Bank Fishing At Park Lakes 2024
Heron reply :
Ok, I bank fish, mostly at lakes that are the centerpiece of a local park or state park. I catch decent fish, but I don't catch much. I average about one fish for every 12-15 hours of fishing time. Ive had little to no luck with most of the baits/techniques that most other fisherman swear by. My most productive technique for most other places, generally yields nothing-to-very little in these waters. Only once have I ever caught a second fish on the same day.
So this is the conclusion that Im coming to.....Since it is a public park, these shorelines must just be too over fished. The fish along these banks probably face a daily barrage of fisherman, at least starting in the late afternoon, when everybody gets off of work. Weekends are even worse.
If this be the case, I am really inclined to think, that one occasional fish, is probably as good as it is ever going to get here. Im pretty sure at this point, no amount of new lures, new techniques, or new whiz-bang ideas will ever do much to improve my numbers.
Time to find me some waters that are not part of a public park, or get out on a boat.
Ozark_Basser reply :
I always thought the same thing about my town's little public park lake. I've never caught too much, so I rarely go, but tonight I caught a couple 2-3 lbers out of it at sundown. All from pitching a jig to shoreline cover. This park gets hammered daily. Goes to show you just never really know.
kcdinkerz reply :
I mostly bank fish as well, i just cover all three water columns and if no fish/bites then i move on to another spot. Ands it depends on what time of day your fishing, I know from the Lakes I fish that when boat traffic is bad or mid afternoon it's time to go finesse. Experiment with what time of day you catch fish, start memorizing the baits, structure, water column, time of year, other little things that land you fish and soon you'll have a pattern.
HoosierHawgs reply :
Just spend some time learning things about the lakes you fish. Where are you catching bass? What on? Can you tell what the main forage is? If the main forage is crawfish, then fish will be less inclined to eat a burning lipless crank, but if the main forage is shad, that may be all they want.
deep reply :
If I caught only one fish for every 12 hours on the water, I'd be pretty sure I was fishing the wrong spots or at the wrong times, or both.
Heron reply :
On 7/12/2015 at 8:29 PM, deep said:If I caught only one fish for every 12 hours on the water, I'd be pretty sure I was fishing the wrong spots or at the wrong times, or both.
Agreed.....Im beginning to think, wrong lake.
scaleface reply :
You need to find a different spot.
Anantha Patel reply :
Town lakes are seriously overfished. The fish there are "educated." Try moving to a more secluded lake.
Heron reply :
On 7/12/2015 at 6:43 PM, jakob1010 said:Just spend some time learning things about the lakes you fish. Where are you catching bass? What on? Can you tell what the main forage is? If the main forage is crawfish, then fish will be less inclined to eat a burning lipless crank, but if the main forage is shad, that may be all they want.
Already have. This lake has been scrutinized thoroughly over the past few years. All of that has been established, to the best that can be done while catching only one fish for every 12-15 hours.
Heron reply :
On 7/12/2015 at 9:44 PM, Anantha Patel said:Town lakes are seriously overfished. The fish there are "educated." Try moving to a more secluded lake.
That's what Im thinking.
An Interesting thing though....It seems the "park lakes" may actually be even more fished than the town lakes.
Heron reply :
On 7/12/2015 at 9:30 PM, scaleface said:You need to find a different spot.
Werrrdd
Heron reply :
On 7/12/2015 at 3:56 PM, kcdinkerz said:I mostly bank fish as well, i just cover all three water columns and if no fish/bites then i move on to another spot. Ands it depends on what time of day your fishing, I know from the Lakes I fish that when boat traffic is bad or mid afternoon it's time to go finesse. Experiment with what time of day you catch fish, start memorizing the baits, structure, water column, time of year, other little things that land you fish and soon you'll have a pattern.
Already done. Its been a few years, and by now, its safe to say...."Soon," has come and gone.
lectricbassman reply :
One thing to try, go at an oddball time when most people arent there. Really early or really late after the pressure has died down. Avoid weekends if your schedule allows. I fish a heavily pressured park pond and have found early mornings at the end of the work week (thus or fri) are very productive. I believe during the work week less people are inclined to fish and the fish get a little more comfortable. On the weekends everyone and their mom is out so the pressure shuts them down. Just my 2 cents.
Heron reply :
On a better note, at least the size my average fish is between 2-5lbs. That's something I can feel twitterpated about.
Heron reply :
On 7/12/2015 at 10:41 PM, lectricbassman said:One thing to try, go at an oddball time when most people arent there. Really early or really late after the pressure has died down. Avoid weekends if your schedule allows. I fish a heavily pressured park pond and have found early mornings at the end of the work week (thus or fri) are very productive. I believe during the work week less people are inclined to fish and the fish get a little more comfortable. On the weekends everyone and their mom is out so the pressure shuts them down. Just my 2 cents.
Thanks, already done.
I typically fish early in the mornings on the weekdays because that fits my work schedule, and then I fish evenings on the weekends.
Heron reply :
On a strange note. I have 8 different zones that Ive selected to fish at, chosen because they seemed to have the most favorable qualities for holding bass. But, I seem to catch fish most often at the few spots that are the most pressured. Go figure.
hmmm,
Raul reply :
The fish are "trained" because they have seen "everything". That does´t mean they are impossible to catch, it only means you´ll have to try harder. Now look at it the way I do, one of my favorite lakes is really not for the weak, 2 or 3 fish in an entire afternoon ( which is 1 or 2 more fish than what everybody catches ) but with what I learned ( yup, I´m still learning ) no matter where else I go I do a killing.
ABW reply :
I fish a park lake and I'm pretty sure I've caught every single fish in there x3.... just gotta keep fishing. Even though the biggest fish I've actually measured out of there was only 3 1/2 lbs.
HoosierHawgs reply :
On 7/12/2015 at 11:14 PM, ABW said:I fish a park lake and I'm pretty sure I've caught every single fish in there x3.... just gotta keep fishing. Even though the biggest fish I've actually measured out of there was only 3 1/2 lbs.
Where at?
Heron reply :
On 7/12/2015 at 10:59 PM, Raul said:The fish are "trained" because they have seen "everything". That does´t mean they are impossible to catch, it only means you´ll have to try harder. Now look at it the way I do, one of my favorite lakes is really not for the weak, 2 or 3 fish in an entire afternoon ( which is 1 or 2 more fish than what everybody catches ) but with what I learned ( yup, I´m still learning ) no matter where else I go I do a killing.
2 to 3 fish in one afternoon would be nice.
Jon G reply :
Try throwing some finesse stuff. Senkos, Roboworms on shakey heads, ect may get you some extra bites
Just be different. A lot of fish on pressured body's of water see the same things over and over every day.
Heron reply :
On 7/13/2015 at 2:06 AM, Jon G said:Try throwing some finesse stuff. Senkos, Roboworms on shakey heads, ect may get you some extra bites
Just be different. A lot of fish on pressured body's of water see the same things over and over every day.
Did that....many times.
Jon G reply :
On 7/13/2015 at 2:26 AM, Heron said:Did that....many times.
Just have to keep on trying. Try putting a 4" roboworm wacky rigged on a finesse jig. It's very different that the fish most likely haven't seen.
Like others have said if you feel like you can't do anything to get bit due to pressure find another place to fish.
HoosierHawgs reply :
Have you explored the fact that maybe it's just a little stunted lake without good numbers?
Abuss55 reply :
Like you said, with as much time and effort as you have put into that lake with catching that few of fish I would agree and look for a different spot. Now if you are bound and determined to make this lake work for you my secret is to use my UL gear and my trout stuff; I have never seen someone else target bass with that stuff on the park lake i go to and it works great!
No one ever said it was going to be easy, and we should be happy it is not for that would just be boring.
clh121787 reply :
Live bait minnows and crawfish. Keep all legal fish eat them.
Heron reply :
On 7/13/2015 at 5:15 AM, clh121787 said:Live bait minnows and crawfish. Keep all legal fish eat them.
Tried that too. Got skunked each time. Surprisingly, but that's got to work eventually. Maybe after 12-15 hours of fishing time.
Heron reply :
On 7/13/2015 at 3:06 AM, jakob1010 said:Have you explored the fact that maybe it's just a little stunted lake without good numbers?
I have considered that as well actually. Its hard to say for sure. On one hand, the DNR says this lake is stocked and managed as a trophy lake. On the other hand, they say its also stocked regularly with Tiger Muskie.
Honestly Im thinking the primary reasons for the lack of action from shore, is the combination of over fishing, and plenty of off-shore cover that is available outside of casting range.
Heron reply :
On 7/13/2015 at 7:29 AM, Heron said:I have considered that as well actually. Its hard to say for sure. On one hand, the DNR says this lake is stocked and managed as a trophy lake. On the other hand, they say its also stocked regularly with Tiger Muskie. Im not entirely sure just how accurate either of those statements are.
Honestly Im thinking the primary reasons for the lack of action from shore, is the combination of over fishing, and plenty of off-shore cover that is available outside of casting range.
FishTank reply :
On 7/13/2015 at 7:32 AM, Heron said:
On 7/13/2015 at 7:29 AM, Heron said:I have considered that as well actually. Its hard to say for sure. On one hand, the DNR says this lake is stocked and managed as a trophy lake. On the other hand, they say its also stocked regularly with Tiger Muskie. Im not entirely sure just how accurate either of those statements are.
Honestly Im thinking the primary reasons for the lack of action from shore, is the combination of over fishing, and plenty of off-shore cover that is available outside of casting range.
Where are you at and what lake?
I fish a lot of small town lakes and state park lakes. I went today and caught 12-15 fish in about 7-8 hours. The lake I was at gets fished heavily and we had a heavy rain yesterday so I am surprised at how well I did. I don't think I have ever gone 12-15 hours and only caught one fish on my favorite lakes. For me when the bite slows down, I fish slower, mainly weightless soft plastic (senkos and fat ikas) Not sure why this works, but it has been my general rule of thumb for years.
It sounds like the fish have moved away from the bank and are gathering around one area at the time you are out there. For me, when this happens, I get there early, 6 am'ish and fish till noon. They seem to be chasing bait fish at about this time during summer at most of my honey holes. I also fish off the bottom and again slowly. It may take me 5 minutes per cast.
deep reply :
Is your catch rate better in other lakes?
kcdinkerz reply :
Have you've talked to any local boaters and see how they do? Only a few would tell you the truth but doesn't hurt to ask
Heron reply :
On 7/13/2015 at 9:11 AM, deep said:Is your catch rate better in other lakes?
Yes, but there are only one or two other smaller residential lakes that are not on public parks. Then there are a couple of ponds that have been more productive.
In those areas I can pull 4-6 fish per hour, average size of 11-15in.
Heron reply :
On 7/13/2015 at 10:56 AM, kcdinkerz said:Have you've talked to any local boaters and see how they do? Only a few would tell you the truth but doesn't hurt to ask
I have, generally boaters do better, and this is due in part to the fair abundance of off-shore cover, such as subsurface standing timber.
fishballer06 reply :
On 7/12/2015 at 9:44 PM, Anantha Patel said:Town lakes are seriously overfished. The fish there are "educated." Try moving to a more secluded lake.
I agree. I live in Pittsburgh, so any water that is public and easily accessible from shore gets pounded hard. The chances of catching fish from those lakes is tough. The catch percentages that the OP posted about are about the same here.
To add to the "educated" fish part.. The one thing that I think makes catching fish in these ponds even tougher is the fact that they're basically fed daily with nightcrawlers and minnows from all the shoreline bobber fishermen.
Logan S reply :
. While being way out in a remote spot is usually a good thing, sometimes there is a reason no one else is out there!
Heron reply :
On 7/13/2015 at 10:41 PM, Stratos20SS said:
Many anglers over-emphasize fishing pressure. It definitely has an effect, but it doesn't turn fish into geniuses that ignore everything...They can still be caught without resorting to extreme measures. Don't worry so much about it, there is not much you can do about it anyway. Also, heavily pressured spots are usually heavily pressured for a reason, they hold fish. While being way out in a remote spot is usually a good thing, sometimes there is a reason no one else is out there!
The lake you described sounds similar to one here, don't know what your location is...But there is a popular lake here in MD that is in a park, stocked with Tiger Muskies, and managed as a 'trophy' lake by DNR. If it actually is the same lake, I can tell you that there is no shortage of bass living there. I can see that it would be difficult to bank fish as the access spots are somewhat limited...But you should be able to adjust and improve your catch rate. Next time you go, try fishing with a light shakeyhead (1/16 or 1/8) and a 5" straight tail worm (GP, black, or any watermelon variation). If you need more distance, use a bigger worm instead of a bigger head. The slow/gliding fall triggers many strikes. Try to fish areas that you think are deeper than 8' and have some grass. Fish it slowly and don't be surprised to have a fish eat it on the initial fall. You've probably tried some variation of this, but keep it tied on focus more on where you are fishing instead of changing baits. Feel free to shoot me a PM if you think we are talking about the same lake.If it's not the lake or even same area, well then disregard...
Well, never said anything about there being a shortage of bass in these waters. The fish are definitely there.
Flippin4Biggins reply :
On 7/13/2015 at 2:06 AM, Jon G said:Try throwing some finesse stuff. Senkos, Roboworms on shakey heads, ect may get you some extra bites
Just be different. A lot of fish on pressured body's of water see the same things over and over every day.
Keeper...... I second this.... I can bet a lot of these guys aren't throwing a drop shot, or a soft jerk bait of some sort. Also if the water is big, the channels which the fish travel along all day at be to far out to reach for post spawn which is what I'm in rigjt now and some on the tail end of spawning. But nonetheless be different. And if your only getting that one bite a day..... What size are you throwing? Maybe your baits bigger then the forage. I have a town lake that's not pressured at all and no matter what spinner or crank I toss I won't get bit unless I drop down to 1/4oz spinner or an inline. And even then I can still stick a 3lber. Maybe you could also try a big swimbait. I know nobody throws big swimbait in my lakes. Maybe it will bring out a bigger fish. Or like said before.....find a different lake.
Heron reply :
On 7/13/2015 at 10:41 PM, Stratos20SS said:
Many anglers over-emphasize fishing pressure...I only partialy agree. In the cases when the lake shores are part of a public park that gets visits from hundreds of people and scores of anglers, possibly everyday, then Id say their concern is on point, and so far, is consistent with my findings. It definitely has an effect, but it doesn't turn fish into geniuses that ignore everything...They can still be caught without resorting to extreme measures. >>Don't worry so much about it, there is not much you can do about it anyway.<<...Well this is kind of my point, Im getting the impression that this is about as good as its ever gonna get from shore. Also, heavily pressured spots are usually heavily pressured for a reason, they hold fishThe lake you described sounds similar to one here, don't know what your location is...But there is a popular lake here in MD that is in a park, stocked with Tiger Muskies, and managed as a 'trophy' lake by DNR. If it actually is the same lake, I can tell you that there is no shortage of bass living there. I can see that it would be difficult to bank fish as the access spots are somewhat limited...But you should be able to adjust and improve your catch rate. Next time you go, try fishing with a light shakeyhead (1/16 or 1/8) and a 5" straight tail worm...Ive done 1/8oz t-rig on a roboworm before, but not 1/16oz. (GP, black, or any watermelon variation). If you need more distance, use a bigger worm instead of a bigger head...Done this many times, this did not produce anything. The slow/gliding fall triggers many strikes...Agreed, I favor the Senko for that, but the 5" Senko fails miserably. No surprise though, more than likely these fish have seen a thousand Senkos by now. Only the 3" Senko so far has produced anything on a slow fall. Try to fish areas that you think are deeper than 8'...I fish areas that range from 8-10ft to 30ft. and have some grass...I do, however, the fish I have caught, have not been consistent with vegetation. Instead theyve been more consistent with large cover or deep water access. Fish it slowly and don't be surprised to have a fish eat it on the initial fall. You've probably tried some variation of this, but keep it tied on focus more on where you are fishing instead of changing baits. Feel free to shoot me a PM if you think we are talking about the same lake.If it's not the lake or even same area, well then disregard...
Thanks.
Logan S reply :
On 7/14/2015 at 3:32 AM, Heron said:Thanks.
Plenty of fish are caught from shore and by boat on these heavily fished lakes.
Shakeyhead has a different fall than both the Texas Rig and the weightless Senko. It's a different presentation. With smaller/finesse baits, the fall is as important as anything else. It sounds like you "know" too much about what will work and what won't...But by your own admission everything you "know" is only producing 1 fish every 12-15 hours....Keep an open mind, there is always something to be learned.
My PM offer still stands, as I still have a feeling we're talking about the same place...Up to you .
Heron reply :
Let me give a brief run-down on what I use, what has been productive, and when.
> Most fish have been caught on swimming baits that create vibration and/or flash. So, Spinnerbaits, Buzzbaits, Chatterbaits, and Swimjigs.
> 1 fish has been caught on a jig.
> The fish seem to have a preference for skirts. So no fish has been caught so far, on any soft plastic bait that was without a skirt. Whether it be a t-rig, shakeyhead, drop shot, or other. Except for a curly tail grub. That happened twice.
> I go to the lake 2-3 times a week, for about 3 hours each visit. My last fish was a 2lber caught on June 12. Before that was a 5lber and a 3lber caught on May 25th. Before that was a 2lber caught on May 19th. Then a 4lber on May 8th....etc, etc.,etc. This is kinda how it has been going for about the past three years.
> Didnt catch much in June, because in June I started to change things up and investigate this issue. My most productive rig, anytime, anywhere, for fish of any size....has been the 3inch Senko. As mentioned before, it has proven to be a solid fish catcher in other waters (that were not park waters). 5-6 fish that were 11-15" in only one hour, is not uncommon. Take little Senko to this park lake, if I cast it to the right places, I should have the expectation, on average, to catch at least the same as in other lakes, or a minimum of 2 Bass (of any size)per 3-hour visit. So far I am barely making that minimum.
The primary difference between the productive waters, and the non productive waters -> public park locations.
Heron reply :
On 7/14/2015 at 4:01 AM, Stratos20SS said:Plenty of fish are caught from shore and by boat on these heavily fished lakes.....Ok, sounds good....define "plenty." Ive caught plenty of fish. But the amount of fish most people elsewhere, catch in one season, or if I dare say, in one month, I have caught in 3 years.
Shakeyhead has a different fall than both the Texas Rig and the weightless Senko. It's a different presentation...Thanks, I'll try it.
Heron reply :
To be honest, Id be thrilled if this was a case of me doing things wrong.....because that part is easy to fix.
kcdinkerz reply :
If that's how the lake is then I would just key in on bigger fish. I have a few where I go to catch dinks, and one or two that I know holds big fish. Catching is fun but I don't mind just fishing lol.
HoosierHawgs reply :
Flippin4Biggins said:This is an important thing to think about. Lots of people say imitating the forage isn't important for bass, but it is. I don't catch fish on a football jig in lakes or at times when bass are keying on shad. Why? Because a brown football jig dragged on the bottom doesn't look like shad! I've caught too many fish to count, one just a few weeks ago, where the bass spit out whatever was in its gullet, and it looked EXACTLY like my bait. To the T.
Heron reply :
On 7/15/2015 at 5:59 AM, HoosierHawgs said:This is an important thing to think about. Lots of people say imitating the forage isn't important for bass, but it is. I don't catch fish on a football jig in lakes or at times when bass are keying on shad. Why? Because a brown football jig dragged on the bottom doesn't look like shad! I've caught too many fish to count, one just a few weeks ago, where the bass spit out whatever was in its gullet, and it looked EXACTLY like my bait. To the T.
I agree.....however, I suppose the fish at this particular lake are not keying on 3" senkos yet, like the fish are in most other lakes/ponds.
Consider this......This has been an experiment, and the 3" senko is being considered as my "control group," so to speak. Why? Well because it gets fish consistently, anywhere, everywhere, at nearly any time. So with that, it serves the purpose of cancelling out the need for behavioral considerations like, matching the hatch. It has been consistent elsewhere, that regardless what the fish may be keying on at the time, there is always some fish, at some point in time, that is going to whack the 3" senko. So then, for the purpose of trying to understand what is going on at this park lake, the little senko has become sort of a, standard of measurement.
This standard gives me a better grasp on what the predominate factors might be that are affecting this lake. And so far, its looking mostly like a people problem....among other things.
Over the weekend, I went to another lake that is part of a public park, and encountered the same problem - 3.5 hrs, no fish. After that, I visited a neighborhood lake that is not part of a recreational park.....got 4 fish in about an hour. Actually mightve been less than an hour. I was crunched for time at that point, so I was kind of in a rush.
bassr95 reply :
Try using google maps to find new ponds to fish. It doesn't sound like that spot is worth your time.
Heron reply :
On 7/15/2015 at 11:28 AM, bassr95 said:Try using google maps to find new ponds to fish. It doesn't sound like that spot is worth your time.
Already have been. Im in full scout mode.
hatrix reply :
It could just be that the lake blows. There is a few park lakes I go to that get hardly any pressure and it is 90% live bait when it is and they suck. Its rare I ever see someone fishing while I am there. It's mostly people hiking or walking their dogs. Then there are some places I almost alwas see people and they actually use a variety of lure and not just bait. They are way better then the aformentioned places. It does seem though the super though places were bites are few and far between seem to land me big bites. I catch some nice fish out of them but it's a grind.
Heron reply :
On 7/16/2015 at 12:43 AM, hatrix said:It could just be that the lake blows. There is a few park lakes I go to that get hardly any pressure and it is 90% live bait when it is and they suck. Its rare I ever see someone fishing while I am there. It's mostly people hiking or walking their dogs. Then there are some places I almost alwas see people and they actually use a variety of lure and not just bait. They are way better then the aformentioned places. It does seem though the super though places were bites are few and far between seem to land me big bites. I catch some nice fish out of them but it's a grind.
Yeah, Im certainly satisfied with the quality of most the fish Ive been getting from this park lake. And while fishing from the bank with normal sized baits, does bring with it, some inherent handicaps, I definitely dont expect to be catching loads of fish each time. But man, this 3 fish per month stuff, is getting pretty old. Id be thrilled to find a happy medium somehow.
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