It doesn’t matter how advanced a fisherman you are, I think you’ve got the beginner fishing bank. Access is easy and it is definitely more economical than buying a boat and trailer. Fishermen of all experience levels crowd fishing piers, line wharves, and stand shoulder to shoulder at the bottom of spillways to wet a line. Some people have even made a living by documenting their fishing successes on their banks. youtube.
You can catch a lot of fish from the bank—you just have to know where to go. Target these four spots and you’ll have the best chance of landing a giant off the coast.
Find the best access point
Your best resource for finding access Google Earth. Use it to locate and pin down every marina, jetty, spillway, public boat ramp and fishing pier you want to target. You will then have a network of different fishing spots so you can go (in your car) from one to the next. It’s good to have several options depending on the bite, just like you would if you were fishing from a boat.
Target Tournament Marina
There are always big fish hanging around marinas, especially those that frequently host boat tournaments. After these tournaments, the competition fishermen release the fish at the marina, and you can fish for retreads for days after an event. Marinas usually have a lot of structure and shade, making them a prime area for bass all year long. Be sure to check the rules and regulations to make sure the marina allows public fishing, as some do not.
Often released fish will latch onto the first few pieces of structure they encounter in order to reanimate. You can’t go wrong except for weightless plastic wacky rig or a hard stick bait Under the dock and letting them fall slowly.
fish main lake point
How to Catch Big Fish When Bank Fishing – Roland Martin
Roland Martin, the legend, shows you how to catch big bass from the bank.
There’s a reason you see many professional fishermen running milk runs on the main lake and secondary points during specific times of the year – a set of predetermined locations they’ve decided to fish. Fish use the points for staging, and when the wind is right, they can be especially good areas to concentrate. Some of the larger lakes have access roads at several points where anglers can drive down and fish from the point. Look for long thin points where fish can move into the shallows for food with quick access to deeper water.
Rock jetties provide warm-up
During the shad spawn or early in the year when the fish are looking for heat, they will stay close to rocky piers. The sun shines on the rocks, heating them and warming the nearby water. Working the piers from shore is a smart way to reach large numbers of fish when it’s cold, as the schools will be looking for the heat off those rocks. Walk as close to the water as possible and create a slope parallel to the shore. Take your bait just behind the rocks, and be prepared for a hot meal – literally.
Spillways always catch fish
You never really know what you’re going to catch when fishing the spillway, but you are almost always guaranteed to catch something. Spillways are stocked with fish, and almost all of them have public access for fishermen. Be sure to check the generation schedule of the spillway you want to fish. When the water is released, bait fish come in from the lake, which is like a dinner bell ringing for nearby predatory fish.
