Fishing Boat Docks

[-Shawn-]

 I want to hear how you approach dock fishing.  From start , such as how you pick a group of docks to fish, to how you fish the docks you have chosen.  I think there will be a lot of great info in this thread.

One of our local lake is lined with hundreds of docks and after talking to some visiting anglers I have found that many are overwhelmed at trying to pick the productive docks to fish. 

If I am on a new lake and planning to fish docks, I first look at a map and try to target the docks with the depest water close by. Then I will cruise and look for docks with lights pointing toward the water and rod holders.  Once I have located the docks I am going to target, I then will fish the outside edges with vibrashocks , spinnerbaits or crankbaits.  I will also skip vibrashocks up under the docks with clearance over the water.  No mater what kind of bait i am fishing I try to bump every piling I can or on the floating docs I try to rub the bait right on the bottom edge of the styrofoam.  Then I will flip the docs with a jig or creature, and probe for brush piles.  one thing I have learned at least on the lakes I fish is if you see a bass boat in the dock the look farther away from the dock for the brush piles .  For some reason bass fishermen like to try to hide there underwater cover. 


Tell us how you approach docks!

[pawpaw]

 About the only thing I do different; I like to fish a Sinco around the corners and brush piles and skip it under the docks when possible. Also run a shallow crankbait down the sides and corners. Don't overlook the water between docks. I have caught some of my best fish where there was no apparent cover or structure.

[Mike Noble]

I don't get as scientific as you Shawn when picking docks.  I just cruise the bankline and pick a set of docks...no real criteria.  I work in and out of every dock...fishing the walkways and all parts of the dock.  I mainly fish the docks with spinnerbaits (surprise huh) and soft plastic or jigs.

On the walkways, I try to fish each set of pilings and will hit the area right at the bank.   I find that a spinnerbait works well during different times of the year on the walkway.  Topwater lures during the fall, summer, and spring work well around docks.

If you can get to the backside of the dock, it is often a good place to fish.  A lot of fishermen just cruise the fronts of docks so the backside is often not fished too hard.  I will pitch a worm as far under the dock as I can, trying to work all the pilings and search for any brush planted by the dock owner.

One thing I look for when each new dock I approach is trap doors.  In this area, lots of dock owners have trap doors installed so they can fish under the dock for white perch.  This almost always means there is brush under the dock...directly under or next to the trap door.    You can also check the backyard of the homeowners for piles of limbs or Christmas trees in January, which can be an indicator that there is brush near the dock.

One other area that I will concentrate on for docks is steps or ladders.

[-Joe-]

When fishing docks I use alittle of all the above techniques. I too will try to pick docks close to channels or deeper water.  Once I choose my group of docks I'll make a slow pass and Side Scan under the docks to help locate the brush and structure. Then I will work them outside in starting with a spinner bait around the structure and next to the dockedges. Then I'll work inwards skipping a worm as far under as I can. Normally I will try to fish the shade side mainly.  As Noble said, I will concentrate heavily on steps and ladders because of the horizontal structure they create.

Joe

[-Shawn-]

  I wish I had sidescan.    that would take a lot of gess work out of fishing Docks. 

[beast96z]

In cooler weather, I may look for ones closer to deep water, but during warmer months, any dock is cover. Ones with brush may be more productive, but I don't discriminate. I've caught just as nice fish off of "normal" docks as opposed to "good" docks.

[-Shawn-]

In cooler weather, I may look for ones closer to deep water, but during warmer months, any dock is cover. Ones with brush may be more productive, but I don't discriminate. I've caught just as nice fish off of "normal" docks as opposed to "good" docks.

Yeah after I fished over there I can understand that. I wish our fish stayed shallow all year.  
In the summertime here you better be fishing deep water or very close to it if you want to catch anything but dinks.  

[Mike Cork]

Winter time means jigs, I will fish jigs jigs and more jigs around boat docks in winter. First thing is I will avoid floating docks if I can, I like pier docks. That by no means, means floating docks won't hold fish, they do, I just like pier docks.

I look for docks that have deeper water near by, as already mentioned I look for docks with indications that brush has been stocked; ie trap doors, lights, rod holders. Be sure to look with your depth finder in the direction of the rod holders, sometimes dock owners put brush out away from the dock and it will be easily found if you line up the rod holders.

Spring time means jerkbaits and spinnerbaits for me. In the spring I move up creek channels and towards spawning grounds so deeper docks are not so important, however a good travel route near by definitely helps. Cooler temps equal jerkbaits either suspending models or floating depending on activity of bass and as the water warms I move to spinnerbaits working my way towards the bank line pitching the spinnerbait along and throw the walk way bumping it off the pylons. If it's a floating dock then you have to work parallel to the walkway and be careful of the cables but this can be an awesome place to find un molested fish as most anglers won't take a chance with them b/c of the cables.

Summer time takes me back out to the ends of the docks, but now I am working jigs and soft plastics trying to imitate shad or bream. Again this time of year I am looking for docks with deep water near by. Also, pay attention to things that tell you there is cover planted around or under the dock again. Here in Louisiana, the best docks have hinges in the floor indicating a trap door where the owner has placed brush right in the middle of his dock, they like to site out on their docks in the middle of winter round a heater and load up on the crappie

[tmiller2]

wow i like this thread so far.......

im just going to add what i do as a co-angler (still workin on gettin a boat).....as i really dont have too much say as to what docks to fish......

i will almost always throw something different (with the exception that the boater has put together a nice pattern with a certain type of bait)....if he throws a spinnerbait i throw a square bill.....he goes with a jig i will go with a shakey head or  start skipping a senko.....if he gets up really close to do something i will try and throw a drop shot on the outside edges and corners.....

the speed that the boater fishes also has a lot to do with what i throw.....if he speeds it up moving fast i might try and slow my presentations down if its possible.....and if hes fishing slow trying to hit every spot i will usually speed up and throw something to get a reaction bit

i can often outfish a boater from the back with something different.....if a fish sees it and wants to hit but its pulled away i dont think that its going to be as aggressive toward the same bait.....as well as the fish just seeing something different than it just saw

this can be hard tho especially if the boater wacks a few and you havent caught anything.....but in the long run i have found myself more successful with different baits than the guy in the front of the boat

most of the guys that i have fished with have been pretty good about not back boating me so i havent really had to figure out what to do if that happens....but i think it would just make casting less accurate....which can hurt a lot especially when fishing docks

[-Shawn-]

Good Post T!!!  That is exactly what you should be doing!!  It will be hard for anyone to back boat you if you are working a series of docks.  It is just too hard to not give you some water to fish.  Keep this in mind also.  When you are fishing docks that are real close to deep water Fish the offshore side with deep cranks .  There are a lot of times that the fish will pull back to the drop when the angling pressure gets heavy.

[tmiller2]

yeah you read my mind shawn....after i posted i felt like i was missing something....i have caught a lot of good fish casting away from docks with jerkbaits and cranks.....

[crash]

I'm like you Tmiller...I fish the back of the boat.  I do that alot...when he fishes the dock, I like to fish "around" the dock with a vibrashock while he fished the dock. 

[Stump bumper]

I have started watching the crappie guides here on Beaver. They know the people that own the docks and help them with the brush piles. I have even seen them set up chairs and let their clients fish from the docks. Not scientific but gives me some good docks.

They have outlawed styofoam here and gone to hard plastic on the docks, they are all floating docks. The plastic floats do not attract the blue gills and have killed a lot of action around the docks.

The docks here move a lot with the water rising and following, if the water is rising I look behind the dock for old brush piles, if the water goes down, I look in front of the dock.

[texlwedge]

I don't get as scientific as you Shawn when picking docks.  I just cruise the bankline and pick a set of docks...no real criteria.  I work in and out of every dock...fishing the walkways and all parts of the dock.  I mainly fish the docks with spinnerbaits (surprise huh) and soft plastic or jigs.

On the walkways, I try to fish each set of pilings and will hit the area right at the bank.   I find that a spinnerbait works well during different times of the year on the walkway.  Topwater lures during the fall, summer, and spring work well around docks.

If you can get to the backside of the dock, it is often a good place to fish.  A lot of fishermen just cruise the fronts of docks so the backside is often not fished too hard.  I will pitch a worm as far under the dock as I can, trying to work all the pilings and search for any brush planted by the dock owner.

One thing I look for when each new dock I approach is trap doors.  In this area, lots of dock owners have trap doors installed so they can fish under the dock for white perch.  This almost always means there is brush under the dock...directly under or next to the trap door.    You can also check the backyard of the homeowners for piles of limbs or Christmas trees in January, which can be an indicator that there is brush near the dock.

One other area that I will concentrate on for docks is steps or ladders.

Well said, Mr. Noble. My method just about down to a T. I do like skipping my plastics as far under the dock/pier as I can and working it out slow. We have an abundance of docks and piers that produce fish year round. I have also checked for drop offs that are just past the pier or docks end. This is where I have found the larger fish in the waters I have been on. Spinner or crank down the sides and the T-rigged Mexican Rattler or 6" El Grande minnow for getting in under.

[mlakrid]

I dont remember if it was an FLW or BASS article but I will relay what I read and learned when I read it...

I have a love/hate relationship fishing docks... when its HOT, its tremendous, when its not, your lucky to get bit at all...

Anyway back to those tips...
1) look for obvious signs of fishing: Poles, minnow traps, feeders
2) look for not so obvious signs, like when people DONT want you to fish there, they hang rope or twine or even high test mono across openings to docks, ramps, and boat lifts
3) if the dock has a ramp as well as a lift, figure out where the boat would be when loading it onto the trailer and fish the area where the propwash would be normally several inches to a foot deeper...

As for my own tips... I try and concentrate on something which makes that boat dock different...
1) a seawall
2) lilypad field
3) cypress knees
4) the dock is right above the waterline versus beng way above it (provides more shade, and harder to skip under)

My favorite baits to use on docks in order of preference:
Fast (power fishing):
Spinner bait
Lipless cranks
shallow diving crank (Baby Minus)

Slow deliberate:
ZOOM SUPER FLUKE!
Senko Style bait
weightless trickworm

EDIT: Something which a freind showed me which I would not have believed if I didnt see it:
Fishing a shakey head with a small finese worm, and you can SKIP THEM... I can finally do this, although I still make a large splash every now and then... when a super slow presentation doesnt work the shaky on the fall will get them to bite...

Cheers!

Mike A!

[Allen Shadd]

 One thing I'll add is rod determination. For fishing docks I use a 5'6" casting rod, MH action. I can cast it under handed a lot easier without hitting the water and backlashing. And by using a good baitcaster ( I have a Shimano Scorpion on this rig) it allows me to throw lighter baits as well. It also improves my accuracy when I just make a side armed or over handed cast.

[AJ]

We cruise around at night or close to dark looking for the docks with night lights on them, they seem to be the most productive day and night.

Also Granbury has a ton of docks with wires and ropes hanging down, almost a sure sign of brush piles.

Skipping tubes to the back where wall meets water nets a lot of fish.

hitting the spot where wall water and dock meets on the back side corners also works good for me

i am getting pretty good skippin and I notice that most people that skip only get half way in, i try to get all the way back, tho that means a few lost lures and such as they get hung in the rocks at back.


the majority of my fish seems  to come from within mear INCHES or less from the walls.   a few in corners where piers and ladders are within a foot or so of each other, flip between them and usually can net a fish or two




EAGLE MOUNTAIN has docks that are all bout 6 ft outta the water (the water line didnt look that high but i can be wrong) and they got a lot of wires under them keeping most (MOST) fishermen from attempting them.  Me what the heck all i can do is lose it right?? if I dont lose it else where why not try those docks average joe would not fish??

[ex301p]

All of the above plus add a Scum Frog Popper skipped in there. I will also look for docks in a row of docks that looks like it never gets used or is 100 years old and falling apart compared to all the other docks in a row of docks. I think a lot of people may fish the outer edges of docks more, but that first section between the shore and first set of post can be hot at times.

[Bass Mafia]

Tell us how you approach docks!

Duh, from a Boat...

Seriously, I watch alot of the guys that I fish with shut the motor down a little too close to docks and the wake ends up smacking against the docks and pilings. They then concentrate on hitting each piling and continue to blank... no fish on that pier? While I skip under the pier with a weightless senko, or crank alongside the pier with a spinnerbait or crankbait and catch fish.

When I am in control of the boat, I make it a point to slow down and slowly drift to the pier, staying a ways back. I do not like fishing right up on any kind of pier or structure. I guess that comes from most of my time spent fishing from the shore and having to cast out as far as I possibly can, to reach what I am shooting for. I does pay off to. Many a day, I have caught more than the boater.

I point out piers that are closer together and look older than others. My favorites are the ones that come together in a corner. They always hold fish.

[fishiowa]

any dock in my book is a good dock if the fish are biting . i like to use soft plastic 4 in. to 6 in. minnow . it works well for me fishiowa.

[-Shawn-]

Yeah I like to skip Elgrande minnows under the docks .  I think a minnow is a good bait for folks that are just learning to skip to. They slide for a mile!

[stantonz71]

 I shutdown straight head on with the pier well out of casting distance so my wake goes far left and right. Troll head on until I get close enough I can skip all the way to the back. I start every dock head on to keep my distance.The first cast always seems to be the most important to me. I don't want to disturb the dock until I hit the sanctuary first. I fish docks just like a tree top...I go straight to the core. Then I will hit the outer end corners and the bank corners.

For docks I throw two baits. A jig and a super fluke. These two have seemed to produce the best for me. I look for the lowest oldest docks on the lake.  If it has deep water then great, if it doesn't thats ok too. Big fish will stay shallow on docks since there is always food and a since of security. This works for me. Thought I would share.     

[AnglerLady]

For me I have two softbaits I will live and die on, and that's a sweet beaver and crawfish.

[Mike Cork]

For me I have two softbaits I will live and die on, and that's a sweet beaver and crawfish.

AnglerLady, how do you rig those? Texas style? Just curious, with all the different variations of rigging styles nowadays I am always looking for something different and I love a sweet beaver on docks as well 

[beast96z]

I love a sweet beaver on docks as well 

Won me that $1200 earlier this year.