By The Bank Fisher

In this article I want to go over some of the general principles and tips I use when fishing from the bank. I only very occasionally fish from a boat so some of this no doubt applies to fishing from a boat as well.

First - location, location, location. Lakes and ponds differ in how accessible the bank is. Ideally there would be plenty of space along the bank to move around and get a line in more area of the lake. It is a huge plus when you have many options on where you can fish on a particular body of water. If your lake has lots of foliage along the bank you may be stuck in one or a few spots which will limit your fishing productivity.

Next, for tackle selection, I tend to use pretty light tackle. For bass, I typically use a spinning reel on a 7ft medium action rod. Sometimes I wonder if 6ft or 6.5ft rod would make it easier to avoid getting caught on foliage along the bank, but I have not tried changing it up. I then normally use 8lb line, monofilament, braid or fluorocarbon. In theory braid and fluorocarbon would be superior for strike detection (something I struggle with) when using soft plastics since they are both less stretchy than monofilament. It's a good idea to have the drag a little bit loose and tie good knots when using lighter line. This is a good hedge against the threat of losing a fish because the line breaks, something that I think scares a lot of people into using heavier line than what they need.

I often like to move quickly along the bank so a tackle bag with a strap or a backpack style tackle bag is a must. For most of my fishing life I would lug a tackle box around from spot to spot along the bank. Tackle boxes are nice when you plan on staying in once spot for the night, like maybe fishing for catfish, but a bag is far superior for moving along the bank.

If you are moving along the bank a certain amount of stealth is a good idea. The fish can feel the vibrations, so walk softly and carry a big rod - oh wait... just walk softly. I've heard others say that wearing bright colors can scare away the fish. There is probably some truth to that and therefore wearing neutral colors, even camo may be a good idea also. Similarly it pays to pay attention to where your shadow falls on the water. Different parts of the lake may be better or worse in this area at different parts of the day. I often will cast my line several feet from the bank to avoid risking spooking any fish that may be close to the bank. I haven't noticed that this practice has landed me more fish to be honest, but it can't hurt.

As for technique once you find a spot along the bank, I tend to cast near structure where fish may be hiding first and then fan (think of one of those oriental fans) out in all directions. I try to vary my presentation if I cast somewhere that looks good for a second time.

So those are my main considerations specifically for fishing along the bank. I'm sure there is much more that could be said about this. If you have any other tips for fishing the bank, I would love to hear about it.