Finding Fish from the Bank

[philm63]

I've read about techniques used to locate fish, but many seem to have been written for fishing from a boat. I believe many of the same principles apply when fishing from the bank but understand not all techniques will work the same way due to the different approach. Lately I've been fishing small lakes (less than 50 acres) and park/farm/neighborhood ponds.

It seems there are several ways to work a particular bait, many of which are equally effective from boat or bank, but there has to be those that work best from one or the other. What would be some bank-specific techniques for working reaction and finesse baits? Loaded question, I know.

[Capt. BassinLou]

I don't believe there are many differences from fishing from the bank versus a boat, with the only exception of vertical presentations. For example drop shots and vertical spoon jigging. Although one can still fish the drop shot from the bank.  

[philm63]

Is there a significant advantage working a bait down a sloped bank (from a boat) vs. up the bank (from the bank)? Do bass care if a bait is defying the laws of gravity? Do bass even study law? (Wile E. Coyote reference there)

[Capt. BassinLou]

Is there a significant advantage working a bait down a sloped bank (from a boat) vs. up the bank (from the bank)? Do bass care if a bait is defying the laws of gravity? Do bass even study law? (Wile E. Coyote reference there)

I don't like to over think when it comes to bass fishing, because it will drive me nuts.  Assuming there were significant advantages working a bait down a slope versus up a slope, the angler would have to have the ability to fish both slopes on that given outing to find their answer.  The "what if's" in this scenario are endless ie, overthinking.   

[philm63]

So as far as actually finding the fish from the bank, I'll assume then that the same basic approach applies as would from a boat. In other words, I can still fan cast an area with a spinner, for example, and do the top first, slow it down to hit the middle of the column, then work the bottom to see if anyone's home.

Can I do the same with a t-rigged u-vibe or similar? Can I use such a bait to work the whole water column to find fish from the bank? Better question is; do folks do it this way?

Oh, and when searching but not finding, do most folks change the bait first, or do they leave the bait and change the location first?

[Capt. BassinLou]

So as far as actually finding the fish from the bank, I'll assume then that the same basic approach applies as would from a boat. In other words, I can still fan cast an area with a spinner, for example, and do the top first, slow it down to hit the middle of the column, then work the bottom to see if anyone's home.

Can I do the same with a t-rigged u-vibe or similar? Can I use such a bait to work the whole water column to find fish from the bank? Better question is; do folks do it this way?

Oh, and when searching but not finding, do most folks change the bait first, or do they leave the bait and change the location first?

The short answer to the first two paragraphs is yes.

As far as changing the bait and/or changing locations. In my case yesterday while bank fishing, the bite was non-existent for me until I changed baits. Then I began getting hits frequently, and I was also covering water.

[Smallie_Stalker]

When it comes to finding fish from the bank fan casting is your best friend.

If I am unfamiliar with the body of water I take a two-step approach here. First I use a T-Rig or C-rig with a weight of 1/2 oz. and I fan cast so I can determine what is beneath the surface of the water that I can't see. Once i know what's down there i take a moving bait lie a spinnerbait or lipless crank and fan cast looking for active fish. Evenif a fish doesn't take the bait, but reveals it's location you can go back and adjust your bait and presentation to try and hook up.

Second, if there is visible cover, I work it from ll angles first with a moving bait as above and then with a slowed down and focused approach with either a jig or plastric.

I repeat this process, fan casting until I have either connected with fish or worked my way down the entire stretch of bank. Then i turn around and do it all again from the opposite angles.


Sounds confusing at first, but once you do it a few times it becomes second nature and helps you eliminate unproductive water.

[FlatsNBay]

Look for wading birds feeding along the waters edge. They usually indicate baitfish and minnows present along with bass. It's a good place to start.

Sent from my moto e5 play using Tapatalk

[bigjim5589]

Fishing from any type of watercraft provides an advantage for getting to spots that may not be reached from the bank, so that in itself may limit what lures or techniques might be used from shore.

Then the body of water and how it's situated may limit a bank angler, particularly to accessing the entire shoreline or areas away from shore. Some of the places I used to fish & now fish from shore, are limited to access from bridges & causeways. I also have permission to fish from some neighbors piers, but have yet to catch a bass there.

A bank angler may be very limited as far as finding fish. The smaller the body of water, the easier it may be to fish from the bank, but not always. I fished a small private pond years ago, and always caught some fish there, but I think it was due to the fact I could easily cast across the pond to the opposite shore, and the shore side that I fished from was clear enough to fish from, while the opposite side was grown up. I caught the biggest Crappie that I ever caught from that pond. 

I fished a small lake & some creeks from the shore growing up and always seemed to do better in the creeks. I think that was primarily due to better access to places that held fish.

I agree with Bassinlou, that many of the same lures and techniques can be used from shore & from a watercraft. My first "watercraft" was a belly boat ( float tube), which gave me access to places that I couldn't reach from shore. I fished much of the time I had that bellyboat with fly tackle and used the same gear & flies as I did from shore, so that didn't change. When I used other tackle, and lures, it was mostly spinning gear with lures like Spinnnerbaits & Beetle Spins that allowed me to cover plenty of water. I used some small jigs then too, but not in the same manner as I did later when I got a boat. It's difficult to flip or pitch when you're up to your waist in water.

My next watercraft was a Gheenoe, which I still have. It was an upgrade from the belly boat, and I used various gear with it. I could get into some very skinny water areas with it. When I first got it, I could stand & cast, although it wasn't the most stable, I was still fairly young, so really no limits on techniques or lures. However, I sat most of the time when fishing, and that didn't limit what I could do a lot, it did have some limits. I would much rather be able to stand to flip or pitch a jig.

The next watercraft I obtained was a decked jon boat, which was wonderful to fish from, except of course  the larger the boat, the more water under it they need. There were no limits of tackle or techniques with it. I even sometimes did some trolling for Striped Bass with heavier gear, and large lures, that was more typically used on larger boats.

So, any of these various watercraft, improved my access to places that couldn't be reached while fishing from shore. Shore fishing was limited to what could be reached with whatever length of cast I could manage. I didn't get too technique specific when fishing from shore, and most of the time tossed reaction type lures or soft plastics that could be cast & retrieved without much issue. That meant I didn't often attempt to cast into heavy cover from shore, unless it was close to shore. I learned to fan cast and cover what water could be covered, but that didn't necessarily mean there were bass in those places.

IMO, you have to first be fishing where there are bass that might be caught to be successful from the bank, and every body of water may be different. the same still applies to fishing from a boat, but at least you have more options of covering water.

I know that I used jigs a lot more often, and learned a lot more about fishing them after I got a boat than I did in all the years I fished from shore. That was more about where I fished, as I could toss a bass jig all day and never catch anything.

I recall fishing one small river where I usually took my boat, but this time I went there to fish from shore. I tied on a small Yozuri Pin's Minnow, and using ultra light spinning gear, was casting it and retrieving it past a point of grass. I caught several bass & a few other fish there that day. That specific spot was near a roadway, where there was a bridge over the river, and I fished there often with my boat. trouble was, the boat ramp was on the opposite side well up river, and the bridge was too low so that boats wouldn't fit under that bridge, so the spot I was catching them that day from shore, I would have never tried from my boat since it was on the other side of the roadway. I learned two important things that day. One was that those Pin's Minnows would catch fish, and the other was that bass could be caught from shore sometimes, as long as there are bass close enough. I had fished there before from the shore, and mostly only caught Perch or Crappies near the bridge.

So as far as lures or techniques, it's probable that the places you're fishing will dictate what to try, instead of trying to use those that may not fit that location.