From the shore

[cassidyta]

I am sure most of this will be common sense to a lot of us, but wanted to pass on a couple of observations I have made in the past week of fishing a local pond. I am not going to try to go into technique or bait choices, just some things that I have seen. If this comes off as a rant, it is not meant to. Just some things we need to remember.
Some of these will apply from a boat as well, but the issues are amplified when on foot.

1) Fish till the end.
In a lot of small water, you might be surprised at how many fish will hit your bait by shooting out of the vegetation right beneath your feet. I know I have been guilty of lifting the lure out of the water only to see the fish that might have hit it.

2) Match your baits to your gear. This one could be reversed if you already have all the baits. I got to take my daughter out fishing Saturday for a little bit and met a guy named Russ. He wanted to try his hand at some fresh water fishing. Russ had an 8' trolling rod, a large Calcutta, and 40 lbs mono. He could not understand why he just could not cast the 1/4 oz jig head worth a darn. I have also seen guys trying to throw 3 and 4 oz swim baits on light wait spinning reels.

3) Just because you can cast there doesn't mean you should.
The pond I mentioned is surrounded with tullies and has limited shore access. I am often amazed at the number of people who cast over and through these tullies. They will seldom land the fish and if they do it probably won't survive the event. I really am not as concerned with the loss of your bait as the harm to the fish.

4) Know your strength.
We have all been guilty of tossing the bait a little further than we meant to in our efforts to land the ellusive "Tree Bass". At times this is almost humorous. However; the humor is lost when you throw a bait 40 feet and the cove/pond is only 30 foot wide. Especially when I am standing on the other side of the same area.

5) Be able to reach your gear.
I happy for you that you got there before me and have a better spot, but your shore spot probably shouldn't be 40 foot wide with rods cast out on both ends. It is not that you are taking up too much space, the issue I have is that you are begging the fish to swallow the hook if you can not even see the rod from where you are standing.

6) Keep an eye on the non fishing members of your party.
It is great that you taught little johnny how to skip stones, but I personally don't want to witness it right where I am standing. Rover might really be a nice dog, but he is begining to get on my nerves especially when he starts chasing Johnny's stones and sticks.

7) If you brought it, take it with you.
Okay, this one might be a rant and the most obvious. If you are going to wait till you get to the water to open up your boxes or bags, then find a trash can or put them back in your darn car.

The pond i fish the most often is located on Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. It is only a little bigger than a football field with two small arms/coves hanging off of it. While there will never be a world record come out of this water but it is a mile from my office and I can get an hour of fishing in for lunch. 35' deep in the NW corner but most is 15 and less.

[bamabassman]

bingo buddy, that's a goodie right there.

[abu4600]

Good rant buddy, I agree with it 100%.

[carolina-rig-01]

great post. something everyone should take to heart is #7 especially.

[woody]

Those are some good observations, imo it sounds like it's all a matter of showing respect.