Bass Insider
7
Water color has little effect on how bass relate to docks and piers. They utilize this special structure in clear, dingy and muddy conditions. Only the effectiveness of various techniques is affected. For instance, in clear water anglers must stay farther back to avoid being seen by the fish. This may eliminate the possibility of using such close-in techniques as flipping.
BEST TIMES FOR DOCKS
While docks can hold bass throughout the year, I think two times are better than the rest for fishing docks: Post-spawn and Winter. Docks along major bays serve as stopover places as the fish move from spawning shallows back toward deep water.
I will use the Vaal River as an example, there the bass spawn on any form of hard structure available as there is very little spawning flats available. When the fish finish spawning and head back toward the deeper water the deep ends of the docks is the very first structure they come to, so they stack up on them. If a certain dock has adequate food and water depth available, those fish may never go any farther. They may spend the entire summer there. And winter? I think there is a big misconception about winter fishing, I use to have a lot of trouble catching fish in the wintertime. I believed, like everybody else, that you had to fish deep in winter. I’ve found this isn’t necessarily so. Bass like to stay immediately adjacent to deep water during winter, but when they’re feeding, they move fairly shallow, usually in 7 – 10 feet of water or less. If you got a dock that’s got 15 feet of water on the end of it and 5 feet on the primary poles, this is the very best place to catch bass in the wintertime.
If the water is super cold and the fish are lethargic, it’s hard to catch them anywhere. But if the barometer is stable and the sun’s out, bass will cruise near docks and feed. If a dam has a lack of cover except for docks, the bass will actually spawn around the posts. So I’ll fish docks in the pre-spawn and actual spawning period if conditions are right. Also docks are major holding areas through all of summer and fall. Of course, deciding which docks to fish is dependent on the time of year and where the fish should be. In summer they’re more likely to be on docks close to the main dam, deep water areas. Then when fall approaches, the bass will follow the bait fish back into the bays, so I move with them and look for docks in shallower areas.
PICKING DOCS & PIERS
Not all docks and piers hold the same attraction to bass, and a major secret in fishing docks is being able to tell the good ones from the bad ones. A prime boat dock is one that borders a creek channel, a prominent point, and old roadbed or some other structure that might serve as a migration route. I’m a firm believer that fish relate to a specific route when they move back and forth in a dam. And if a channel or point has good cover, that’s a prime migration route, and the bass use it constantly. A boat dock sitting next to one of these migration routes is a ‘killer’ place. That’s one of those docks where you can catch a fish in the morning and then go back three times during the day and catch another bass each time. In the Vaal River you will find multiple fish on one dock. An easy way for anglers to find such spots is by studying a dam contour map. I study maps for areas where a channel swings into a bank, or for points that stick out into deep water. Then I go and look at these places to see if docks are present. A lot of you might ask what the relevance is of a contour map on a venue like the Vaal River is, please believe me if you see a contour map of the river it will be an eye opener! The old river channel becomes key and very relevant. When I find docks in such an area, I judge their fish-holding potential according to their construction.
Older, established docks are better than new ones. Also, docks built on poles are better than floating docks, because they offer vertical cover extending down to the dam or river bottom. And docks with clusters of poles, ladders, cross braces or other additional features are better than docks with single poles and no clutter. I also feel that bottom content is another factor in a dock’s productiveness. Docks over good sand, rock or clay bottoms will be better than docks over muddy bottoms. And then there is building rubble, bonus structure, and bass love it. I have a theory that I apply when fishing new water to select these docks, I would idle my boat down a line of docks and pick docks with real fancy houses and lights on the docks. Two reasons firstly I believe rich people are more likely to dump their building rubble in the water than the average ‘Joe’. Lights attract insects at night that will feed hungry bass.