Lots of lakes are over populated with docks and that's where the money is won somedays. What do you do to try and look for that ideal dock to check when practice fishing? Deep water, dock on points, mouth of a cove, rocks or the best rod holders?
Lots of lakes are over populated with docks and that's where the money is won somedays. What do you do to try and look for that ideal dock to check when practice fishing? Deep water, dock on points, mouth of a cove, rocks or the best rod holders?
Phoenix 919 pro xp
I've had good luck with docks that have either diving board, slide, or planters with shrubs or flowers. I figure the plants draw insects, which draw fish. The diving board or slide might indicate a deeper area, maybe? New docks never seem to produce, but old, poorly maintained ones do.
I look for all of the above. There is no such thing as a bad dock. Different Docks work at different times for different reasons. The trick to fishing them is recognizing early what kinds and what sections of the docks are going to be most productive and how this transitions throughout the day.
That being said, the fish don't know the difference between a dock, a brush pile, a lay down, or a boat etc, it's just something else to relate to. So location of the dock in relation to points, current breaks, deep water etc does play a role. And the more of those "traditional" bass attracting variables you can put in your favor the better. However, you won't be the only bass angler to figure this out, so the most obvious best looking spots get hit the hardest. So something that has good variables, but isn't as obvious to everyone is probably the best balance to look for.
So my suggestion is never rule out any particular kind of dock until you establish the pattern for the day. Then you can maximize efficiency by only running the docks that match the ingredients for the pattern. From my experience that can change from one day to the next and sometimes even mid way through the day if conditions change. Sometimes they're on shallow docks with wind blown floating vegetation, other times they're on deep docks with sloping rocky banks, sometimes they're suspended under floating docks etc etc. There's a few good video's by Denny Brauer about this on wired or youtube. He probably explains it better than me lol.
Last edited by Aric11; 03-23-2018 at 07:34 AM.
I've caught fish off of all kinds of docks but I think the most productive have at least a couple of these things in common.
- not straight, like an L or a T, something with some corners
- a seawall with at least a foot of water on it
- rocky shoreline
- sharply sloping bottom, something over 6' of water at the end of the dock
- Like walkabout said, I like docks that don't look like they've been used
- those boat launching rail things coming out of a boathouse right next to a dock
- the first one off either side of a point
I fish in WI a lot and there's a lot of lakes that have a dock pretty much every cast along the shoreline, figure out which ones they are on and you can do really well. Another thing, if there's a minnow bucket tied off of the dock it's always worth a couple extra casts. I don't know how many fish I've caught off of the minnow bucket pattern (seriously). It was a joke at first but there seems to be fish around them more often than not.
If there is a dock between a couple that are getting used rite now, that one will have fished stacked 9 out of ten times
Mercury 250 proxs 2B115089
I have been fishing Chautauqua's plentiful docks for 35 years. There is no such thing as a bad dock some are just better than others. I like docks that have boat lifts on them. Love PWC lifts on very shallow dock sections near shore and behind the main dock. Fishing Docks around swim ladders can be good. Love fishing isolated docks and the first or last dock before open shorelines. But large complex docks typically outperform smaller docks. Getting baits into the nooks and crannies of those large docks is key.
As the summer progresses, I love getting behind the docks and fishing the walk way sections coming from shore. Amazing how heavy dock fishing pressure pushes fish way back in those shallow sections.
But I have learned the hard way that every dock regardless of size/cover has to be fished thoroughly with great casting precision.
'14 Triton 18XS 150 Optimax Pro XS Fortrex 80
Kropf Park model on Chautauqua Lake
Fish Chautauqua Lake and Lake Erie
Love bass and fly fishing for Trout and Steelhead
Probably repeating a lot of what has been said, but I tend to look for good depth, wood posts, and ones that are in a bad state of repair. Around here, most of our lakes gently slope out for a long way, so the docks are often very shallow. Deeper ones hold fish. Most docks are also metal with wheels on them so that they can easily be rolled out of the lake for the winter to avoid ice damage. Our lakes are also usually devoid of much wood, so wooden dock posts tend to hold fish. And the ones in poor shape are good for a couple reasons. The first is that they're likely not being used (saw that mentioned several times) so the fish around them aren't being messed with too much. The other is that the ones that are all torn up often are partially submerged, have broken off pieces in the water, or are otherwise surrounded by extra stuff in the water.
If you can combine the above with a dock that's either isolated, is the first/last one in an area, that sits on a point or in the back of a cut, etc. they're even better.
Black floats have been a pattern I've been on early in the year before, I think for obvious reasons.
Another trick I've found is to look at the homeowners' yards. If they're well manicured, landscaped, and overall very well kept, you can bet the water around their dock is pristine as well. It seems that you tend to find brush piles and other stuff around the docks of homeowners who have messy yards.
One thing I didn't really pick up on explicitly until more recently (to the point where I will leave previously productive docks alone) is how much of a role time of day will play on how fish position on certain docks. I tend to try to fish the ones that have shade extending out from them due to the position of the sun. If it's morning, this same dock would have sun up under the dock in the evening. I'm sure that fish on docks don't completely leave during certain times of day, but that shade will reposition them so they're easier to catch at the very least. It also seems the fish on docks with sun shining up under them are a lot more reluctant to bite, even when you can make a cast to where they're hiding.
Other times it seems there's no rhyme or reason as to which docks their on or even how they're positioned on them. Those days are the ones where it gets tough!
2011 Skeeter ZX225
225 Yamaha HPDI Series 2
Minn Kota Ultrex 112 52"
Console: HDS 16 Carbon
Bow: HDS 12 Carbon, Solix 12 G2, Mega 360
Ladders, steps, cobwebs. If you see cobwebs, you know nobody has put a bait in there.
2016 Ranger RT188, Yamaha 115 sho, dual console, 80# Ultrex, hotfoot, networked HB Solix 10 & Helix 9, Mega 360. Powertech NRS3 18p, Atlas 4" jack plate.
If I see stairs coming out of the water, I'm fishing them. Every. Single. Time. lol
2019 Ranger Z520C
2019 Mercury 250 ProXS 4S
Twin 8' Powerpole Blades
Lowrance HDS Live 12
Lowrance HDS Live 9
Good call. I'd love to know how many bites I've gotten by being able to (read: getting lucky to) slide a bait between the gap of the first one underwater and the first one out of water. Now getting them out is usually a different story, but risking breaking one off for the chance to catch one is better than no chance at all!Originally Posted by bdubz0r
2011 Skeeter ZX225
225 Yamaha HPDI Series 2
Minn Kota Ultrex 112 52"
Console: HDS 16 Carbon
Bow: HDS 12 Carbon, Solix 12 G2, Mega 360
That's exactly what my double bathhouse is like. We quite often find fishing lures tangled in our boat lifts. Maybe fish books are the reason my upholstery (on a Bennington) has 4 new cuts.
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