Tips & Techniques
Boat Docks
for Bass
from...
Pro Tom Redington |
 |
June, 2008
By
Tom Redington
Boat docks are one of the most obvious forms of cover on any lake and they
almost always hold bass. On lakes without much cover, they are often the
#1 option for bass. Or if you’re on a new lake trying to put together a
pattern, boat docks are a great starting point in your search.
As you might guess, not all docks are created equal. In general, the
bigger the dock, the better it is. Big docks provide a lot of cover for
prey, in addition to abundant shade for bass to launch ambushes. Docks
with sunken brush piles around them are typically even better because they
provide more cover for the smaller fish that bass eat. In a category by
themselves are large marinas with dozens or even hundreds of boat slips.
These large floating sanctuaries attract large numbers of fish and can be
very productive year-round.
In addition to the type of dock, its location is important as well. Just
like grass, rock, or wood cover, productive docks are situated in
appropriate areas for the given season. For instance, docks on secondary
points or in spawning flats are normally best in the spring, while docks
on deeper main lake points or near channel swings are typically best in
the summer and winter. My favorite boat docks, though, are ones off by
themselves in a large area without any other cover. These isolated docks
are the only cover option for the bass to use and will hold fish on a very
regular basis.
The key to fishing docks is casting accuracy. Essentially, the further
under docks you can place a lure and the closer you can keep it to the
edges, the more fish you’ll catch. Squeeze a bait into an area where few
other anglers can place it and you’ll likely be rewarded with a good bass.
Good dock fishermen can pitch, skip, or roll cast a variety of baits into
precise locations and they are able to make these casts both forehanded
and backhanded. On lakes without much pressure, get your bait near a dock
and you’ll catch some fish. On weekends or during tournaments though, all
the easy ones get picked off and you’ll need to work the tight spots to
catch them, especially the bigger bass. Finally, don’t forget the back or
shore side of docks. Most anglers only fish the lake side of docks. It
takes a little work to get behind the docks and fish under the catwalks
and cables in the rear, but the extra effort is often rewarded with a big
bass.
Once your casting is perfected, most fish can be caught on a few basic
lures. When bass are feeding on shad around docks, spinnerbaits,
chatterbaits, and shallow running crankbaits will catch them. For floating
docks, let your bait run just below the level of the Styrofoam and bring
them parallel to the dock structures, as close as possible. While hard
baits catch fish around docks well, they are hard to skip into tight
spaces or under low hanging structures. Therefore, I like swimbaits and
swimming jigs around stationary docks because they skip well and still
attract bass that are chasing shad. A 3.5” or 4.5” Live Magic Shad rigged
on a weighted Ultimate Swimbait Hook casts and skips well because of it’s
flat side, while the swimming action gives dock fish a new look. Or skip a
3/8 oz Mega Weight jig with a Fork Baby Creature trailer. For more action,
use the entire bait, or clip off the grub tail of the Baby Creature for a
more subtle action.
Often, bass relate to posts and brush piles around docks, so pitching soft
plastics and jigs work better in this case. A Texas rigged Fork Flipper is
hard to beat when I’m trying to get my bait to drop straight down around
cover, especially when it is windy. Plus, the Flipper is flat enough to
skip very well. If the bass are chasing bait and I’m trying to get a
little more of a gliding and swimming retrieve from my Texas rig, I’ll put
a Fork Baby Creature on my hook. In contrast, if I need to aggressively
skip my lure way back into docks, I switch to a 3/8 oz Mega Weight jig
with a Pig Claw trailer. The flat surface of the trailer and the weight of
the jig allow me to skip it a mile. Furthermore, the jig will stay intact
after vigorous skipping, while the hook on a Texas rig can become exposed
and lead to snags with a lot of skipping. In those cases where more
finesse is required, skipping tubes or Twitch Worms on 1/8 to 3/16 oz
Screw-Ball jig heads work better. Rig the jighead on a spinning reel with
10 to 20 lb Spectrex braid with a 6’ leader of 10 lb P-Line Fluorocarbon
and you’ll have a perfect combination of finesse and power.
Give these dock fishing tips a try and you might just catch a few more
bass on your next trip. Here’s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams.
If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 (days) or
972-635-6027 (evenings) or e-mail me through my website,
www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com.
Tom Redington is a full time bass guide on Lake Fork and is sponsored by
Ranger Boats, Diamond Sports Marine, Lake Fork Trophy Lures, Minn Kota,
Humminbird, and P-Line
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