Dock Fishing

[abkeenan]

From a recent post reply by Don House he has said that he has been doing pretty well hitting docks with a fluke. This got me to thinking that i never do all that great around docks but i also dont fish them properly. I usually make casts to the corners, try to run my bait length wise down the dock from shallow to deep and might hit a slip or two. So i would like to maybe get some info and feed back how you guys hit docks. With the fluke are you letting it sink to the bottom then twitching it back? Working it fast just under the surface or somewhere in between the two styles? I am new to flukes and like i said i dont fish docks as thoroughly as i should mostly because i really dont know what im doing. Do you make long casts or stay in tight to the dock when fishing the slips? How many casts would you say that you might throw to the same corner or slip? Any info is great and just doesnt have to pertain to throwing only flukes. I would love to hear about jigs, spoons, tubes or whatever else you guys like throwing around docks.

-Brett

[Jason Essary]

wow, great questions. As if I was asking them myself. Cant wait to hear all the answers.

[focused fishing]

Brett,

O.K. here ya go:

Fluke: I fish it weightless on a 3/0 EWG hook and cast / skip it in any every hole, slip, under walkways and boat lifts. I will gennerally allow it to sink 3 - 5 seconds and then start twitching it back in a twitch pause retreive. I stay about 20' away from the dock and make retreives parallel to the sides of a slip or swim platform. If I'm confident there are fish under the dock I will allow it to sink longer and even add a nail weight to get the bait deeper if I'm not drawing strikes. Also, I will throw back in as many as ten times if I know there is a fish under the dock, trying different angles, a fluke will dart in different directions on every retreive so just because they didn't hit the first couple of times doesn't mean they won't the next time. It's a confidence thing.

Jig: I look at a dock as a giant laydown and concentrate on shady areas around the dock, if fish are holding deeper I will allow a jig to sink to the bottom and work it back along the bottom. If they are suspended I will swim it back in at the desired depth. I use an Eakins jig 80% of the time and a 1/2 oz Jewel football jig the rest of the time. When fishnig a dock with a jig remember fish can and will be anywhere there is shade even under the walkway from the shore in clear water. Also remember if it is difficult to get a bait in a spot most likely those fish are much less pressured than those on the edges. Most of the time I use 10# fluro but will switch to 15# if I'm throwing over alot of boat lift chains, cables, etc... I fish tubes, shaky heads, Texas rigged wahtever, etc the same way.

Spoon: Heavy line 15# or 20# fluro, fish the deeper portions of the dock, pitch the bait in and let it fall on controlled slack. Just like the fluke and jig try to hit every nook and crany. Know how deep the water is and if the spoon stops short set the hook. Work the bait back up with a series of hops at different depths. 80% of the bite I get are on the intial fall.

Hope this helps,

EP

[abkeenan]

You are the man Eric-

Thanks so much for the info. You guides are so generous with your info and time and it is much appreciated. I am pretty sure i will be headed down for the weekend and i will see if i cant put some of this great info to good use.

-Brett

[Jason Essary]

Ditto, thanks Eric.

[focused fishing]

Anytime guys, hope it helps

[Jackie D]

Brett,

O.K. here ya go:

Fluke: I fish it weightless on a 3/0 EWG hook and cast / skip it in any every hole, slip, under walkways and boat lifts. I will gennerally allow it to sink 3 - 5 seconds and then start twitching it back in a twitch pause retreive. I stay about 20' away from the dock and make retreives parallel to the sides of a slip or swim platform. If I'm confident there are fish under the dock I will allow it to sink longer and even add a nail weight to get the bait deeper if I'm not drawing strikes. Also, I will throw back in as many as ten times if I know there is a fish under the dock, trying different angles, a fluke will dart in different directions on every retreive so just because they didn't hit the first couple of times doesn't mean they won't the next time. It's a confidence thing.

Jig: I look at a dock as a giant laydown and concentrate on shady areas around the dock, if fish are holding deeper I will allow a jig to sink to the bottom and work it back along the bottom. If they are suspended I will swim it back in at the desired depth. I use an Eakins jig 80% of the time and a 1/2 oz Jewel football jig the rest of the time. When fishnig a dock with a jig remember fish can and will be anywhere there is shade even under the walkway from the shore in clear water. Also remember if it is difficult to get a bait in a spot most likely those fish are much less pressured than those on the edges. Most of the time I use 10# fluro but will switch to 15# if I'm throwing over alot of boat lift chains, cables, etc... I fish tubes, shaky heads, Texas rigged wahtever, etc the same way.

Spoon: Heavy line 15# or 20# fluro, fish the deeper portions of the dock, pitch the bait in and let it fall on controlled slack. Just like the fluke and jig try to hit every nook and crany. Know how deep the water is and if the spoon stops short set the hook. Work the bait back up with a series of hops at different depths. 80% of the bite I get are on the intial fall.

Hope this helps,

EP

Ok, You say you have been catching them good on the fluke around docks. Are you doing this on guide trips? I don't know if I have ever had anybody that could skip a fluke under a dock cable or in a stall under a lift...they might throw it on top of the roof. Oh I have had a few that could. I mean no disrespect to them because that is why they hired me and it is appreciated but that technique is one that would not work in my boat 99 percent of the time. Great people but their casting accurancy isn't what it needs to be in order to fish this way. Where are you finding people that can cast like that? Send some my way because that is a fun way to fish.

[dtrs5kprs]

Ditto, thanks Eric.

+1 for me. Especially the spoon bit, that one is still on my to do list.

[Buzz Bait]

I've been catching a lot of nice bass off my dock on a pearl super fluke with a split shot about 2 feet above it. Just let it drop to the bottom in about 20 to 40 feet and slowly twitch it back up. Most hits come during the drop. Lost one about 5 pounds when he broke my line, but I still love my ultra lights...

By the way, one LM was kept because of some serious gill damage. She was full of eggs. The other LM's looked fat. Is this normal?

[Phil Lilley]

Ok, You say you have been catching them good on the fluke around docks. Are you doing this on guide trips? I don't know if I have ever had anybody that could skip a fluke under a dock cable or in a stall under a lift...they might throw it on top of the roof. Oh I have had a few that could. I mean no disrespect to them because that is why they hired me and it is appreciated but that technique is one that would not work in my boat 99 percent of the time. Great people but their casting accurancy isn't what it needs to be in order to fish this way. Where are you finding people that can cast like that? Send some my way because that is a fun way to fish.

Not speaking for Eric but his post doesn't appear to me to refer to client's fishing but his experience. Most, if not all, of us guides know 99% of our clients can't do the things we do as far as casting, working the bait or feeling the bite. But it is fun when we get someone who can!

I think I'll add this topic to the "best of". Great answer Eric- and anyone else who wants to add to it still can.