Dock Fishing

[crazy4fishin]

Eric - some great thoughts and guidance. When you fish the fluke are you using a bait caster or spinning rig? I have one heck of a time with no weight on a bait caster.

Also so I have not really thrown over any cables etc. as I am not sure how to get the fish out of those areas.....thoughts there?

I would consider myself somewhere in between as far as accuracy around docks - If I am on that day then I look good if I am off then watch out and wear protective gear you never know where the stuff will end up...on the roof, wrapped around something, in some poor guys boat etc.

C4F

[focused fishing]

Eric - some great thoughts and guidance. When you fish the fluke are you using a bait caster or spinning rig? I have one heck of a time with no weight on a bait caster.

Also so I have not really thrown over any cables etc. as I am not sure how to get the fish out of those areas.....thoughts there?

I would consider myself somewhere in between as far as accuracy around docks - If I am on that day then I look good if I am off then watch out and wear protective gear you never know where the stuff will end up...on the roof, wrapped around something, in some poor guys boat etc.

C4F

C4F,

Usually when I'm skipping a fluke it is on spinning gear, too many things can go wrong when you skip it under a swim platform, etc, you just never know what the fluke might hit and with a casting reel you'd have a mess. I do throw a fluke a little bit around docks with a bait caster but I use a rod designed to fish a weightless bait, Falcon makes a weightless worm rod (Clark Wendlendt signature) that works great.

As for over cables I usually use heavier line 15# - 20# fluoro. Tim Sainato told me about 10 years ago; "you can't loose 'em if you don't ever hook 'em". You will usually loose a few, but I carry a net with an 8' handle and a good size hoop if I'm fishing docks, you'd be surprised how far back in a dock you can reach and if you slip the net under the fish when he's pinned on a lift or whatever and then slide him back to you with the reel disengaged you'll land quite a few. It's not easy to do but with a partner or some practice you can land 85%- 95% of the fish.

Jackie,

I was answering a question about how to fish docks not necessarily while guiding. I do have several regular clients that are capable of fishing this way and we've had a ball this spring skipping around docks. But your right 90% don't have the skill to fish like this.

EP

[RSBreth]

Everyone who fishes around docks has their favorite lures and techniques, I definitely have mine.

One of my favorite patterns on "The Rock" and Beaver is a milk run of docks I have done well on in the past. I use a variety of lures that work the entire water column, from just under the docks to down right on the bottom. The Fluke tip is a good one, they work great, but I also use a floating version by Strike King, the Ztoo I think it's called, that floats on a lighter wire 3/0 wide-gap hook. I skip it up there and twitch it back like a topwater, sometimes with very long pauses. I like both tubes and jigs for casting by pilings, either of which can trigger strikes on the fall. For under the dock itself I like a shaky-head rig with a finesse worm. Sometimes it'll catch inactive fish near the bottom when nothing else will.

I use spinning gear for all of these lures, and spool braid or Fireline with pretty heavy fluoro leaders. Even the shaky-head rig gets some Orvis "Mirage" tippet material for it's leader in either 2X or 1X. That stuff is tough.

[Jackie D]

C4F,

Usually when I'm skipping a fluke it is on spinning gear, too many things can go wrong when you skip it under a swim platform, etc, you just never know what the fluke might hit and with a casting reel you'd have a mess. I do throw a fluke a little bit around docks with a bait caster but I use a rod designed to fish a weightless bait, Falcon makes a weightless worm rod (Clark Wendlendt signature) that works great.

As for over cables I usually use heavier line 15# - 20# fluoro. Tim Sainato told me about 10 years ago; "you can't loose 'em if you don't ever hook 'em". You will usually loose a few, but I carry a net with an 8' handle and a good size hoop if I'm fishing docks, you'd be surprised how far back in a dock you can reach and if you slip the net under the fish when he's pinned on a lift or whatever and then slide him back to you with the reel disengaged you'll land quite a few. It's not easy to do but with a partner or some practice you can land 85%- 95% of the fish.

Jackie,

I was answering a question about how to fish docks not necessarily while guiding. I do have several regular clients that are capable of fishing this way and we've had a ball this spring skipping around docks. But your right 90% don't have the skill to fish like this.

EP

I'm with ya. See ya on the water.