Need some bank fishing insight?

[FishBomb]

I fish a lake or pond, whatever you call it, that is about 5 acre. It has some monster bass in it as well as crappie. My ? is how do you catch the bass? The weather here in Alabama has been dry and hot. I went yesterday and saw 3 nice fish trolling the banks. I used top water, spinner bait, and plastic. They would check it out but no strikes. I caught two nice ones this spring when the where bedding by just bugging them with the spinner over and over again. With these fish on the move this is hard to do and does not seem to work this time of year. I know it being hot can affect the fish so what do you guys think may trigger a strike? It has some really good shallows, one side with rocky banks and deeper water(where the bass where yesterday). Thanks guys,

Jason

[Fish On]

Hey PM me.

[MotherNature]

Jason,

I am sure that Fishaholic will be along any minute to give you some help, he is our resident expert on bank fishing

When Mike was first teaching me how to fish we used to fish on a pond that was on base and one of the hardest times to catch them was in the heat of the summer. They are moving really slow right now and you almost have to hit them on the nose to get them to react to your lure. They also don't want to have to go far for their food so some things that move fast not going to get much attention. You might have to try many different combinations of plastics to get a bit but when you do remember what it was that you were doing to get that bite.

Try different weights and styles of rigging and see what you can come up with

Laurie

[Fish On]

If the water is clear try
Deep water-Dropshotting
Rocks-Try natural color tubes, sinks and crankbaits
If you have some flats try a buzzbait right over it, the clearer the water the fasteryou reel.  I dirtier the water the slower you reel.

If water is dirty
Try black and blue jig
Try black and blue tube

If it is windy try spinnerbaits against the wind. 

This is something I love.  When you have wind in a cove and the water turns from clear to muddy try spinnerbaits.  Often minnows move in because of wind and bass move in because of mud. 

If this pond has mostly small fish tell me(PM so I don't forget to post) because then some lures you would need to change such as a tube downsize to a 2.5 in tube or maybe drop a jig or use a smaller jig and etc.

Tell me about pond if it has overhands deep shorelines and etc.

[Fishaholic]

I've fished many ponds just as you're describing...here's my advice:

1. fish very early and from 1/2 hour before sunset to 1 hour after sunset;

2. get radical - try strange combinations of baits, e.g., a 1/2 oz. Johnson Silver Minnow with a 7" chartreuse Culprit worm trailer and work it tight to the shoreline in low light;

3. surface baits that you have the patience to toss near heavy structure, and let sit for upwards of 7 minutes without moving the bait...then give it one hard rip and let it sit again, wait for all ripples to dissipate and give it ever so slight a twitch and hold on!

4. super light line and super downsizing - 4 lb. test Berkley XL with 1/32 oz tube jigs or FLW finesse worms rigged weightless.

5. go out just before Tstorm and just after Tstorms;

6. I can go on and on, but the most important thing to know is when fishing early and late from shore if at all possible, cast parallel to the shore line as much as possible...and keep moving until you contact active fish.

I have more suggestions but I'm running late right now...I'll be back.

[bass1cpr]

     I have a five acre lake in my back yard and I fish it daily. With the conditions your giving I'd suggest going weightless with your plastics. The most important thing is to approach a particular spot and not move wright along the bank. Cast in as many directions as you can from that first spot then move away from the bank and move to the furthest point of your longest cast and move back to the bank softly.
Repeat the process.
     If you spook a bass of the bank rember it. There will be one there agian on the next trip. And it should be one of your targets when starting.
     Try making a crankbait wobble on the surface. Pause it then woblle some more.
Holding the rod tip high will make it easier to keep the bait on top.

[Fishaholic]

The most important thing is to approach a particular spot and not move wright along the bank. Cast in as many directions as you can from that first spot then move away from the bank and move to the furthest point of your longest cast and move back to the bank softly.

good bass1cpr... this is very important!

[Ouachita]

Currently the hottest pond bait around here is a white fluke, any brand, fished weightless on carbon line. Not pearl, gray, smoke, or any other color. White. Just let it spiral down slowly in front of the bass. If it approaches bottom jerk it up sharply and let it spiral down again. That works around the clock. It's also a killer presentation on the lakes.

Jim

[weirdlittleman]

how many people fish from the bank

[Fishaholic]

I've been averaging 10-15 times on the water per month since March 1 and haven't had the occassion to fish from a boat yet.

[Pferox]

Sharon and I have predominantly fish on the shore but that is soon to change.

[Fish On]

I fish shore almost always.  When I go on my boat its for a tournament.

[Fishaholic]

well pooooh then you won't be one of us anymore

[Pferox]

well pooooh then you won't be one of us anymore

Sure we will, but only part time. 

[Fishaholic]

bet you won't...bet you'll always be on the boat.

[Pferox]

Naaaaaaaaaa, I doubt I can afford all that gas for this yacht. 

I have a feeling Sharon isn't all that sea worthy, not sure.

[Fishaholic]

when I owned a boat, I never fished from shore...never! In a way, I'm kinda glad my boat was stolen...I woulda missed out on the Grand Kankakee Marsh and finding out about the ditch thing...what a goldmine of fishing I never woulda known about.

[Pferox]

I never get a boat into the water on buisy days like holidays, but I do fish from the bank, and we will still pier fish alot, just another angle thats all.

Hey who knows, the bank might make that desision for me anyways, my credit isn't bad, but they look at stoopit things like length at work and type of job and stuff like that, a couple of guys didn't get loans on campers because they were county workers for some reason, go figure.

[Fishaholic]

I keep forgetting you do ocean fishing too...and when the waves are not favorable, boating isn't all that much fun

[Pferox]

You're right Fish, and Sharon isn't all the gung-ho on takin a boat out in salt yet, it will take some gettin used to it for her.

And at 17 feet, there are many salt places that I won't go to in that boat. But they have piers, and accessable shoreline. 

[Sharon]

OK, my turn here.

When I was little all we did was salt, I was always in a boat every weekend. Last time I was in a boat was 5 years ago in the Atlantic speeding around having a blast. SO Tampa Bay is just salt water but No ocean.  Theres a lot more critters down here in the waters that scares the bejeezers outta me. IF the financing comes through, I wont have many problems riding in this boat. I also dont mind going into salt as long as I can see the shore line, and know I have a chance to swim to it if I have to.  Theres NO way in  I would go out into the gulf with it, its NOT a deep sea fishing boat.  Waves dont bother me, thats the thrill of it. And any good boater knows you listen for small craft advisories BEFORE hitting the water.  I will still do bank fishing because I love the spots we go to. Sure we can take the boat there, but its not the same.  SO it may be one weekend boat, one weekend NO boat.. Im NOT giving up my bank fishing!
OK, Ive said my peace,  lets grab a pole 

[getthenet]

Hello........
Just wanted to add to this conversation about bank fishing. We fished the same lake from April to now and not once were the fish on the bank. Other years they were. Any comments on this?

[Fishaholic]

I fished one lake in particular for many years and documented the normal transitional fish locations from Spring to Fall...and it worked for many years without a hitch, then one year, weed growth deteriorated and the seasonal temps were out of wack and the whole charting system failed...the fish were still relatively close to the shoreline, but the transitional movements started at a different location that what I had anticipated, so I had to plot the migration route all over again...well, it stayed that way for a couple years, then all of a sudden one Spring, the weed growth was back to normal and they went right back into the original patterns that I documented in the beginning.

OK, my point...if they weren't where you anticipated them being, did you try other locations? Did you try finding the and tying into the predominant feeding times? Are you saying that they weren't there all year, or did you only try a few times without success and give up on the lake?

The fish are in the lake, they have to eat to survive, but like us they're not limited to staying in one place...many factors can cause the fish to move on to another location...weather, forage, weeds (ambush points for aggressive fish and hiding places for minnows), fishing pressure, etc. The trick is to adapt.

[getthenet]

We did find the fish on most days but they were never on the bank. Yes we did fish everywhere....... We had pretty good luck in finding them mostly in 5-9 ft. of water or more. All these cold fronts we've been getting changed things the past couple of weeks. Thanks for your input Fishaholic...

[Fishaholic]

My turn...went fishing the other day, just a couple days prior to the trip in question I was at the same location and all water levels were normal for this time of the year...but the other day, Van Keppel ditch was up 3 feet above normal, and Brown Levee Ditch was 2 feet below normal (and it's low to begin with)...if you read my report for Ditch Fishing Chronicles for September 27th you'll now what I tried and where my frustration lies.

Got any ideas?