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Docks or Slop


bassNspear

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Both are fun! Cripes now I have ta choose. Hmm, well I like the slop because most people won't fish it since it requires heavy gear and there's the solitude factor.

Docks are great cuz each one is different, and it's a challenge to skip said lure back as far as you can get it, but there's the dock owner to consider.

Cripes - I don't want to choose grin.gif

Hmm, I'll roll with Docks, but slop a close 2nd

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well I am probably listed as this changing from year to year but this past year I was more of a dock guy than I was a slopguy and I found better fishing therethis year too. so this year docksnext year might be different but definitely a very close call I will agree a boil inthe slop gets my heart rate up as high as a line twitch under a dock. I will be curious as to what everyone else likes as well

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I cant agree with you more. Its a great time to be in that slop and see that fish with the boil, yes for myself, i would rather flip under that dock, becuase its awesome feeling to flip under that dock, and see that line run, before the bait even hits the bottom.

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I think this summer unless we get some serious water

( rain )dock fishing is going to be hard. Slop fishing even harder. But if we have normal water levels I will go docks first and then slop 2nd. Except for the first few weeks of summer then I like to go out the way back in the slop and fish that ribbon of open water just off the shoreline.

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slop slop slop muck and more slop.

i like seeing the trails of the other guy's frog with the tell tale hole in the muck where the bass erupted. i like it when the bass comes though three feet behind your frog cause he's not quite sure were it is. i love it when they boil, but you don't quit hit em. then you throw right back in there and they come again through the hole they just made. admittingly i don't fish docks enough, i just picture every dock with 3 kids fishing off it all day and i think there can't be a decent fish there. too many childhood memroies of catching dinks off granpas dock all day cool.gif

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I'm late to the party today so ill add my .02 in.... I love fishing docks and i will always love fishing docks.. You can fishing them so many ways and every docks is different. Slop can be fun when you know big fish are in the area. I did alot of flippin in the slop this past summer and im really stating to like it more and more!!!! But docks are just so much fun!!!!! cool.gif

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I think the fact that the docks are easy to fish is why they get pounded so hard in the metro area. Like I said earlier, I love fishing dock but more often than not smaller fish tend to come from there while the subtly more difficult slop will kick out larger fish. This has held true for me the last few years in this area. I admit if I guy gets to a dock before someone else and its a bit later in the morning alowing a fish to seek shade there is a chance that a hog will be there... Otherwise the slop is a higher percentage area for the west metro for larger fish. Hands down. smirk.gif

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Love both but give me the nasty stuff every time - awesome fish have come from both and fish stack up in both areas but slop does not get banged as badly.

Now that I have said that there is one exception - snotweed - not sure what it is really called but I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about - that thin, green, slimy, very hard to get off stuff -I'll leave an area immediately when I find that stuff - life's too short crazy.gif

Daze Off

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Here is an article I did last year, I can not remember if FM used it or not, getting old you know. cool.gif

NORTH COUNTRY DOCKS…

Over-fished or under-fished

BY: WAYNE EK

I sometimes think that a dock is the only piece of structure on a lake that is over-fished and under-fished at the same time. On any given weekend you can see bass anglers pounding the docks. They may be fishing for fun or fishing in a tournament, but the docks will get hit hard. At the same time a majority of these anglers are under-fishing the docks. They come up to the dock, make a couple of flips, casts or pitches and then speed off to the next dock. I’ve even seen angler’s catch a bass off a dock and still move on to the next dock, never revisiting the area that just gave up a fish.

As a fishing guide in West Central Minnesota and a fanatical tournament angler, I get to spend almost every day on the water. Seeing other anglers speed-fish down a row of docks is a common occurrence in my area. I think there are a couple of reasons that people fish through docks so quickly. One reason is that there are so many docks to fish. Some lakes have a staggering number of docks, boatlifts and pontoon boats. I believe angler’s see all these potential fish holding targets and feel they have to hit every single one of them! The second reason; we hear, see and read so much about professional tournament angler’s fishing fast or power-fishing. A lot of professional angler’s do fish fast, but fast fishing is not sloppy fishing. You can bet that these professionals slow down when they hit a productive dock or shoreline that’s holding productive docks. By slowing down and fishing the docks thoroughly these professionals will wring every last bass off a section of docks or a single dock, and so should you.

What makes one dock or a section of docks more productive than others? I don’t think there is an easy ABC answer to this one. However, there are some things that I look for when I’m targeting docks on a new lake. I like docks that sit on a quick breaking shoreline. A good lake map will help you find these areas. Or if you see a section of docks, and they are all really short, just sticking out into the lake one or two sections, that’s a really good indication of a quick breaking shoreline. I like docks that have submergent vegetation around them. And any clustering of docks/boat lifts, such as marina’s, resorts or lake association docks seem to hold more fish than just a single dock. I think docks along shallow sterile shorelines, without submergent or emergent vegetation are usually a waste of time and energy.

You don’t have to fish every dock to see if they hold fish. On clear lakes I will put the trolling motor on high and cruise down a set of docks, not even fishing, just looking. I’m looking for small sunfish, bluegills or any bass. It has been my experience that a dock holding “gills” will also hold bass. It’s a quick way to eliminate some unproductive water.

As a general rule, the sunnier and calmer the day, the tighter fish will hold to the docks. Usually the dock bite will be better in the late morning to late afternoon. On cloudy days, the fish will be more prone to roam away from the docks. Actually, when it’s rainy or cloudy the areas in between the docks may hold more bass than the docks themselves. All docks are somewhat different in design, but there are a couple of high percentage areas (for bass) that you should look for. Anytime there is a pontoon boat tied to a dock, under that pontoon is a high percentage area. When a boat or pontoon sits on a lift, right behind the motor will be a washout hole, created when the owner’s power the boat/pontoon off or onto the lift; another high percentage spot. Some docks will have fish cages or bait-boxes hanging on them (large screen boxes to hold fish or bait) these boxes rarely sit on the bottom of the lake, so there is a space between the bottom of the box and the lake bottom; another very high percentage point. And last, any ladder coming off the dock into the water has the potential to hold a bass or two.

If I had to use just one rod to fish docks (thank God I don’t) it would be a 5’6” to 6’ medium heavy spinning rod, with a size 30 spinning reel, loaded with a quality-braided line. This is a great rod to skip docks with and you can still pitch the corners or hit the open water between docks with this rig. When working a dock pattern I like to have 3 rods rigged for different purposes. My first rod will be a spinning rod/reel combination that I use for skipping under docks and pontoons. Even though I field-staff for Quantum, it’s a rod made by Falcon Rods. The rod is a (FS-6-156) 5’6” MH, rated for 8-15 lb. test line. I believe the rod was a specialty rod, made for float tube fishermen. I do not know if it is still in production. For a reel, I use the Quantum Catalyst 30. At first this may seem like too large a reel for this size rod, but this wide spooled reel seems to allow the line to flow off the spool more smoothly than a smaller reel. This allows me to make skip casts that go way back under docks and pontoons. The second rod is a bait-casting rig I use for most of my flipping and pitching. For the past couple of years I’ve been using Quantum’s PTC666F, which is a 6’6” medium heavy action with a fast taper, rated for 12-25 lb. lines. The fast taper on this rod allows you to make very accurate pitches to targets, and the butt section has the power to handle braided line and move any fish out away from the docks. I matched this with the new Tour Edition PT reel (the Burner) with 7:1:1 gear ratio, which picks up line lightening fast and handles like a dream. My third rod is usually a spinner-bait or buzz-bait rod used to fish the open water areas between docks. I’ve been using the Quantum PTC706F, which is a 7’ medium heavy, with a fast taper. Last year I used the Energy E600PT (6:2:1 gear ration) on this rod. This year I’m going to use the Dean Rojas signature series rod (PTC706FDR), which is a 7’ medium-heavy, fast tapered rod that was designed as an all-purpose “frog rod”, but Kermit will have to wait as I’ll be tossing buzzers or spinner-baits with this rod. I’m going to use the new Energy PT Burner on this rod also.

I spool a quality-braided line on all the rods mentioned. If I’m fishing very clear water I’ll use a back-to-back uni-knot to attach a fluorocarbon leader to the braid on my skipping rod. Otherwise I use just straight braid.

I keep my lure selection very simple. On the skipping rod (spinning) I use an Eagle Claw (Shaw Grigsby) HP hook in 3/0 size. For plastics I use a Lake Fork Ring Fry. And for a little additional weight I will place a Water Gremlin Bull Shot sinker in size 1/32 just in front of the HP hook. The sinker gives the rig a little more weight for skipping and the cone shape of the sinker helps the rig to climb over all the obstructions associated with dock fishing. For the pitching rod I stick with a Denny Brauer Premier Pro-Model jig, by Strike King Lures, in ½ ounce, matched with a 3X Denny Brauer Chuck for a trailer. And finally on the blade/buzzer rod I like to use an Accent Fishing Products buzz-bait called the “High Rider Buzz B-2”, which has counter rotation blades behind foam floats, which gives it added buoyancy. This allows you to work this buzzer slower than any other buzz-bait I’ve ever used. For a spinner-bait I stick with the “tried and true” Premier Elite in ½ ounce, by Strike King Lures.

Don’t be concerned about fishing behind other anglers, remember even though docks are fished hard there’s still a good chance that they were under-fished. And if you’re going to power fish docks remember that your catch rate will go up if you fish fast but smart. Be safe this summer and we hope to see you on the water.

You can reach Wayne Ek at Agape Fishing Guides, www.agapefishingquides.com.

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...have said that there is one exception - snotweed - not sure what it is really called...

I few years ago I came up with the term "aqua snot" to describe this junk. Nothing worse than running a crankbait through that garbage!

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EB - haven't a clue but I absolutely hate the stuff. Almost as bad as a crankbait through it is a spinnerbait - good luck making that blade spin again anytime soon....yech! mad.gif

Been trying to think back and I can't seem to recall ever doing any good around the stuff either.

Daze Off

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