The saying goes something like this...
"Anglers fishing from the bank spend all their time thinking about being on a boat just to get on a boat and fish the bank."
Another one goes like this...
"Anglers fishing from a bank cast out, anglers fishing from a boat cast in."
Regardless of which one resonates with you hopefully you see what both sayings have in common.
Those on a boat like to fish the shoreline - or in other words "beat the bank".
There's nothing wrong with this approach and quite frankly a lot of tournaments have been won this way.
The banks of ponds, rivers, and lakes all have a lot to offer to fish and as a result anglers follow suit.
So the next time you find yourself "beating the bank" try and remember these few tips.
Bring Your Polarized Sunglasses
The banks of most fisheries include shallower water and some type of cover or structure.
Having a pair of polarized glasses that can cut through the surface glare will give you a huge advantage over the guy that doesn't have them.
This becomes especially important when sight fishing.
Look For Cover
For most fisheries, the shoreline is where you will find the majority of the fishing cover.
This includes anything washed up from floods, rocks, vegetation, and man-made structures such as docks.
Cover is a favorite among larger fish since being such a great attractant for smaller prey fish.
Once you spot some cover try and create an image in your mind of what it looks like below the surface.
By doing so you allow yourself to fish things not seen above the surface that might get missed by other anglers.
An example of this would be a laydown that extends out from the bank where only the trunk of the tree is visible.
While a lot of anglers are targeting the base of the trunk, it could very well be that most of the fish are hanging out a few extra yards off the shoreline where the branches are.
Gauge The Slope Of The Bank
Slope in simple terms has to do with how steep something is.
Understanding the slope of the area you're fishing is an important piece of information to have as an angler.
When fishing the bank just ask yourself whether the water depth remains shallow as you move offshore or if the bank quickly drops off into deeper water.
Points tend to have a more gradual slope whereas a cutbank will have a steeper slope and much more dramatic drop in water depth.
If you're not sure where to begin just start by assessing the color of the water.
Shallow water typically has a lighter tent and deeper water will have a darker tent.
Properly gauging the slope of the area you're fishing helps you better understanding depth changes and gives you insight on how you should be controlling your lure to properly fish that area.
Extra Slack After Your Cast
Keeping just a tad bit of extra slack in your line at the end of your cast goes a long way when beating the bank.
This is especially important when fishing a lure that is best worked on the bottom.
Remember, most banks will slope in some form or fashion.
That extra slack in your line helps get your lure to the bottom at the start of your cast as opposed to it swinging out and away like seen on the right in the above picture.
Smaller Lure Movements
This applies mainly to sinking lures (Texas rigs, jigs, etc.) and goes hand-in-hand with gauging the slope of the bank you're fishing.
If you're fishing a steep, sloping bank you don't have to impart as much action on your lure as you may think to get it moving.
This is because of having to account for not only lateral (side to side) movement of your lure but also vertical (up and down) movement.
Not only are you moving your lure away from the bank and closer to you but your lure is also dropping in the water column as seen in the above picture.
The lift of the rod tip that moves your lure 2 feet on a flat bottom may move your lure 10 feet on a steeper bank after factoring in the horizontal and vertical distance traveled by your lure.
A dead giveaway of your lure moving more than you think it should is if you feel a swinging tension in your line after you've stopped putting action on your lure.
To counter this, simply work your lure in a slower and more subtle manner.
You won't notice this as much change when fishing gradual sloping banks since there not being as much of a vertical drop - however, it's still something to keep in mind.
Time to go catch 'em!
If you ever have specific questions to topics covered in our articles feel free to reach out!
Connecting with us is easy!
Go to the Home Page
Subscribe so you never miss an article
Respond to the subscriber email with your question
or you can head over to our Contact Us page and send us your question from there.
תגובות