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Old 10-09-09, 10:30 AM   #1
BeaverIslander
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Default When Working A Dock...

...Do you fish the edges first, or go straight for the core with the first presentation?

I fish docks mainly by skipping swim jigs/Powergrub, Tex Rig Senkos, and 1/16 oz tubes. Sometimes I pull a fish or two from the edges first with a pitched jig or spinnerbait, and I think it spooks the rest that are deep under the dock.

How do you guys approach dock fishing? What has worked best for you over the years?
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Old 10-09-09, 11:43 AM   #2
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Fish the outside edges first. Then start breaking down and fish slowly under the dock.
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Old 10-09-09, 12:05 PM   #3
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I like to approch docks with 5 easy steps

1) The way I'd go after the boat docks if first set the troll motor on high. 2) Get on a shallow crankbait, spinnerbait, jerkbait, or what ever you favorite reaction or fast moving bait. Find a good stretch of docks and troll around making casts under, beside, all the angles you can get on the dock make a cast there, you should be able to pick up active fish that way and get a limit quick. Also fish the shadow line much like you would a weed line, bass react the them much as the do weedlines! 3) Once you go over the docks like that, than go back to the docks you started at. 4) Put on a jig & pig, worm, creature, or what ever your favorite bottom bouncing bait is. Set the troll motor on low, and go along the docks, pitching to the shady pillions. Fish the shadow line too. 5) If you don't get bit like that, do finesse, use a worm like zoom trick worm and skip under there with a spinning rod, I'd use 10lb flouro or mono. Slowly fish the worm around the dock, slow is the way to go.

So....

1) Find a good long stretch of docks.

2) Put on a fast moving bait, spinnerbait, crankbait etc.
- shadow lines
- Shady side
- get a limit

3) Go back to the beginning of the docks

4) Slow down; fish them with a jig, worm, or any bottom bouncing bait
- go for quality fish

5) If you still don't get bit like this than go finesse
- Weight less/light worms
- skip them under the dock

You could also try a frog and skip it under the docks, I'd probably work well too.
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Old 10-09-09, 12:10 PM   #4
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I fish most types of cover the same way. I'll usually try fast moving lures like spinnerbaits and crankbaits first, to pick off any active fish. Then I'll slow down and pick it apart with senkos, T-rigged worms, or jigs.
Specifically for a dock, assuming you're in a boat (yeah, I know what they say about assuming, so don't tell me again), try to keep your lures as close to the pilings for as long as possible. Throw parallel to the dock, both down the sides and across the end. If you can, pitch underneath with your lures, and I'm not talking about just the slower lures...get your spinnerbait or crank as far underneath as you can. Learn to skip (I need to learn how, too) to get even more distance underneath. Treat each piling as its own separate piece of cover, throwing its right, its left, behind it, and in front of it. Bang your lures off of them as much as possible, since a lot of strikes are triggered by that sudden flinch as it hits.
Then, once you've covered the entire dock with your cranks or spinners, go back and do it all over again with the worms, Senkos, or jigs.
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Old 10-09-09, 12:26 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by danielbasspro View Post
Fish the outside edges first. Then start breaking down and fish slowly under the dock.
Would you mind elaborating a bit as to why this is your strategy?
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Old 10-09-09, 12:36 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bassboss View Post
I like to approch docks with 5 easy steps

1) The way I'd go after the boat docks if first set the troll motor on high. 2) Get on a shallow crankbait, spinnerbait, jerkbait, or what ever you favorite reaction or fast moving bait. Find a good stretch of docks and troll around making casts under, beside, all the angles you can get on the dock make a cast there, you should be able to pick up active fish that way and get a limit quick. Also fish the shadow line much like you would a weed line, bass react the them much as the do weedlines! 3) Once you go over the docks like that, than go back to the docks you started at. 4) Put on a jig & pig, worm, creature, or what ever your favorite bottom bouncing bait is. Set the troll motor on low, and go along the docks, pitching to the shady pillions. Fish the shadow line too. 5) If you don't get bit like that, do finesse, use a worm like zoom trick worm and skip under there with a spinning rod, I'd use 10lb flouro or mono. Slowly fish the worm around the dock, slow is the way to go.

So....

1) Find a good long stretch of docks.

2) Put on a fast moving bait, spinnerbait, crankbait etc.
- shadow lines
- Shady side
- get a limit

3) Go back to the beginning of the docks

4) Slow down; fish them with a jig, worm, or any bottom bouncing bait
- go for quality fish

5) If you still don't get bit like this than go finesse
- Weight less/light worms
- skip them under the dock

You could also try a frog and skip it under the docks, I'd probably work well too.
Just wondering where you copied this from? Last I knew you were looking for a boat, so how would you turn the TM on high? Also, I didn't know you fish tournaments.

If you did plagiarize, give the person credit where credit is do.


Thanks
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Old 10-09-09, 02:27 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MIbasser View Post
Just wondering where you copied this from? Last I knew you were looking for a boat, so how would you turn the TM on high? Also, I didn't know you fish tournaments.

If you did plagiarize, give the person credit where credit is do.


Thanks
I was wondering the same thing. From everything i have seen you post, you fish from only the bank...and you have already said you have never fished a tournament.

anyways, i like to pitch to each post of the pier first, starting in the shallower end and working to the deeper end. Then start trying to hit the stuff under the pier.
also make sure to fish the ends of the pier out to about 6 feet off of them pretty good. i say this because, a lot of piers will have brush piles on the ends of them but not right up against the pier. these brush piles hold fish almost all year long, and they get overlooked a lot of times.
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Old 10-09-09, 05:19 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MIbasser View Post
Just wondering where you copied this from? Last I knew you were looking for a boat, so how would you turn the TM on high? Also, I didn't know you fish tournaments.

If you did plagiarize, give the person credit where credit is do.


Thanks
Just something I out together and thought through for when I do get a boat. I got a lot of info reading bass master and other places on line. And btw, I C/P from here.
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Old 10-09-09, 05:57 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bassboss View Post
Just something I out together and thought through for when I do get a boat. I got a lot of info reading bass master and other places on line. And btw, I C/P from here.
Well I dont know if he got that from somehwere else or put it together himself. It is good infromation though and I think its best to look at it that way. If he did plagiarize it then thats on him but I think we should look at it as being good information. Good info Bassboss no matter where it came from. I have a great place I want to try this on, on Smith Mountain Lake and I hopefully will try it out on monday.
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Old 10-09-09, 07:56 PM   #10
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Well I dont know if he got that from somehwere else or put it together himself. It is good infromation though and I think its best to look at it that way. If he did plagiarize it then thats on him but I think we should look at it as being good information. Good info Bassboss no matter where it came from. I have a great place I want to try this on, on Smith Mountain Lake and I hopefully will try it out on monday.
It was me, no worries! And I'm sure if you look really hard.. you'll find some of my signature typing foofs! How ever I do try to make sure most of my longer posts are error free! I'll have my dad look at it (he teaches college reading/writing).....
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Old 10-09-09, 11:12 PM   #11
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Most of the small lakes around Michigan have 100s+ of docks so when I am trying to cover water and see which docks have active fish I don't take the time to attack them from every angle. My #1 dock bait is a wacky rigged stick worm.

For me it depends on what kind of dock it is. For docks on poles I first put a cast at the end and let it fall, as usual with this bait the longer it sits the better. If nothing there then skip one way up under. Next if there is a boat I put one right behind it or if it is a pontoon way up under there. As I move on to the next dock skip one or two hitting the side of the pontoon and letting it fall. The small docks usually only have one or two big fish on them but remember those docks, the fish live there and you can go back and catch them again next time out!

If it is a floating dock then I just skip it and hit the dock where it meets the water and let the worm fall. It seems that the fish sit right under the dock and come out to grab the bait.

Also you need to know your local laws concerning fishing docks. Many, many times I have had people come running out cursing and had one lady with the phone in hand ready to call the cops. One of the local FLW pros was fishing a dock on the lake where I used to live and even had a guy start throwing apples at him! In MI it is legal to fish docks as long as you don't set foot on them. But I understand how people feel since I would hate to step on a hook, pull line off my prop every day, get ripped covers, etc. For this reason I go weightless T-rig a lot.

Another tip is learn to watch your line at all times! I can't stress this enough. Most of my dock fishing bass hook themselves thankfully because they grab it and swim out and toward the boat.

The tackle I use is a Kistler Dock Skipping Special 6'3" rod with 10# Floroclear line. It is the least sensitive rod in my boat and would not recommend it, hopefully I'll get a replacement next year.

I'm by no means a dock fishing expert, but that was one of the tactics I spent a lot of time learning this past summer and those are my observations.
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Old 10-10-09, 12:35 AM   #12
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Thanks for the replies and tips. Keep em coming!
It's just starting to snow a few flurries here and it's 33 deg and falling. Yet the leaves have barely begun to fall and the lake I was on today was holding at 55 degrees. Screwed up weather this year...
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Old 10-10-09, 08:01 AM   #13
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I've been informed by several of the guys that hang in the baitshop to be particularly gentle fishing the first and last dock in a series, that often times, if any of the docks in a chain hold big fish, it seems to be the first or last.

From my own experience in one of the coves, there is a particularly small dock that holds big fish compared to all the other docks in the line which are bigger docks with roofs and multiple posts. It's approximately 8 by 8 with a single leg at right angles about the same size making an "L" shape.....completely flat with no roof nor any structure on the decking....just as simple as you can get. The owner catches some nice ones each spring and says with a fish finder he once found a little depression curving out from under the dock to the main creek channel, a few rocks, but no weeds. He says they come up and under, mostly during the spawn.
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Old 10-10-09, 03:46 PM   #14
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often times, if any of the docks in a chain hold big fish, it seems to be the first or last.
Thats pretty interesting. Why do you think that would be?

I've found that in a series of metal docks, that the rickety wood one that doesn't look safe to stand on seem to hold the large fish. The wood ones, since they are less stable, tend to be permanently in the lake and built lower in the water and I'm sure the shade factor of a lower dock is key. I think the wooden posts are also more inhabitable for small critters and invertebrates to live on and around, and that'll bring the baitfish.
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Old 10-12-09, 02:44 PM   #15
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I think it's important, if not almost required to qualify the input here. IF you are an expert, then you can suggest doing this or that, but if INSTEAD you are just offering up someone else's ideas from stuff you've read somewhere (say on the web), then it really should clearly state that. Some qualifiers would be 'It's been my experience" or "I have read others say" or "I was watching Hank Parker's Outdoor Journal and Hank said..."
But copying something that you wrote in another thread that was equally someone elses thoughts and presenting them as your own is, well, just wrong.

I know we all want to be helpful, but the best help is to ensure clear communications as to where the information originates from.
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Old 10-14-09, 07:46 PM   #16
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i fish the whole dock and if i catch a couple about the same kind of spot on the docks i will just fish that section of the dock and not waste my time w/the other parts,the back where it meets the walk rail is usually my favorite spot with a jig or senko
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Old 10-15-09, 05:50 PM   #17
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One important aspect is that after you've played around with fishing the outside, front and rear and down the middle, where you get that bite at on the dock can be key to hitting the same area on the next dock. If they are tucked up in the back on a windy day and you catch a bass from the back, its a no brainer to start on the next dock exactly the same place on the dock the previous fish was located. The fish will tell you after some trial and error.
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Old 10-15-09, 07:49 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by Abbeysdad View Post
I think it's important, if not almost required to qualify the input here. IF you are an expert, then you can suggest doing this or that, but if INSTEAD you are just offering up someone else's ideas from stuff you've read somewhere (say on the web), then it really should clearly state that. Some qualifiers would be 'It's been my experience" or "I have read others say" or "I was watching Hank Parker's Outdoor Journal and Hank said..."
But copying something that you wrote in another thread that was equally someone elses thoughts and presenting them as your own is, well, just wrong.

I know we all want to be helpful, but the best help is to ensure clear communications as to where the information originates from.
I'm by far not an expert but follow the advice of those who have proven themselves to be. A local guide and dock fishing expert has written some exceptional articles on the subject. Rick has this down to a science.

I hope this link is successful I'm sure some folks will enjoy and benefit from his experience. I sure have.

http://www.tennesseebassguides.com/tips.htm

"Fishing Deep Water Covered Floating Docks"

No plug intended. I thought I'd link it instead of cutting some of it out and paste. Just want to be sure he's getting all the credit for his efforts and sharing this.

If you run across "Advanced Bass Fishing" by John Weiss check it out. He is another expert with great advice on the subject of fishing the docks. He speaks specifically about strings of docks and isolated docks and how bass will set up regarding pecking order and how dominance enters into it all and who will be where and how they stack up. He really makes it easy to fish docks.
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Old 10-15-09, 11:16 PM   #19
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DOCKS and/or BOAT HOUSES: If they are on a lake or river I am fishing, Favorite Spring and Summer Targets
On a lake particualry if they are on the edges of Weedy Flats!

Fast working, no rattles mid depth crank; Bagley Bulgin 3 or a Cableas Big O Original Copy( great bargin at 3 bucks a pop) Bang em right against the dock pilings, stop and go, If I get some short strikes I switch up to a FAT IKA, 4/0 EWG hook, backwards T rig weightless, they sink going away from you, great way to fish docks for me, skipping it right under and let the natural sinking action cover a lot of area for you,under the dock

I like to fish the outside corners first, I do not know if this is correct but I feel if you spook them on the outside, the reason the bass are there in the first place is for cover, so they will move uner the dock. If I throw under first I may push them all off the dock then.

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Old 12-13-09, 09:51 PM   #20
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I like to shoot docks with plastic worms or jigs with a SPINCAST reel. Preferably a pistol gripped rod to boot.
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Old 12-18-09, 08:39 AM   #21
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i'd flip a senko or a pig n jig to the outside edge first then under dock or pontoon and fish real slow and watch line usually dont feel bite and then attack other side then move on its pains taking but if u fish fast ur gona miss fish that might have bit if slower pres was available always best to fish slow bigger and better quality
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Old 04-04-10, 07:44 PM   #22
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Not sure about the first and last dock thing, up here in the Northwest, fish can be on any dock at any time, though docks that sit on deeper water seem to hold more fish. I love tubes and weightless senko's or yumdingers when they pull up under docks. I do believe that the shadow line is important if the sun is up. One thing I will say is that do not get too close to the dock as the fish can spook in the clear water we have.
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Old 04-05-10, 03:29 AM   #23
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First, I think we should be a little less condescending to out fellow posters! In my opinion, all thoughts and inputs should be welcome.

So please let's lighten up.

Second I think we need to consider water clarity.

I fish very clear water and don't find schools of fish around/under my docks. Therefore I tend to fish the front edge, then the sides with a slow falling bait like a weightless Senko type worm. However, if I can get a cast underneath, then that's my first cast

In this clear water the fish tend to be under the dock, in the deepest shadows. The fish are also very spooky, so if we except that the idea that best fish will have the best spot, I feel that I might as well try for that best fish first.

This might be the totally wrong approach if you are fishing in "soft mud." HAHAHA.
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Old 04-05-10, 09:00 AM   #24
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I fish the outside edges first and then I break down the inside.
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Old 04-05-10, 03:28 PM   #25
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Not to many docks on the lakes I fish. But I did find all of the information helpful. One question though, not to hijack the thread but how close do you set up from a dock? In different depths is it helpful to position closer or further? Also water clairty?


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