Bank vs Boat fishing

How many other cat guys out there spend the majority of their time on the bank? I do have a boat.. have had outboard problems in the recent weeks.. but for flathead fishing, I find myself on the banks of this concrete jungle I live in the majority of the time.

The advantages of a boat in some areas is obvious… your not going to get there without one.. but, at the same time, there are many good areas people are passing up, and will not discover because they are set on their out of the way areas in the boat.

There are advantages of bank fishing also.. if you have a few guys, or allowed more than one line(everywhere but here) it is possible to cover a huge area of shoreline and some key areas which is not possible by boat unless you keep pulling the anchor and relocating.

Even in the past when I had the boat out at least half of the time.. many locations I fish I would find myself beaching the boat because it was easier… then fishing from shore in that area.

I wonder if anyone else is fishing the banks regularly? I will say at the least my fishing locations are unusual comparing to most.. I dont go by the book.. lets just say that.. I think Brian K will vouch for that.

There’s a few more advantages to bank fishing…

Like a couple weeks ago when the weatherman said storms…and he was always wrong…If the weather looks questionable…bank fishing is the way to go. Few like lightening while in a boat with maybe the exception of Eye-Guide ( )

I have to admit my eyes have been opened in a few areas this year…one being the areas you’ve been hauling in some honkers…places by looking at them…look like dead water, not only for Flats but anything. A possible exception would be sheephead…

The other piece is that it’s hard to get 5 to 8 people in a boat…not to mention wive’s that have to use to potty and don’t like snakes…or young kids like Tyler. It’s nice to see fathers bringing the kids and wive’s seeing what flat fishing as all about. Also being able to run to Pizza Hut for the gang…hard to do that in a boat!!

On the otherhand..there’s not much that compairs to fishing in the middle of no where at night on the river. A completly differance fishing experiance. Changing river conditions, a knowlege of navagation, safety and river hazzards are a must…not to mention knowing were to go…

bowfin and myself use to bank fish for years, I can honestly say those are my fondest memories of fishing. Like you said FD & BK, it really opens your eyes up to what is within a short cast from shore. Back then we didn’t use clickers, just open face reels, strickly relied on watching and feeling the line/rod. I use to really make some great saves on Bowfins rods catching them right before the fish got a trophy, if only my reflexs were what they use to be

CA

I will take the bank over the boat anyday of the week when you can catch just as may fish. To be honest I usually do better off shore. Grab the cooler and the grill….The olny problem is finding a spot to set a cold one and a burger with out getting em full of sand when that clicker starts running.

in my younger years (LOL) i used to spend all my time bank fishin……..well, i took by boat out to get to my shore spots. we did really well also, but hten again, we had out 6+ rods and could string them out at different places. we made a fire, turned onthe radio and kicked back until sunrise.

now i almost strictly boat fish. i am on a boat all day for work then i hop in my jon boat all night and fish, i barely even know how to walk on flat ground anymore!!! even as i type this the screen feels like its waving in and out…..anyways….my boat is not very condusive for 2+ people. really, i can get just myself, rods, cooler, and a net in it and its loaded. no room for a marine battery to run my locator even.
i bank fish when i can, but now its mostly outa my baot

I use my boat to get to a couple of spots I fish from the bank. There is 20FOW within 20 feet of the bank. Then there is a good 8FOW and it under cuts the bank. I drop my gill/crappie striaght down and wait for daddy to smack a line

I bank fished for years before taking to the boat. We used the boat to get to a good spot, then spread out and kicked back by the fire and listened for bells. Heckuva nice way to fish, but you need to have a long time. The kinds of spots we were fishing were places that got good after 11:00 – places the cats were going to. It worked best if we could camp over and run back in in the morning. It’s a whole different animal, that kind of fishing, but great fun for all of its own reasons.

Now I fish mainly from the boat. I find I can pinpoint cover much better from the boat and get them as they come out of their daytime haunts or in travel corridors (that’s the theory, anyway). Also, shore fishing was great on the tributaries, where there were sandbars, but that nice hanging out kinda spot is in short supply on the big muddy. There are places people weedwhack to fish, but you’re still sitting in mosquito heaven – or hell – (as opposed to mosquito purgatory out in the boat).

I bank fished once so far this year, not a good night because we had to leave early and nothing had hit yet, but a great night because the boy got to swim with his cousins and we got to sit around a fire.

Matt

One more reason to bank fish…I filled up the truck and boat today….I had enough change from a hundred dollars to buy a can of soda and jucy fruit…I left the pennies in the cup….

wow.. I didnt know the needle on a gas guage could go all the way to the full mark.. let alone 2 of them.. Mine must be broke.. its usually bouncing around between half and quarter.. seeing too much $2.39/gallon around here.. if it stays that way.. I will be more worried about keeping bullheads in the bucket than full tanks of gas and fish closer to home.. right now the limited budget has Hastings seeming like a far away place.. about as far as I can budget semi regularly.

Tomorrow(today) for my birthday I might need to take a look at some car lots and seriously consider trading down to a mid size vehicle… as long as it can pull the boat and fit my cat rods I will be ok… Sherry can ride in the box if need be

Dead Man Walking….