Dock Talk 2008!!!!

[st.crioxfishin]

I really got into throwing texas rigged ribbon tail worms under docks last year, and was surprised with the success. I think it may be something most people don't do as much..

[Neighbor_guy]

I would like to be the guy who doesnt snag the dock.

Seams like what ever it is, swim dock, boat dock, lift, if there is a rope, I will snag it, or at the very least, catch a metal bracket or a bolt.

Acuracy, and deep water are the two things I need to work on most. I would like to skip under the pontoon istead o fhitting it. And deep water puzzles me, ALOT. I think it is a boat control thing.

[Fishing_High]

St.Croix I love the ribbon tail worms. Yum makes some really good ones. I like the 7.5 inch tequilla sunrise ribbon tails the work great in and around docks.

[ocf1]

Definitely skipping senkos,but Hellabass showed me how to skip jigs under docks this summer and i wanna try that out:).

[bassNspear]

skipping jigs is awesome when you can figure it out. I had a hard time learing it, but can do it pretty well now. Senkos are easy, but sometimes when you do it to hard, you loose them in the dock or boat!!

[Central Bassman]

Skipping jigs under docks is a great way to catch big fish. I think a lot of people don’t let the jig sit under the dock long enough some times. Yes, most of time a bass will hit it on the fall as they react to the bait, but some time you need to just lift it off the bottom a few times and let the fish grab it. Another thing I see a lot when I’m fishing with other guys is they don’t give the jig enough slack line when it’s under the dock. When I cast under a dock I ways make sure to give the jigs some slack line right way so it falls start down. That will keep your jig in the strike zone longer.

[hhguide]

Ive been on lakes Where you skip it under the dock and let it sit twitch it alittle and let it sit. and wait until the fish bites! its a fun and great way to catch fish.

[bassNspear]

like cental said, there is alot of monster fish under docks!!

[Central Bassman]

Yea, i think there is a lot of fish missed under docks to!!! I see a lot of guys fishing good docks and fishing them to fast!!! ( I have done it to)

[bassNspear]

 Originally Posted By: Central Bassman

[color:#CC6600]Yea, i think there is a lot of fish missed under docks to!!!

More then you think!!

[Wayne Ek]

If anyone is interested:

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, http://www.agapefishingquides.com.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Not to jump on Waynes band wagon... but here is one by myself as well..

Fishing Docks as Cover by: Deitz Dittrich

If you have fished for any period of time, you have realized by now that our competition in fishing, the largemouth bass, like and feel comfortable relating to cover. Fish use cover much like people do. Have you ever noticed that people will migrate near the edges of and near other people before they will venture out on their own? I am not saying that people and fish do this for the same reasons, but it is something to think about. Docks can be the ultimate jackpot when talking about cover, mostly because more than one kind of cover can and usually will be in the area at the same time. In this article I hope to share a few techniques that will help you pick out, and learn to dissect, the great cover that lines so many of our most popular natural lakes. You will see far fewer docks in reservoirs due to the flux in water depths in areas controlled by dams, but regardless of where you are fishing, keep this in mind: docks are cover. Any strategy that you pick up from this article should be able to be adapted to the variety of cover that you are fishing. To begin, let's talk about what makes the best dock.

THE BEST DOCK

If you look with an untrained eye, most docks can very easily look alike, but in truth, they are very different. Some are higher off the water than others. Some are used more often than others. Some have large canopies, some are made of wood. Some are located in deep water, while others are in shallow.

With a little knowledge, you can pick out just which docks will be most productive. If I were to design a perfect dock and its location, it would be this: a wood, permanent dock. Why? A dock with wood legs will usually have moss or some kind of weed growing on it which will attract plankton, minnows, and the rest of the food chain. Furthermore, wood dock posts usually need cross members to reinforce the legs in order to keep them upright and strong. These cross members provide diagonal cover in addition to the horizontal cover provided by the dock. The legs of the dock supply vertical cover. The closer a dock is to the water's surface, the better it is. Close proximity shades the dock's underside more and, if the water is clear, it helps to conceal your movement which may spook the fish.

My utopian dock would sit as close to the water's edge as possible yet still allow me a chance to get a cast underneath it. It would also have a bend of some type in it, perhaps a 'T' created when two dock sections intersect. This perfect dock would undoubtedly have some kind of emergent vegetation nearby as well as access to deep water ("deep" being a term relative to any given lake), and a point or channel would be near it. Unfortunately, if you live anywhere near me, the beautiful dock I've just described is practically unheard of. You will find very few wood docks because the ice will destroy it as it leaves the lake on a windy day during the spring thaw. But if you look at a dock, and it has any of these characteristics, it's a fishable dock.

ON TO FISHING THE DOCK

There are two different ways to attack a dock. One is with the finesse approach of a vertical presentation, the other the more aggressive horizontal presentation. Depending on the weather, I will chose one of the two to begin with and redefine my approach from there. When pre-fishing for a tournament, I will almost always chose a horizontal approach because I can cover more ground and hit more docks during a given time period. This allows me to find the areas of the lake in which the fish_seem to be using the docks most. It also keys me in on the docks with the most potential, the ones that are most like the optimum dock. With those thoughts in mind, let's begin by examining the horizontal approach.

The two best horizontal lures when fishing docks are the spinnerbait and the crankbait. Choose colors and weights that best suit the cloud cover and water clarity as well as the depth that you which to achieve. When using this approach, try to remember that you are striving for a reaction strike from the fish. To prompt this reaction strike, try to make contact with the dock posts. You can achieve this easily by using boat position to your advantage, but you can also tune your baits to help in the cause. To do this, purposely tune two identical crankbaits to run slightly off center in each direction. When making your cast, choose the bait that will run into the post. When the bait comes in contact with the cover, stop it for an instant and then continue the retrieve. It's during this brief stop, or shortly thereafter, that the strike will occur. You can get a spinnerbait to hit a dock by using the rod tip to drive or direct the spinnerbait so that it comes in contact with the dock. If you are noticing a lot of fish coming out to chase the baits but not hitting, you should switch to a more subtle horizontal lure or switch your approach entirely to a vertical approach. Some examples of more subtle horizontal approaches include the floating worm or R.T.Slug (fluke) type lure. These lures are nice because they can be skipped into areas that the crankbait and spinnerbait cannot reach. I will discuss skipping a little later in the article. Vertical lures can be any kind of jig. It may be a soft plastic Texas rig, a drop shot rig, or a jig and pig. These lures are usually easier to skip and can be fished rather slowly if not at a total stand still. Try to keep in mind that the more smooth and uninhibited the jig, the better it will skip and the further under the dock it will go. A perfect example of this is a tube jig. A tube is probably the best skipping bait ever designed. It is a go-to bait around docks.

I like to fish the Exude tube on a 2/0 hook with an 1/8 oz. worm weight pegged in front. I have used the Shaw Grigsby HP hook and do like it. However, I think it takes up way too much of one's valuable fishing time to re-rig when one of these baits is chewed up by the large amount of bass you are pulling out from under docks. When planning to skip vertical lures under docks, it's important that they are rigged weedless because most docks have chains and other fun fish holding stuff under the dock. On many days, I will use these underwater treasures to my advantage to help me get more fish. If you can skip a bait under a dock and over a chain just under the surface, you can get the bait to vertically jig in place thus staying within the strike zone longer which will result in more fish.

A motto I like to carry with me is this, "Don't worry about getting the fish out of where it is until after it is hooked." I say this because many anglers won't cast into scary places because they are afraid of not being able to get the fish out. Yes, you are going to lose some fish when using this more daring approach, but its the fish that you will get that are going to help you place higher in your tournaments.

When approaching a dock, have a plan. Take notice of the wind so that it wont blow you into the dock. Keep adequate distance depending on water clarity. If the water is muddy you can get really close to a dock without spooking fish as long as you keep your movements and boat noises to a minimum. Observe where your shadow falls. When at all possible, make sure your shadow is nowhere near where your cast is.

Places where you want to cast on a dock include:

Dock posts - hit them all, you never know where they will be, too many angers will only hit the outside ones, it's the inside ones that can be killers

The "T's"- where two or more dock sections intersect.

Ladders - ladders can be great fish holding structures because they have multiple rungs.

Boat lifts - boat lifts usually contain cross members that hold fish.

Boat engines - if the boat owner lets the engine run in place, there could be a small drop off right at the engine creating cover that can hold fish.

SKIP CASTING

I have talked about a skip cast before. Many can do it , but few have mastered the technique. I have the best luck with a 6' MH Spinning Rod with a soft tip (many may want to start with a shorter rod, I am 6'3" and have met with much success using a 6' rod, but I know many others who skip best with a 5'6" rod) with #10 test CXX-Xtra Strong P-line. I have found P-line to be the most abrasion resistant mono filament on the market, which is important when working with dock posts and chains. With an underhand roll cast, you can achieve great skips. It just takes a lot of practice. Most importantly when skipping docks, respect the dock and boat owner. Make sure you practice around open water first and use lures that are weedless.

There is nothing more harmful to the reputation of our sport than to make property owners mad at us by scuffing their nice boats and allowing our lures to hang up on their docks to get stepped on or otherwise. Play it smart and abide by a variation of the golden rule: "Do unto other's property what you would like done to yours," or something like that. The fishing of docks is an extensive subject, and I have left a lot uncovered that perhaps could take the form of an advanced dock fishing article in the future.

Regardless, I hope these few pointers will head you in the right direction. Have fun, and happy skipping!!!

[ikeslayer]

Very nice books fellas. i enjoy a good read. ike

[CarlWBL]

Great Info. I'm looking forward to the advanced version coming soon...