Awesome! As a 25 year old who didn't have the opportunities to fish growing up, I'm now teaching myself and your video's have been the most helpful out of everything I've found... Not to mention that you are the only person(profesional or not) who catches fish in almost every video. Thanks for all your help.
When I was a boy in the 40's my Mother and I fished a lot for dinner (meals). We wore what ever was available (not worried about color), used worms and minnows on cane poles with a cork bobber, didn't care what color of line we used (it was all black), and just followed the local black people (the experts) to the places to fish. We caught a lot of fish of all kinds, but we never caught as many as the black people. They taught me so much. But, I haven't fished in 40 years, and things have changed. Fishing with a cane pole is also conducive to good napping under a tree. Thanks again for the videos.
Good tips, but I would add a few things for fishing different types of ponds. *Structure*: Most ponds lack significant points and humps, but dams provide one of the deepest parts of the lake and a steep bank that bass often patrol. On older ponds, bass may roam shallow, silted in flats in search of crayfish and young bluegills. The ponds I fish rarely have grass, but often have wood or large growths of moss. Moss will foul any hook, but you can toss a soft plastic (unweighted works best) or topwater to the edge of it. I also like to crank a shallow crankbait up to the edge, and let it float to the top. Originally I did this so that I could yank my lure up and over the last few feet, and not collect as much junk, but I found out accidentally, that fish would hammer the lure right as it hit the surface. Overhanging trees can hold bass, too. Bluegills hang out under trees watching for insects, and bass feed on the bluegills and the larger insects. I like to toss poppers under trees. *Diet*: Pond bass eat the same things as bass in larger waters, but terrestrial, semi-terrestrial, and flying species tend to play a larger role in their diet. I've brought home 15" bass with stomachs that were just packed with dragonflies (caught on topwater, of course). Grasshoppers, frogs, snakes, rodents, turtles, and even young birds can all be part of their diet. Bass will pretty much eat anything that fits into their big mouth! But what this means for anglers, is that bass in ponds like to orient themselves where they can ambush prey (insects attract bluegills). At one lake I fish, bass will hang out in 3-6" of water, less than a foot from shore, to ambush frogs, insects, or whatever else might jump or fall in. If you make too much noise walking up to the bank, you'll see half a dozen swirls from spooked fish. Overhanging trees and tall grass are also good places to find insects and fish. And cattails attract both aquatic and terrestrial species, including nesting Red-Winged Blackbirds, whose young can't always fly well enough to stay out of the water, and end up making a big, flapping, splashing commotion in front of all those hungry bass. *Baits*: There are some baits that I rarely use when fishing from shore, and some you left out. *Shallow Crankbaits & Squarebills* I use a lot of these when fishing from the bank. It's a great way to cover water quickly and the the floating action helps to avoid snags. Bass in ponds typically see little pressure, so it's easy to get them to chase something, or to hit on a stop and go retrieve. Plus, crankbaits are easy and fun to fish. Smaller baits typically work well, like a Bandit 100, Scatter Rap, or even smaller crappie and trout cranks. I have a Rebel Teeny Wee R in crown craw that is amazing when fish are eating crayfish. Crawfish colors, bluegill or perch colors, and black over white or silver all work well. *Lipless Crankbaits*: These definitely catch fish anywhere, but the problem with using them from the bank, is that they, and any sinking crankbait, snag too easily. And then they're nothing more than dead weight with treble hooks. In order to fish them from shore, you have to either have a rod and line capable of yanking them loose from the worst of snags, even if that means bending the hooks, or spend a lot of money replacing them. *Skirted Bass Jigs*: I've had plenty of luck with the old jighead-and-plastic, and hair or marabou jigs, but skirted bass jigs have never produced for me. To be fair, I rarely use them (I'm trying to learn on a larger lake), and usually end up losing them, but I've heard other people say that jigs don't work well in ponds, or that only the smallest work (not available when I first tried). Then again, I'm sure you wouldn't bring them if they didn't work for you. Maybe I just need more practice.
+Mark S Try using the strike king bitsy bug jig, with a yum crawbug as a trailer (the smaller size one fits perfectly on it) Slowly drag it and occasionally hop it.. I caught my first Jig bass at a small pond under a major highway by my house using this bait. Even at a larger reservoir, a football jig slowly dragged along reachable points is good. Jigs take a lot of patience, but it is worth it. it is my experience jigs will produce quality but not necessarily quantity bass. I also had luck with the stand up heads using a yum money craw as a trailer.
gammafreak Thanks for the advice, but since I wrote this I've actually started having a bit of success with jigs. It seems once I found something that worked, things just started to click. But what actually worked really well for me was the Zero Gravity Jig from Custom Lures Unlimited. I've used a number of different trailers, but the Crawbug is definitely one of the better ones. I also like the Paca Chunk. A lot of the ponds that I fish have soft or mossy bottoms, so most jigs tend to sink in and gather a bunch of junk, but the the Zero Gravity Jig drops down and comes to rest on top of the weeds or mud, where I work it with drags and quick twitches. I can't use it in deep water, but I'm typically fishing from the bank anyway. Since then I've caught some nice bass at a nearby 500 acre lake using some larger jigs. I often use ponds to develop some confidence in a lure or a presentation. Once I know what to watch for, I'm not yanking the rod every time I bump a rock, or changing the lure after 10 minutes, and before you know it, I'm actually catching fish.
@@ryskyhighlights1327 I don't know for sure, but most likely from some sort of drug overdose. Gene mentioned in a video he had a drug addiction problem
Thanks so much for making this video. I caught a bass on accident while trout fishing here in CA this past January and immediately wanted to know how to actually fish for bass. Since then I've watched and read almost everything on Bassresource and have caught more bass in the last 9 months than I have in my entire life. Being a young college student, a boat is a little out of my reach so I really appreciate this in addition to all of your other great videos!
I am new to your channel. I am a 71 year old grandmother of 10. I love fishing and mainly fish from banks and piers. I thoroughly enjoyed your video and learned a lot I don't do much lure fishing but am getting excited to try. Live bait has been my choice as I like to sit in my chair..have my thermos of coffee and usually bottom fish. Never to late to change ...
@@jackapgar5824 the only given cause of death is that he "lost his battle with addiction". Considering the circumstances, it sounds like overdose (his mom was said to have found him, presumably in their house). I got into fishing too late to know him but in this video he seems like a pretty good guy with a passion for fishing and teaching others.
Sad to see in the comments that Ryan had passed away. Lots of good info in this. I currently keep most of my tackle in plano 3600 boxes, including my plastics. It never occurred to me to just leave them in the packaging. I'll make that shift as I replace my plastics. That way I can use the 3600s for other things. There's plenty of space in my backpack for those plastics in the packs, and they are more or less form fitting.
The best advice I can give is learn what everything on the bottom feels like and if it is different of pulls back it's probably a fish. When you think you have a bite just lift your rod a little and pull you line a little tight and then hold your rod still. If it pulls back set the hook.
i just wanted to say thank you for all the good tips. you have taught me so much in your videos. now when i go fishing i catch way more fish then i used to.
thanks a lot guys.....tons....tons of info for a beginner like me....from what to carry....how to carry it...rods...to baits....to lines......wow...thanks a lot..... i have a plastic tote...with a bunch of drawers....old school tackel box....but i've gotten new ideas from your video.....thanks a lot!!!!!!!!
Thanks for mentioning the walk softly and the neutral colors and camo, loved the bankfishing backpack tackle boxes ideas with just a couple rods. Thank you, haven't really really fished since I was younger , so I'm trying to relearn alot of fishing skills again and learn new things. Appreciate the information about the slim coats on the ground too, I never knew that.
I would use a 7ft Med Fast spinning rod. My favorite is a Dobyns 703SF or the Duckett DFMM70M-S. I've been using the same Okuma reels for 8 years and have never had a problem with them. They have been the best money I've spent on spinning reels.
I find using any rod length over 6'6. To tall. Because of tall weeds and tree limbs. My friend had a 7'0 rod. He bangs it on everything! Sometimes I go ultra light rod 5'6 this seems to be a great length to use. It doesn't cast as far but your not getting hung up alot. I can't believe you fish. Banks alot where cover is. The video shows no trees or high weeds. Please show us how most ponds really are! SHAWN
I am a bank fisher person. Love to sit with my coffee,chair and snacks and relax..Your video is very informative and I have learned a few techniques to use next time I fish in the neighborhood p[onds.
being a bank fisherman myself I know that it takes skill to catch lunkers from the shore so big thumbs up man. it's a little easier with a fish-depth finder and the ability to cover a lot of water lol
Thank you so much for posting this vid, Gene! I know I'm late but since I got sick back in July, I kinda got out of fishing. I've recently started back again. Anyhoo, it's good to know that there are people who care about those who don't have or use boats (for whatever reason). Great job as always.
Awesome video! I used to always let fish flop around on the ground but from now on ill think of the fish more then me getting hooked when i lip him! Haha thanks for the tips and ill make sure to double check all of my clothes and try out some of the tips you guys gave me. Thanks again! Glad i watched
This video helped a lot because I carry a backpack on the bus with 2/2 piece fishing rods. I do the exact same thing except for the bag for soft plastics. Wish I had one because I use a Tupperware container that can hold less and is a bit more on the heavy side. Thanks for the tips guys!
great video...I'm fairly new to fishing being from California we don't have a lot of ponds or river or lakes that arent stocked; for a person that has really no idea about fishing this helped me a lot...thanks
Great videos,you have definitely improved my Indiana bass fishing! I catch way more fish than all my friends everytime. Keep them coming guys....thumbs up!
Thanks for the video. I do all my bass fishing from the lake banks (Lake Lanier). I have caught some of the biggest bass that way too. The way I try to keep from letting my bass hit the ground is to bring them up to the edge of the bank and then use the line to pick them up as much as possible and then grab them by the mouth. Sometimes it's not possible to completely keep them from touching the ground depending on how much they are fighting. Good video.
great video, as always. About to go out in a bit a do a little bank fishing near a discharge. It's been years since I've bank fished and this video has helpful tips for beginners and those looking to knock the rust off.
You've got Ft Yargo State Park right there. It got pretty good fishing. South of you down Hwy 11, just south of Mansfield is Charlie Elliot Wildlife Center and Public Fishing area. This is where I grew up bank fishing. It's got 22 ponds and lakes that are great. Some of them are walk-in only.
Flukemaster my friends dad was a park ranger at Charlie Elliot. Coley Cooper is his name. His son and me were in the Army together. I’m out in Mansfield every once in a while.
Man I just wanted to stop by an say. You have helped me so much. I was watching your Texas rig tips this morning and slammed a 9 1/3 pound bass out of lake palo pinto Texas, using a dark brown crawdad.
incredibly helpful series of videos. for beginners like me these are so much more useful than watching videos with a pro on a boat telling me which specific brand and type of rod to buy for a specific bait. can't afford it and ain't going pro. i'd appreciate it if you could do a video on how to avoid snags or your take on it. we all know that bass love covers, weed, branches, and what not. but i've lost a lot of baits, especially crankbaits, hung up on branches in the bottom. also for water with a lot of weed on the bottom, the baits catch on a lot of them on the retrieve and it destroys the action of the bait. how can we fish in those covers and not lose our baits (or lose them less) or not destroy the action of the baits?
if you are worried about crank baits getting hung up on bottom, always use floaters(not suspending or sinking crank baits). when you feel them touch anything on the bottom as you are reeling them in, stop...let the bait rise a little bit and continue. baits with long lips are best because the lip contacts the obstacle before the hooks have a chance to dig in. all you have to do is take your time a little bit and keep the line tight so you can feel what your bait is touching(or what is touching your bait)...fish or obstacle......suspenders or sinkers are better for open(deeper) water.....if you practice in shallow CLEAR water, you can go through your motions and learn how your bait behaves...a concrete. boat ramp is good for this.....
my bank fishing set up is a medium heavy Ugly Stik with a Shimano Sahara reel spooled with 12 lb Ande line...i have used it since 9/11 and it still works...caught lots of bass, snook, even tilapia on it. my other outfit i always keep in the trunk is a cheap 10 ft. BnM crappie pole with a small Daiwa reel spooled with 6 lb test(sometimes 4 lb) for my panfishing or bassin', using small Rapalas, crappie jigs or just bread and worms....nothing like relaxing by the water after work...with a cold one or a cup of Dunkin'....real Americana.........
get yourself a tackle bucket. Same advantages of backpack with few extra uses. Rod holder while re-tying, a seat!, can keep live bait, turn it into a stringer/live well(use a 19" bucket) if you catch crappie or walleyes, can even keep cold beverages with a couple scoops of ice from your local fast food joint, etc. Wild River makes some great bucket packs.
Walking softly is a real good tip. I have found that it sometimes pays to make a few casts in the shallows while I'm standing some ways away from the bank.
The backpack rocks. I should probably upgrade mine to Plano boxes. My current system uses plastic jars & containers stolen from the recycle bin. Works pretty good but its time for boxes.
Fishing the bank, topwater and shallow diving baits is a must. Flukes or Bassin Assassins are great! Chatterbait are a must! If there is moss, USE 65lbs braid line and a spro frog! Cattails or tall grass, use bait called the Bird!
My goto baits for bank fishing would be a senko or any style stick bait, a tube, and a fluke. I used to take a bunch of stuff bank fishing but now I have it down to just one rod and reel and a small bag that I carry 1 small box with lures(a couple poppers, jerkbaits,shallow cranks,and other hard baits), maybe 5 bags of plastics(senkos,swim shads,tubes,flukes). I keep the hooks in their original package and carry a small prescription bottle with weights. I also have 3 pliers - 1 wire cutter, 1 small needlenose/splitring tool/line cutter, and then a leatherman.
TGSureal Oh yeah, for my rod I prefer a 6'6" MH rod with a medium action. I also use 10-12# mono. I can fish everything from soft plastics to small cranks with this setup.
I do the same w my backpack. I can fit 3 of the gamakatsu boxes in mine and i have 2 gallon ziploc bags of plastics that also go in the bag.... pliers in the front. You need to get one of those boomerang cutters, those cut any line perfectly and they are small. You can dump those scissors and heavy cutters you have.
I never knew th about their slim coat, hahaha I'm one of those that sometimes take the picture of a good catch next to a new rod I just bought and tried out, but I won't be doing that anymore lol
Hey Gene. ... quick question bud.... I know you don't fish Duckett rods any longer but I hope you could still answer a question about them for me..... am I crazy or did they used to offer a 7' medium action rod in there casting rods as well as their crankin rods?.... I know they still offer the 7' crankin rod but they don't offer the 7' medium in their casting any longer..... thanks buddy. ....
That's the same thing I do with the backpack. I have two. The first is what I call a predator bag and this includes lures and terminal tackle for bass, walleye, pike etc. The second is more of a panfish bag and I will throw a little in that one for bass also. Now for catfish I have used the bassmaster bag or I have one that I started using that is a tad larger with more pockets.
Thank you so much. I have been to Ft. Yargo and really didnt catch much. What kind of lure would you take with you at Charlie Eliot Wildlife Center? Thanks for the response and great vidoes!!!
Yeah,it just depends on how much grass there is. I do well with both frog and buzzbait, when the conditions are right. Great video guys. It's funny, I use exactly what you guys recommended. 3 rods, spinnerbait, weightless t-rigged yum dinger, and stanley frog. ;D depending on conditions I'll swap out the spinnerbait for a crank.
Needles to say Ill be using Texas rig more often. Use to just Carolina rig. Makes me want to use soft bates more then hard:) thank you sir for giving use the time of your day, to help us with our fishing.
Can you please do a video on bank fishing in the SUMMER. How do you find the fish? What time of day is best to go fishing? What lures do you use in the summer (and colors to use), especially in muddy Texas ponds with the temperature typically being in the high 90s. The ponds I go are rather small and have some grass and lots of vegetation on the bottom including downed branches. Using crank baits is very difficult because they typically get hung up. Any help you can give would be great. Thanks much in advance.
I have been taking my 10 year old son fishing and he is getting frustrated because he has not caught anything. We are fishing from the bank and have fished several different lakes and ponds. One question I have, does the size of the lure he is fishing matter when teaching a kid to fish? Also what would lure would you teach him to fish with?
You know what? I took it the way you ment it. My thought were a little more harsh than that. I had planned to wear camo in this video but totally forgot. So when I mentioned wearing camo the thought going through my head was more like. "I look like an idiot wearing bright red don't I." Oh well, I'm not going to leave out the information just because I don't look to part.
what model backpack. i see it's northface but which one? i'm having troubles finding a backpack that will fit my planar boxes horizontal. i hate vertical
so question our lake fills up pretty good when it rains and when it does trying to fish from the bank at least for me is really tough I get snagged up alot and loose lures what can I do to better this
I know this vid is a few years old... but my question to you is... I have a murky seaweed lake here in Oregon. How to fish from the bank with seeweed choked banks
One is a G Loomis light action rod rated for 6 pound mono, and thats what I use with a sahara 500 reel. The other is a Berkley 6'6" medium fast action rod rated for 4 to 12 pound test. What are some good options here to cover all my bases with rod/reel/line selectoin? Should I carry a few additional reels in my backpack spooled with different lines? Or should I just get a stiffer rod than what I have? I'm on a budget, so another loomis is out. Thanks for any future advice.
Hi Gene, Are you guys fishing around East Cobb? I'm trying to find a nice clean place to fish around East Cobb, was hoping you could give some advice! Thanks!
I'm a new angler and I want to thank you for the video, it was helpful. At the same time I'd like to offer some advice, 101 is the course name for intro courses for people fresh into a subject, so making this video 17 minutes and having a guy show off like five hundred dollars in bait and lures just to try and get some blue gills off a bank seemed excessive. I do a backpack too but I don't use any tacklebox, just one zipper for bobbers and hooks one for sinkers in tobacco tins, main one for my net a rain jacket and my knife.
How do you know if there are fish in any given pond? Just starting up and been checking out ponds locally need to know if there's fish in them before I go
I go and fish them, walk around and see if there are any small bait or other small fish along the banks. If I see small ones then there are bigger ones in there as well.
Why is it that, at least from what I've found, when bank fishing you will catch fish on a toad, but not so much on a buzz bait? Is it simply that most ponds have grass as the main cover or is there another reason? Just the noise of the presentation, maybe?
Hey guys, I've just started getting int fishing, (I havent' since I was a young kid). I too live in Sac, and in my area (Natomas) we have levees for the farmers. So they have rocks along the sides. I ask the kids what they're using, and mostly they are using night crwalers or red worms. Alot of blue gill, catfish, crappie. You got any tips on fishing these man made canals and levees? Be advised I just have a "starter" rod and reel. Thx.
What bait did he catch the 14 pound bass on? I watched your live hangout video and you said that he caught it in December. I live in New jersey and by the end of October they usually don't bite. Any suggestions?
One last question. After several casts I have had an issue with string getting tangled in the reel. I use a closed reel. I believe it gradually does it because when I disassemble the reel there is lots of line tangled in it which eventually jams and I cant reel in. Perhaps you can tell me why this happens?
Most people don't like to throw crankbaits while bank fishing because it's easy to get them hung up and nearly impossible to get them back. I for one will do it but I don't recommend it for someone just getting started.
Forgot to mention that I do not have a boat and fish only from the banks. Obviously don't have a fish finder to help me find the fish (are they in the shallows next to the bank or somewhere in the middle of the pond where its deeper (still shallow though). Thanks.
I am considering doing some bank fishing for bass sometime in the near future, and trying to figure out what rods and reels he was talking about. He mentions a 2500 reel with 8#, and mentions early on about using braided line. I am going to assume that the pole was a MH around 6'6"-7', and the braid was for the baitcaster. So what was the baitcaster set up?
Newbie question. The weather here in San Antonio Texas is constantly changing. Last week was cold, mid 50's, this week it's been hot and scattered showers. How do I keep up with the constant weather change?
You don't. You just need to treat each day as if it was the first time you've ever been on the lake. I've been going through the same thing lately and that the only way I've been able to find fish. Start from scratch every day on the water. Don't fish history.
