Fishing from a dock or pier

[cptenn94]

Today I was fishing at the pier at chester frost park. I really didnt have much luck at all, though I did manage to catch a crappie.(which brings my lifetime total of crappie to a total of 2.(both I think were under creel size).

I was fishing there from around 4:30pm, to 9pm. It was cloudy(and a little chilly) until just 30 min or so before sundown. I wasnt able to get in on the action that really just exploded, near sundown, when the sun broke through the clouds(there was a very noticeable movement of shad going on. There were numerous schools that were breaching the surface, all at once.

However I just had no luck, and really was just kind of clueless as to what to try and how and where. I tried frogs, spinnerbaits, jigs, jerk bait, etc. And got not a single bite.
The only thing I had any luck with was a new jig I bought. And It was the only thing I got bites on(and even that was only brief). I was able to consistently catch grass though.(there is plenty of grass around chester frost)

I know there were fish biting, because a fellow down at the end of the pier seemed to be getting crappie consistently(without using live bait).


So that brings me to the topic. How do you fish from a pier/dock? What lures would you try? How would you fish them? What depth would you fish under what conditions? Did the cold front that just moved in make the fish more inactive?
This applies to all species. Right now I am interested in catching anything I can with artificial bait.

I will say what I think I should try. Correct me and add as much as you can. There is no such thing as to much information for me.
I should try to fish the edge of areas that have breaks in the grass(like a sandy spot). I should try fishing in the shady side of the pier/dock. If I see baitfish jumping, I should try to present my lure a little bit ahead of where they are jumping.



Again, any information or tips though would be great.

(On the bright side though, I did get to practice useing my cast net(with holes) and catch some shad, and I got to see a few turtles, and muskrats, and the stars were beautiful tonight.)

 

[porthos33]

All you can do is keep trying, and don't just stay in one spot. That's why these tournament guys burn so much gas. The more casts you throw the better you are and the more spots you hit means you will have a better chance of finding active bass. Who knows what lure will work that is why I always have 8-10 rods on my deck. Everyday is different. You just never know what they want and how they want it. I came into to bass fishing blind. My family just wasn't much of a fishing family. I'm about 5 years into my fishing addiction now and I still learn new things all the time. Just keep at it

 

[drumking]

Those fish that were breaking the surface were schooling bass. White, spotted, and largemouth bass all school like that and many times the same species are mixed. You may catch a white bass on one cast and a lm on the next. Fishing from a pier sort of limits you. You have to wait til the fish come to you and I sympathize with you. Before I bought my boat, that is what I was limited to and of course bank fishing from various spots. For the schooling fish, throwing a white rooster tail and begin reeling it just as soon as it hits the water will usually provoke an immediate strike. Or a top water lure works great when the fish are schooling too.

Crappie love to be around docks and piers. Buy about 3 or 4 different colors of Bobby Garland 2" baby shads or slab slayers and glue them onto 1/32 or 1/16 oz jigheads with super glue and fish as closely to the wooden posts as you can. That's about all I can advise when you are limited to pier fishing. emoBigsmile emoGeezer

 

[cptenn94]

drumking - 10/17/2014 7:31 AM

Those fish that were breaking the surface were schooling bass. White, spotted, and largemouth bass all school like that and many times the same species are mixed. You may catch a white bass on one cast and a lm on the next. Fishing from a pier sort of limits you. You have to wait til the fish come to you and I sympathize with you. Before I bought my boat, that is what I was limited to and of course bank fishing from various spots. For the schooling fish, throwing a white rooster tail and begin reeling it just as soon as it hits the water will usually provoke an immediate strike. Or a top water lure works great when the fish are schooling too.

Crappie love to be around docks and piers. Buy about 3 or 4 different colors of Bobby Garland 2" baby shads or slab slayers and glue them onto 1/32 or 1/16 oz jigheads with super glue and fish as closely to the wooden posts as you can. That's about all I can advise when you are limited to pier fishing. emoBigsmile emoGeezer

Yeah I realize that im pretty limited to where I can fish due to not having a boat. I dont think I will be able to get a boat anytime soon(other than a canoe or kayak)

The fish that were breaking the surface(at least what I was referring to) were clearly shad.(unless they were schooling bass fingerlings). There were some strikes breaking the surface that were bass(probably LM or spotted).

I went fishing this morning on the pier, and managed to catch a white bass. Today I think there was a school of white bass (separate from what I caught) that were striking the surface. They would just every 10-30 seconds or so, one of them would just run up strike the surface and flee down where I could see them.

I tried to catch some crappie with some jigs, but didnt get any bites(nor did the fisherman who were using minnows).

Thanks for the advice about the rooster tail. Is there any specific size rooster tail I should use? And generally how fast should I try the retrieve?

Also thanks for the advice about the jigs and soft bait. Is there any particular color I should have the jig head in? Are there any particular colors I should get of the baby shad or slab slayers?(from my understanding, the jig head should be dark colored if the soft bait is light colored.)(also from my understanding , crappie are just absolutely in love with the soft baits that have some charteruese in them, compared to soft baits that are similar but without charteruese)

I do have a couple slab slayers, and baby shad already.

Thank you for your reply! I will be sure to let you know of my success if I have any.

 

[VolsFan24]

Im not a crappie fisherman but will chase them from time to time. The only and I mean only lure I have used is the Bobby Garland Mo Glo "Outlaw Special". These Chickamauaga crappie love it!