How do you guys fish around the docks?

[thewalleyeguy]

How do you guys fish the docks. I've had success with a texas rigged worm and like it . Are there any other good ways to fish the docks?

[Ray Esboldt]

Any bait I can skip under a dock, is a good dock bait. Anything like a jig-n-pig, a jigworm, a tube, a fluke, or a texas rig all make for good dock baits.

I have two general approaches I take towards docks. If the docks are weedy or the water is stainded, I use 50lb. braided line on a 6ft. heavy action spinning rod. If the docks are clean and the water is clear, I use small exposed hook baits or small pegged texas rigs on 8lb. mono on a medium action spinning rod. That's a big difference between the two setups, but I really feel the light line and small baits get bit more often on clean docks. However, you will break off some good fish. I prefer the muscle outfit when I feel I can get away with it.

I would say the bait I most frequently use dock fishing is a flipping jig head with no skirt and a craw or large tube impaled on it. Again, this is better outfit on stained lakes with lots of weed cover around docks. And to be honest with you, I kind of use docks as a last resort on clear sandy lakes. They just don't seem to hold as many bigger fish.

[Mr. Pike1]

When I am fishing for Bass Docks are my favorite stucture. Tubes, Senkos, jigs, mepps are my favorites. All docks are not created equal. I prefer a real wood dock but others will do. I also like docks that are close to deep water. As far as big fish go. On Vermillion I have caught some of my largets small mouth around docks. In the metro I have got many 20-22" bass by the docks or another good spot many over look is the floating swimming platforms. Many pigs have come from under these or around the ancors used to hold them.

[SluggoMaster]

Don't forget to fish right in front of a dock with a slow falling lure, even 5-10 feet out. I have caught many fish this way.

[delmuts]

depending on the dock; don't be afraid to throw/pitch a buzzbait,spinnerbait, or a crank bait along the docks or across the ends of them either.

[outdoor ran]

I do well using spinnerbaits and TR worms around docks. But my favorite lure to use here is a chug bug. I like to skip them under the docks and hit the outside of the posts. Nothing like throwing it up along a dock and let it sit then give it a twitch and the water just explodes.

[Lunker]

I like senkos and tubebaits(tubes more early season) if I'm fishing plastics.

If the topwater bite is going I like a little popper.

I'll fish spinnerbaits also around the edges.

[Daze Off]

Two things I will add to the discussion that I did not see mentioned yet - (1) fish the whole dock includng the walkway to the shore - many big fish in skinny water and most anglers go right by these prime targets, and (2) nice new bait for skipping under docks is the new soft plastic frog-type baits (Yum might even call theirs the "Buzzfrog")that respond like a buzz bait if you bring them back at the right speed - they also skip very well so you can get way back under a dock or pontoon boat...

Daze Off

[Crank It Up Pro]

Theirs no girllie walleye's under the dock's only manly fish hang out there. I fish dock's with a 1/2 oz. All Terrain jig with a craw chunk almost exclussively though I do like to change up and pitch a spinnerbait up under there not many people doing that, works great too.

[Ray Esboldt]

"Theirs no girllie walleye's under the dock's only manly fish hang out there."

Huh?

[ikeslayer]

i have heard it works to run your lure into the posts of the docks and when it bounces off that is when you get the bite. Although i have never gotten a bite off of this it makes for a fun boyish time. If anyone can shed light on why this is suppose to get strikes i would love to hear it.

ike

[st.crioxfishin]

I believe it causes a reaction strike when you knock your lure off of the dock pillings/posts. The bass see the lure running straight and all of a sudden it gets knocked to the side causing them to react and go after it. Im not an expert on this, but I believe that is the reason. Same thing when bumping your crankbait or spinnerbait into a stump, it causes a reaction strike.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Glad you brought this up guys.. I was fishing a tournament on one of my fave dock lakes.. I got a pretty bad draw number and ended up about 3rd or 4th in line fishing down a row of docks.. I was throwing a spinnerbait behind these other 2-3 boats and was banging the bait into the dock posts on the retrieve. I loaded the boat with bass, the ones infront of me caught the smaller ones.. I agree it works to agrivate the fish that much more. I do it with crankbaits too... I have 2 identical cranks, one with the eye turned one way one the eye turned the other. This way I pick the rod depending on which side of the dock I am casting. So that the bait is tuned to run under the dock then hit the posts.

[Wayne Ek]

I love working docks on the tournament day for that kicker fish. Like Deitz, I like to first crank the docks, down each side and across the front. I would rather crank the docks, but if they are to weeded in, I will still toss a spinner-bait. After cranking a dock, then I will skip it or pitch to it. My go to dock skip bait is a Lake Fork Ring Fry, green pumpkin. On a short spinning rod with braid you can skip that little bugger back into places that have not seen a lure... and if you get sloppy and hit the pontoons on a boat or dock poles, it does not sound like the "gond show"!!! For jigs, I like Flipping Bitsy Bug in half ounce, with 3x trailer.

[Bass_Bully]

One thing I like to do is get on the side of the dock that has the shade on it and start at the front of the dock flipping a skirted jig with a tube trailer on it and work my way up the dock dropping it on each post on the dock.