnest; it’ll make a ton of difference to you success.
Own the night
Finally, when summer’s heat is crushing the bite, fish from shore at night.
Big bass move into ridiculously shallow water at night in search of prey, and if you’re stealthy and careful, you can target monsters in just inches of water. They’ll be well within reach of short casts when night falls, and they’ll stay there till sun-up.
Final Thoughts
I’m not going to tell you that fishing from the bank is better than from a boat, but with a solid plan and a few tips, your next adventure from shore can be as memorable as any you’ve had on water.
If you have bank-fishing tips you’d like to share, please leave a comment below!
Source: usangler.com