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I need some shore fishing tips other than bobber and worm fishing

Question:
I am 13 and I LOVE to fish. We have this lake near our house. It has some ok sized bass in it. We go their all the time to fish. But their is one problem, we don't have a boat. So we can't get to the fish. I need some shore fishing tips other than bobber and worm fishing. Also our lake has like no real structure at all. We can't get fish any where. Only on full moons. We know there is fish in there but we can't get them. Help.

-Parker

Answer:
Great question. I would look for a place that has shallow water next to deeper water like a point. The fish will move up on the shallow point to feed and then go back to the deeper water. If you are fishing during the middle of the day when the sun is bright they will be in deeper water since you don't have any cover. Remember fish don't have eyelids so the bright sun bothers them. Good luck and I hope you catch a big one next time!

Mike Webb


Answer:
Largemouth bass love to orient to structure or cover. In the absence of a place to hang out, bass tend to suspend, away from the shoreline. To improve shoreline fishing, I wouldn't do a thing to change baits. But, I would get permission from whoever owns the lake to add some fish attractors around the shoreline areas where you like to fish. Brush piles, Christmas trees, large rocks...all make good fish attractors. Be sure that each pile you make sits within casting distance of the shore, but is in water at least six or seven feet deep. There are several ways to install fish structures in a lake when you don't have a boat. In summer, you can drag it out in pieces, tie the pieces together and anchor them in place with a big concrete block. In winter, you can stage your structures on the ice, and when the ice melts, the stuff sinks. If you do it on top of ice, be sure to tie your brushpile to something on the shore, in case the ice moves before it melts. Bass love a brush pile or rock pile that measures six feet long by six feet wide by four feet tall. Three or four Christmas trees in a bundle works well. Be sure to anchor your pile. And, most importantly, be sure to get permission to put fish structures in the lake.

All the best.

Bob Lusk
Fisheries biologist
Editor, Pond Boss magazine