Supercharged Shore Fishing

Supercharged Shore Fishing

By Kent Boucher

I imagine your first fishing experience was similar to my own. You most likely were equipped with a button cast reel already spooled with cheap, monofilament line that was better suited for hog tying your tackle box or twisting itself into an impossible knot than it was for helping drag in a fish. The cheap mono led to a bobber and hook, which eventually led to you working up the nerve to split and lace your hook with the first night crawler you picked out of the white, styrofoam bowl filled with black dirt and the 11.5 surviving dirt eaters. Those of us Midwestern natives were fishing small, freshwater ponds while others may have been sinking their bait off the edge of a saltwater pier, but all of us caught the same thing that day- an addiction for casting and hoping.

Now twenty five years after my first fishing trip I relish looking back on the countless hours of fishing I have enjoyed. Some adventures took me to the rocky banks of deafening mountain streams in the Montana wilderness, others found me silently casting from a canoe on a pristine lake near the BWCA in northern Minnesota. Countless trips have pressed my tolerance for insects, mud and sweat while wading through chest high grass and poison parsnip to find the perfect casting area on the bank of an Iowa farm pond. Other trips have required patience and an eye for natural beauty such as the time I was trolling Lake Ontario for king and Coho salmon or when I was jigging for smallies on Lake Champlain. Although these, and the countless other waters I have fished have all provided their own unique and fulfilling experiences, the bulk of my time fishing has been spent exactly as it began- from shore.

Don’t worry, I’m not trying to persuade anyone that shore fishing is better than offshore fishing. Honestly, if I did try to compare the merits of these two approaches I would probably end up convincing both you and me that buying a boat should be a late addition new year’s resolution. Instead, my purpose is to show you that although you may be limited to fishing on the outside casting in, you still can have a day filled with adventure and a bent fishing rod.

One of the disadvantages to shore fishing is having access to fish after they migrate to deeper water, or to unreachable cover once the cool, early-mid morning hours have passed and the sun is high in the sky. Many people only plan to fish a few hours a day due to other scheduled demands so this may not be a trip ending problem to those anglers. But if you have freed up a day to fish, then by all means squeeze every deet scented second of fishing time out of your day that you can!

The most important aspect of fishing is getting your lure in front of fish. Consistently casting baits within the strike zone when you’re shore fishing for the day begins with a good plan. The first step in the plan is choosing water that works well with your access limitations. To reach the fish in deeper water you will need to be fishing a body of water where you can reach these areas with nothing more than casting. This means you will want to focus on small bodies of water. My go-to fishing holes for all day fun are farm ponds and trout streams. A common temptation among fishermen is to only fish large bodies of water like rivers, reservoirs and giant natural lakes, but the vast majority of the water in these features is unreachable from shore. Because of this we often fall victim to only being able to cast where few fish are actually found after many of the fish have moved to deeper water. In small ponds and streams however, we can access nearly all the water by simply choosing a different lure that allows us to cast farther or fish deeper.

Another way to add some excitement to your shore fishing adventure is by including another outdoor activity (or two). Long ago my mother diagnosed me with a chronic case of “antsiness.” I always like be on the go. Hiking trout streams is my favorite method of fishing because it appeals to that part of my nature. While fishing I can walk long stretches of untamed shoreline, hop onto gravel bars and scan stream banks for fossils, unique rocks or other artifacts (artifacts found on public land must stay where you find them). Maybe someday I’ll be lucky enough to trip over a shed antler or spot a patch of morels while I’m casting for trout. The hiking also keeps my chances high for locating trout, and it helps work up an appetite to roast my catch over a campfire when the fishing has ended for the day. As Iowans we are blessed with numerous trout streams with many of them being accessible on public land. Scan through the Iowa DNR website to view maps of these trout streams. You can also order the Iowa Sportsman public land atlas to help you locate areas to fish.

One of the most enjoyable shore fishing trips I’ve ever experienced was an overnight kayaking trip down a small river that drains into the Mississippi. My dad and I were guided by my youngest brother who had kayaked the river many times and mapped out a sand bar that was large enough for us to pop a tent and bottom fish for cats later that night. The three of us hauled in channel cats late into the night and again in the morning before we shoved off for the conclusion of our brief journey. I fully intend to do this type of fishing adventure again and Iowa has no shortage of streams that fit the bill. If you wish to participate in this type of trip you will have to plan out a few details. First check the weather and verify that there will not be a risk of flash flooding. Small rivers (lower order streams) flood very quickly and being zipped inside of a tent in the middle of a flash flood zone is a nightmarish thought to consider. Second, make sure you have permission to camp on the land you wish to pitch your tent on. In Iowa, streams and rivers classified as “meandering” (consult the DNR website) allow you to use sand bars and islands in the middle of the stream. Third, bribe your buddy with dinner in exchange for picking you up once you reach the end of your voyage. Backroad bridges that receive low traffic serve as excellent rendezvous points.

Among anglers there is a verbal tackle box filled with common terms and phrases that take on unique meanings when we use them in conversations with fellow fishermen. Common vernacular includes terms like “top water” or “peeling drag” as well as words like “snag” and “structure,” but the most powerful term in a fisherman’s vocabulary is “spawn.” When anglers start using that word a noticeable excitement colors their voice, similar to when a bowhunter is talking about the whitetail rut.

For most species of freshwater fish, no time within their yearly cycle presents a more opportunistic time for fishermen than the spawn. During this short window anyone who can locate the fish will experience some of their best fishing action of the year. For shore bound anglers in Iowa, channel catfish and various panfish species can bring about action throughout the day. This means you can follow your urge to target the bigger bodies of water for a much more productive day of shoreline casting than would normally be possible.

Thanks to hitting the spawn perfectly, I have enjoyed two of the most phenomenal fishing experiences in all my years of fishing. Once when I was in high school my friend Nick and my brother Jake joined me walking the shorelines of a lake near my house when we finally stumbled upon countless bluegill beds. As darkness settled in we had to call it quits before it was too dark to clean our mess of fish- despite the fact that we were still catching fish with every cast. We had an excellent fish fry that night and learned a valuable bluegill fishing lesson.

The other spawn magic I experienced was on a trout fishing trip in Montana. Although the fish that were dropping eggs weren’t interested in our sight fishing efforts, all the other trout were biting with a fury. One friend of mine hauled in 56 trout in one day of fishing! Collectively our group caught hundreds of fish that week. I’ve yet to enjoy such productive fishing as I did those days.

I truly hope these suggestions help spice up your shore fishing opportunities, but I believe the best way to get the most out of your shore fishing experience is by bringing a new angler along with you. These early experiences are crucial for developing a love for the sport, as their guide and mentor you serve a critical role in helping create those positive experiences. Reflect on what originally won you over as an angler and try to replicate that for your new fishing buddy. Start them out on a small pond with live bait, plenty of snacks, drinks and patience. Keep the fishing simple and set your sights on pulling panfish out of shoreline structure and watch your buddy’s smile grow as she starts falling for the insatiable passion for casting and hoping.