13 Feb Smart Tactics for Shore Fishing
Fishing from shore isn’t quite the same sport as fishing from a boat, but it can be equally rewarding in terms of number of fish caught.
Shore bound fisherman lose that classic sense of freedom, and that true feeling of escape that’s associated with going fishing, and being all alone out on the water, and really getting away from it all. But these days even the smallest aluminium pleasure craft can get expensive with trucking, storage, maintenance, insurance and fuel costs, and licensing – these issues are completely eliminated from the shore fisher’s recreational experience, and that goes a long way toward instilling freedom and relaxation.
Plus savvy shore anglers that are adaptive and aggressive can enjoy the same success and have just as much fun as boat owners.
Bank anglers should streamline equipment to preserve their mobility
All things being equal, shore bound fishermen actually do have more mobility than boaters, and so they shouldn’t surrender that advantage to an oversized tackle box. Its good advice to just bring only the essentials that can be carried in a backpack or a coat pocket to free up their other arm for navigating through bushes, over rock walls, fences and other shoreline obstacles.
Swashbucklers that like to go exploring have to be extra smart about the baits they choose to bring and should select only those lures most applicable for the season – the rigs they choose should match the characteristics of the water body upon which they’re fishing. So for example, if they’re planning on scouting out a shallow lake, they won’t bring deep diving cranks and 3/4-ounce jigs. They’ll pack instead just four or five simple solutions, a reasonable back-up, and travel light.
Finding a New Fishing Spot
Finding new fishing spots on shore is a combination of four different factors: 1) the structure of the terrain in relation to the species of fish the angler hopes to catch. 2) The amount of marine life in the area, and 3) access and privacy issues on land, including casting space, noise, pollution, crowding or anything that might otherwise prevent the fisherman from enjoying himself while in the spot. And 4) license restrictions as per State or Provincial guidelines.
Use Portable Sonar Fish Finder to Scout Shorelines before Fishing
There are two ways to explore and discover perfect fishing holes near shorelines and using a fishfinder app on iPhone and Android with sonar attachment is an advanced solution to the age old problem of how to visualize the land that’s closest to the shore without going swimming.
Bill Anderson of MuskokaOutdoors.ca writes that for him ‘… fishing from shore boils down to finding a structure that attracts the fish you are looking for.’ And by that he recommends fishermen research the shoreline and find a place to fish that has interesting terrain features beneath the surface of the water. Bill will be using a FishHunter this winter to find a new favourite fishing spot, peering beneath the surface of the waves to glimpse life and land below, and in most cases for the first time, he hopes to see the bottoms of rivers and lakes upon which he has grown up fishing.
Bill writes “…for cold water species, I would fish rock ‘out-croppings’ that tend to have deep water associated with them” but he adds that “…proximity to weed beds is important” and time of day is also a factor. “The sun drives most fish to structures and tends to shut the bite down.”
Fish near wooden docks
These manmade structures are often over-looked by anglers, but veterans know that wooden docks attract fish, and when people walk on the boards and boats move around the posts vibrate a little bit and they agitate the water right down into the soil, and along their entire length and instead of scaring fish away, the wood on water rumblings can attract them closer.
Just as man first explored the ocean by sailing around the coasts, and the same way cows walk fence lines when put into new pasture, so to do many species of fish. Many marine animals really are creatures of habit, and tend to orient themselves in their vast aquamarine world near familiar structures- like an old wooden pier along the shoreline.
The way fishermen approach new shorelines is important
So many rookie anglers will waltz right down to the water’s edge and make the farthest cast they can manage; little do they know, they’ve probably just cut their chances of catching a fish in half before their first cast even hits the water. So many shore fish have acute visual and sensory perception that helps protect them from danger, whether it’s an osprey, otter, gator, or bear, three fourths of the game fish predators come from the shoreline. So any unnecessary shadows and shoreline movement, any loud noises and even land vibrations will trigger the fish’s natural instinct to swim away into deep water. When an angler walks to the waters’ edge to make their first cast, he will almost certainly spook any fish lurking near the shore.
Its good advice to approach each new spot quietly, and make the first cast from several yards back. This makes a huge difference in the number of fish hooked on the initial cast. It’s recommended that after the fisherman has made the first few attempts from a distance, then he or she can approach to the water’s edge, survey the situation as best as possible, and try casting into deeper water from that new position – or try casting parallel to the shore some distance away
Fish near disturbances along the shoreline
Cast your bait near parked boats that are bumping the waves and in the wake of boats trolling about the marina – its good advice to fish near the holes in the waterscape made by boat’s metal props as they stir up dirt underwater. That type of soil disturbance attracts hungry fish and makes your earthworms, or metal lure seem more believable, and perhaps even more palatable.
Early morning and early evening best times to fish from shore
Shoreline fishing often seems to creates more pollution
One of the big problems associated with bank anglers is the amount of litter left behind on shore. Be it discarded fishing line, used hook wrappers, discarded plastic worms, or empty Coke cans, all anglers need to take responsibility and pack a garbage bag, or fill a shopping bag with your litter to remove it and other people’s litter from the scene.