newbie needs some bass help (bank fishing)

[tango3065]

I fish from a large dock and bank and I have luck catching small largemouth at times on rosstertails and the occasioional pearl fluke but I only catch about one every 3-4 hours, is there any other baits you suggest for bank/ dock fishing, and what colors do you suggest?



BTW I have everything from crankbaits to spinnerbaits but have never had any luck with them.

[BigPoppy]

Man there are libaries full of books about the subject of bass fishing nad every one of us has there own personal favorite way, for me plastic worms texas and wacky rigged are my bread and butter but alot has to do with the time of year the water you fish so on and so forth the best thing to do is to hit the water ask some folks you see out there go to local bait stores fisherman might not tell you where they fish but th will sure tell you how they fish. There are alot of good resources on this site give them a good read and then ask the questions you may have from what I have seen from these good folks they are more than willing to give advice Dave Stewart is one Jim Dickins and many others are listed at the opening page. good luck and by the way there are times when if I could catch a small mouth every couple of hours I would not complain a bit

Dennis

[DJD]

If possible get there early or stay late and use some topwater maybe a small popper? Any small to medium one will work. I would agree with BigPoppy about the soft plastics since they can be fished so slow and if you have some wood or weeds to throw around these baits can really work that type of cover pretty good. Get some natural worm colors like green pumpkin or watermelonseed use an 1/8-3/16oz weight and a 2/0-3/0 hook and and give it a shot. Good luck

[mhall]

If you are limited to that one area then enhance it the best you can. During low water situations place you some sunken fish attractors. This can be anything really man made or natural and placed in the right spot will draw you more fish. Put it a decent cast distance away and not necessarily right beside the dock. Experiment with different baits and teach yourself how to use them, that's how all of us on here got started, good luck.

[Chubminnow]

Just like the previous posters wrote...a pond is just like any lake or river in that what you throw tends to vary with the seasons of the year. I have a small 3 acre pond that I go to occassionally and in late winter/early spring (Feb./March) I have been extremely successful using a small Rapala shallow runner in the color of Perch. I tried the color perch completely by accident and quite truthfully out of pure laziness on my part...I didn't want to haul a bunch of tackle with me so I picked out the first thing in my tackle box that I saw, tied it on and headed out...basically all I wanted to do was get out of the house to try out my new rod and reel, I didn't care if I caught anything or not.

In the summer I like a big 9" Zoom worm, I think they call them Mag 2's or something, in the colors of June Bug, Water Mellon Seed and Motor Oil. I usually fish these pastic worms weightless with a 4/0 hook and cast them out and just let them flutter around a bit, giving the rod tip some small slight action as I slowly reel it in.

You may already know this but just as an added tip when you're on the bank casting, make sure you "fan" cast. In other words, as you're standing in the 6:00 o'clock position you need to cover all of the water from 9:00 o'clock to 12:00 o'clock to 3:00 o'clock and so on. Make sure you cover all the water within your reach...don't stay in one place, try walking up and down the bank and fan casting.

[Hoodaddy]

If I only had a couple of choices I would choose an 1/8 oz. buzzbait in black or a Zoom trick worm rigged on a 2/0 Owner mosquito hook in black rigged wacky style. Toss her out (trick worm ).... two small sharp twitches followed by a 3 second pause then repeat. Guarantee this time of year in a pond you'll catch all you want.

[tracker4stroke]

one i would try is a sinko work without a weight i love those in pumkin seed i have caught more bass on those around docks. tkoss it back in the slip and let it sink. it will wiggle on the way down jig it and work it you will lean the way the bass like it and there you go

[True blue Andy C]

If you have never tried a zoom horney toad I would give that a try. Fish it weight less on top, and if you get around cover you can let it flutter down. I have caught hundreds of bass on this lure the biggest 5-2.
Later Andy

[bigwormy]

1/4 Ounce Buzzbait An Hour In The Morning And An Hour Before Dark... You Will Never Use Anything Else Again..lol..

[roberte68]

I think over the 35+ years that I've been fishing, I've caught more fish on
a. Live bait
b. a cheap white spinner bait (2-3 bucks at Wally World). They may not have all been monsters but, I've caught everything from a 5 pound largemouth to crappie and bluegills with them.

I've also had luck with white in-line spinners(rooster tails)and beetle spins in ponds.