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TACTICS AND TIPS
Simply slinging baits past docks in the fall will get you a few bites. The fish are amped up and chewing, so many are less discerning than other times of the year. However, strategy bolsters consistency. Consider these pointers for improving your fall dock fishing:
Target Order: Upon approach, savvy dock anglers visually scan each structure for prominent feature. Maybe it’s a prominent pillar or two, a PWC ramp or just a particularly shady area. It’s tempting to go right to the sweet spot, but Menendez says patience pays.
If he can get to the prime cast with little effort, he’ll make that his first cast. But if the good stuff is harder to hit, he’ll pepper the area with casts in an effort to tempt other fish that may be around the dock before moving to the primary target. In case that difficult presentations require a few shots, he doesn’t want to risk easier opportunities by blowing out the surrounding area.
Casting Call: FLW Tour pro Terry Bolton bases his game plan on dock style. For floating docks, he’ll often
approach from the
side and look for the
area with the most
shade and the mud
poles, which anchor
floating docks and
walkway posts.
With particularly
long docks, he might start on the bank and work outward. Otherwise, he’ll make a long cast down the side to make a prominent presentation past the mud pole and that shady area.
If he’s looking at a stationary dock, Bolton sizes up each structure and picks out the most promising features. He’ll factor in depth, bottom makeup and any complementary structure such as brush, laydowns and stake beds planted by the resident crappie anglers.
Along the sides, Bolton likes mixing up his presentations with a flipping jig and a bladed swim jig. When casting along the front of a dock, he’ll use a spinnerbait or a bladed swim jig to parallel the dock’s perimeter and tickle the underside of its floats.
Bolton’s best advice: Look for dock corner patterns. Based on sunlight, bank angle, water flow, etc., bass will often favor the back or front corners in a given area. Determining this repeatable pattern equips you with a strategy that’ll likely work on several forthcoming structures.
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