how do you approach dock fishing

with what Kizew was saying about the walleye guys, just don’t look at Don Hansons fishing report for 4, yes I was down fishing walleyes, but I have a good question, I have always wanted to learn more about this and well here is the question.

when you our on the water and you are going to try and locate a good dock bite, what are some of the key things that will draw you to a certain dock more than others, I know that you have to look at the lake botton and ones with deeper water are usually going to hold more fish, but there is that one thing that you see when you are passing it and makes you stop, kick the trolling motor and grab your rod.

question #2, what do you use to fish docks? line and lure, I have tried scum frog w/braid line, I have tried tubes, stick worms, kgrubs, just haven’t found that good combo yet for skipping under but most of all, just getting bit.

thanks for your imput!!

shane

Shane….do you remember when you and I went to Minnetonka and fished docks!!!! That is the patteren to use!!!!! Senkos skip well….At least for a walleye fisherman!!!

First I look for a stretch of shorleline without houses or cabins. Then there’s a good chance that somebody didn’t screw up the weedbeds there trying to make “a nice swimming area”. This pattern holds up very well in the Twin City metro area. Now if there’s a broken down old dock that sits close to the water in or near this stretch of shoreline, I find it irresistable! I like docks that have a lot of heavy weeds near by. This creates an inside weedline with overhead cover, a combination the Bass seem to like.

I flyfish for Bass so when I tell you I like to skip a Dahlberg Diver up under a dock or maybe a Clouser Minnow that may not mean much. I think it’s where you put it more than what it is…

Can’t wait for warm water!

Rootski

hey, i am a bass guy through and through, i just also like to learn to fish for others species. i haven’t caught many eyes and the thrill of catching big fish has me wanting to learn more about the river fishing than anything else.

also thought, I want to know what others are using and how they approach and look at docks, it was just a question to get my brain stewing on fishing thats all.

shane

shane

Shane….didn’t i fish with you on minnetonka this past summer??????

yeah, in the new tracker, we went buy the boat rocking in a non windy spot!! you caught that 3# under the dock where the police boats park. I remember that day really well, and I remember alot of stuff that I didn’t have then and do now. yup, thanks to you, I should have baught stock in gander mountain, atleast that way I could be paying myself, seeing how they had to put one in right across the road from my house.

shane

How to pick out what kind of docks.
First I throw at every dock I see, once I start getting bit is when I decide what kind they are under. Floating, Wood, or Metal. It helps rule out at least half the docks. Then I start fishing only that kind of dock. I prefer wooden ones, but prefer the ones that they under better.
Next I figure out where they are hidding at. Is it the farthest darkest spot, are they suning on the sides, are tight to weeds, are they under the patton boat, are they on grass, rock, or sand.
I fish tubes and small worms under docks and with the right setup you should have no problem shooting them way under their.
I use a 1/16 oz weedless tube jig head skip it up under their and pop it and drop it the whole back. One thing brings me more confidence is to stick a rattle in it and make it stink.
I don’t use heavy duty line usually 14 lb mono, but that can bite you in the butt if your drag isn’t right.
I also use a med to med-lite rod to take some of the impact, that way less fish get away
Another thing to think about is alot of fish will follow the bait out before they hit it.
Also if the fish are on the edges of the docks a good swim jig or spinnerbait is a great way to cover water for them.

I think it is best to find a dock that has a sunbather on it so if the fish are not biting the eye candy is present..
All kidding aside I focus on the above mentioned, stay away from well groomed beaches look for the more over grown dock areas which shows signs of someone that does not use it but just wants to own lake property.Search for docks in the deeper depths, or have fast drop offs.
And that is my .02

I like fishing docks, and it was said all ready, but I look for the older docks with some weeds or trees nearby. I have a rod that is only about 4 and half feet long (used to be 6 feet) and use that to skip under docks. The longer ones do not seem to work for me. I use tubes and worms.

Shane,

The two things I look for when picking docks are spider webs and solo docks. I want the ones that haven’t been fished. Most guys won’t stop and fish a single dock. They want to setup on a row and fish for an hour before the move on. If I pull up to a dock and see spider webs over the key spots I know it hasn’t been fish for several days. I’ll work that one. A tube is pretty hard to beat for skipping docks. I had some success swimming jigs around the outer post of pressured docks this fall. It’s something they don’t see very often.

John

One of my favorite ways to fish a dock is with a bubble gum floating worm. This technique works best on sunny days. I’ll use a big hook like a 4/0, or something that has a little weight to it, then Texas rig it weightless. When you cast it out let it sink until it’s about 6″ below the floats on the dock. Then I twitch it back to the boat. Basically you want to “walk the dog” with it below the water surface. I’ll simply parallel cast this around the dock, be sure to make multiple casts around latter’s or any other irregularities around each dock. Most of the time when bass hit they charge out fill speed, so hold on.

Jason

I like dock systems, rather than a lone dock. I have more success on docks that “L” or “T” at the end or have a lift nearby. Also, given the option, I like docks that are closer to the water’s surface. These docks, as opposed to docks which sit higher off the water, will provide more shade cover for bass. Also, try to locate docks that are somewhat seperated from the rest. For instance, if every lot is 50′ and one guy has a 100′ lot then that is the dock that will attract my attention because it is more isolated….even better if it is on the end of a long series of docks. Docks that are either floating or have a vinyl decking are better than docks with cedar planks because less sun penetrates below from between the boards. One other thing I like to look for is roll-ins vs. the kind with poles that have the disc on the bottom. The tire creates even more cover and shade than a dock without tires, doesn’t matter if the tire is plastic or rubber just that it exists. Hope that helps!

Quote:

---

ones with deeper water are usually going to hold more fish

---

Hold on.
This is not always true. Deep water docks can really load ’em, and anyone that fishes LAX gravel pits in the fall knows a certain “secret” dock system that does this everyear, however, I catch a lot of my bigger fish on any given day on the shallower docks. This seems to hold very true throughout the fall. I like areas that have other key structure nearby where the fish can move to if needbe. The area that I favor for dock fishing has deep water close by, but the docks are positioned up on a shallow, flat slough. One side is docks and miscelanious vegetation and wood, and the other side is lily pads. Both sides can be productive, and this fall when the shad were roaming, you could catch nice largies and smallies in the middle of the slough on flukes, senkos, and rat-l-traps. I personally find a Sweet beaver to be about the best dock pitching bait for me. I texas rig it with a 1/4 ounce bullet weight and go to town. Among other top choices are a shaky head from reaction witha reaction flirt, or a mizmo big boy tube in a dark color. I’ve also had good luck with swim jigs in and around these docks, but mostly opted for the pitching bite. Topwaters can produce as well at times, especially when the shad are using these areas in combo with the bass. I pitch all around the docks, but never skip over the spaces between these docks. There are weedbeds, old tires, stumps, and pipes all over down there. And unlike your quote, the deepest dock that I’ll fish probably sits in about 4 foot of water. This fall, those docks were holding huge numbers of small fish, unlike the fall of ’05, where I caught a lot of 3, and up to 4 lb fish from the docks and spaces between them. docks really are pretty easy to fish. You have to take note of what is around and under the docks, and also what is nearby. It seems to be best when you can find an area where the fish are Living, not where they are cruising. it tends to be more consistant, and more productive and convenient when you can just scoot to the other side of the slough and catch fish over there too.

I have to favorite dock baits. The first is a 3 1/2 tube on a 3/0 hook with a big rattle for wiegh. The rattle is glass so if I hit a lot of post it gets espensive. This set up gives a nice flat fall.

The second is the good old Ring worm. I rig this either on a peged 1/16 oz wiegh or a 1/16 oz slider head.

The ring worm is esier to cast since it does not have the surface area that the yube does and doesn’t deflect as much.

Fish will move closer to shore and deeper into the dock with fishing pressure. So the more pressure the farther into the dock you need to go. It takes more time to go in between docks but it is well worth it later in the day.

Docks with current blowing through them are better than those without. On lakes that is why wind blowing through a dock will heat it up.

Dock fish are not stupid. They see more baits than most bass just because it is easy to see the cover.

Docks on points.3 hook worm.

Hey Tracking Bass, First of fishing docks can be a lot of fun. But no matter what you are doing u need to have Confidence in what you are using. No matter what everyone else says confidence is the biggest key. If you don’t have confidence in what you are using you shouldn’t even be using it.

I like a lot of different kinds of docks. I let the fish tell me on different bodies on water on different days which ones will hold more fish. I like senkos, tubes, finesse worms and also jigs. If im looking to catch numbers i will us a senko and tubes. If im after big fish ill always us a jig. If I know the lake has a lot of pressure ill use a finesse worm, I like Power Worms or the Flirt from Reaction Inn.. I do some cranking around and between the docks with some success but im going to try using swimming jigs this coming year. I’ve heard alot about them!!! That just my two cents.. Good luck and Happy Fishing

Quote:

---

question #2, what do you use to fish docks? line and lure

---

Learn how to skip a big tube with 20# test, baitcaster, and a med-heavy rod and you’ll get those big fish out of there. Takes a lot of practice though.

Quote:

---

Learn how to skip a big tube with 20# test, baitcaster, and a med-heavy rod and you’ll get those big fish out of there. Takes a lot of practice though.

---

Okay Wojak.

Is this deja vu There are two posts on dock fishing right d-nort? I use a St. Croix tournament 5foot 10inch skippin spinnin rod with a daiwa fuego reel and 20lb power pro. This is more of a finnese tactic because by the time tournament day rolls around most docks have been destroyed. I like to throw small weightless plastics on 1/0 hooks. As far as good docks to fish it all depends on the lake. To use one lake as an example would be Balsam lake in wisconsin. It has a zillion docks that all look good but, I have found that most of the docks on this lake do not consistently produce, except for this one row of ugly docks in skinny water that are awesome. I have no idea why.

There is a “dock fishing” post going on in the General Forum…but you will definitely get more info here in this forum (unless you’re talking about flipping docks for walleye…or ice fishing docks ).

There really are so many ways to approach and fish docks.

Anyway, one thing to look for when fishing mid-summer docks is the shade. In the morning I always cast down the sunny-side first, and by noon I’m casting down the shaded-side.

I also can tell you that Dan Brovarney’s tip about fishing the wind-blown docks is gold. Dan’s tipped me off to that a few years ago… .

Dang it Dan, now the whole world knows .

I agree with JAllen. I have fished Balsam, and other lakes that get a lot of pressure, and the deeper docks do not really hold fish, and the deep docks that do hold fish are often filled with dinks. On pressured lakes, I like finding the shallow docks with a dark bottom, and the ones that have weeds around them are even better. You would not believe the quality fish you can pull out from a dock that is less than a foot deep.

Anyone been out bass fishing yet?

Ben Otto

I have had alot of fun reading these replies, I have also been looking back to what Calvin showed me this summer/fall about fishing docks. I wanna get back out there and start to learn my finesse game better, I also want to learn my deep water and rock pile stuff as well. when I was out with Calvin, I did manage to catch my first bass on a plastic, even though I have like alot of money vested in them, I still tie one or two on for the days trip and go out after them trying to find them. I guess the one thing I lack is the confidence of the bait. I have gone out and tried many times, and to no avail, i end up going back to my top water baits because I can’t produce a bite, or even see one swimming under the dock. I have even gone as far as buying DVD’s that are about bass fishing, Bassology by the linders is a good one, they do touch on dock fishing, but only where they are realing in fish.

but thanks, gave me lots to think about.

shane

Here is some more food for thought. I have a therory that seems to be holding true in the northern lakes with a wide variety of structure. Lakes with a healthy population of muskies seem to have awesome dock fishing for bass. Now on lakes with little to no muskies the docks seem to less impressive. Any thoughts on this?

Muskies will push the bass off the deeper weedlines at times. That would be my thought anyway.

I would agree with the muskies pushing bass out of the deeper weedlines, but I fished a tournament last fall in September, and the dock bite was the only thing we could get going. We talked to several muskie anglers who had little or no luck fishing the weedlines and flats, but my partner and I boated 10 muskies plus several break offs fishing for bass in the docks. I think the muskies will sometimes follow the bass into the shallows to feed. We did terrible in the tournament, but we had a blast hooking a ton of muskies.

I think a huge part of it is confidence. From late May until the end of September I am fishing docks and am usually very succesful. I have caught some of my biggest bass in just a foot or 2 of water in the dead of summer w/ 85 degree water temps, but as I said earlier everybody has there own little tricks that they do better than others that allows them to catch fish in a variety of ways. A wise man once told me there more than one way to cook a potato and there is more than one way to catch a bass. Just my $.02

I enjoy a dock bite on any lake where they refer to a 3 pound bass as bait size……….

There is a ton of great info here. The one I would add is watch your boat. Keep an eye on your shadow and how much you are stopping and starting the trolling motor. Deep or shallow dock fish can be spooky. If I’m not fising blown docks I like to keep the sun in my face. (Unless sight fishing beds.)

On the tolling motor note. I run my motor continuous on a low number when evre possible. This keeps the stop/start noise to a minimum. By all means. If you find a productive dock stop. But when your covering water I like to work slow and constant.

Hope this helps

thanks for sharing all of this information, i wish I could write it all down, but I think I can remember what I am supposed to do. this post has really given me the itch for soft water, I wanna go and pound some big ones this year.

thanks for the tips and info

shane

I gotta agree with JAllen, Medium heavy spinning takle and a fluke or senko weightless or slightly weighted. You can be way more effiecient with spinning takle and power pro, I dont care how good you are if you hit a post or dock before the thumb is down you have a backlash.A wieghtless bait slowly fluttering down is hard for a bass to pass up and is a lot of fun to fish.