Bank Bass Fishing with Swim Jigs | How To

Hi, I'm Jeremy Lawyer. I'm here with BassResource. And I wanna talk to you something a little different today, and that's fishin' from the bank. You know, I grew up a country guy. Still live in the country. Love to jump the fence off of a farm and go out to a farm pond in the summertime. I have a farm pond of my own on my property. Love to take my daughter down there and go fishin'. So fishin' from the bank is something that actually got me started to this point right here.

You know, when people think of fishin' from the bank, there's really a hundred different scenarios you can go through. But one of my favorite ways to fish from the bank and actually utilize the option of rock, and grass, and dirty water, and muddy water is with a swim jig. You know, it's a really great way to just get up and get very vertical down the bank, out in the center.

You know, a lot of ponds aren't very deep. Some of the rivers might be really swift. That's somethin' you can still throw in the current. You know, some of the areas around, depending on what type of waterway you live around, is gonna dictate what type of bank fishin' you can do. You know, and we float in canoes and get out on the bank, pull 'em up and then fish a stretch, get back in canoes and go on. You know, kayak fishin' is real popular but sometimes I see 'em...you just put it up on the bank and get out of there.

But bank fishin' utilizes all different types of structure because anything that's in any kind of water that's close to the bank, you can normally reach it. So there's a lot of structure fishin' to be done goin' down the bank. There's a lot of places to where you can get into eddies and little current break situations. And sometimes I can't get to 'em with my boat because it's too shallow or there's too many obstructions in the way. Where somebody bank fishin' can sneak down there, be really quiet, and then make the perfect cast, and find a whole load of 'em schooled up.

You know, being stealthy on the bank I think is one of the main things to consider because when I'm in a boat, I'm tryin' to keep my units quiet, I'm tryin' to keep from slammin' lids, I'm tryin' to keep from doin' all kinds of different things as far as making noise. And on the bank, I think if you go down through there and you break sticks and you kick rocks, it's really gonna not be beneficial as far as getting bites and getting numbers because you've gotta get within so many feet of a cast to actually catch that bass. And so the way I like to talk to people about that is like, if you deer hunt, you understand that you need to be stealthy to sneak up on a deer. You know, you can't just walk down through there like you're in the dog park that day and the deer just lay there and let you sneak up on him. Well, bass is the same way.

You know, he's the same type predator we are. He's on that piece of structure waitin' on a perch, or a crawdad, or a shad, or whatever it might be, and if he's loud, then they know he's there. If you ever watch the corner of a boat dock, and these shad are kinda goin' along, and all of a sudden they flair off that boat dock, well, he gave himself away. Maybe he turned, or maybe they saw him. Well, a bass along the bank's gonna be the same way.

If you're not stealthy and you're not quite, then it's definitely not beneficial to you as far as tryin' to catch numbers.

And then wading in the water is another thing that I think is really, really, kind of, a questionable deal. You know, the water magnifies the noise of you walking, gravel under your feet. Maybe you trip and take two or three big steps. And it's just a way that's, I don't think, very user-friendly to sneak up on a bass and get close to him. And so, it's just something that I would keep in mind. As you walk down the bank, try and keep in clean spots, try to step where there's not a bunch of structures.

And then lastly, you know, as you go down through there and you're pickin' out maybe where a bass might be, don't just walk down the bank and think, "Well, I start fishin' here." Look down through there and think, "If I was a bass, where would I be?" And if there's a piece of structure or two, maybe walk up high on the bank and come down close to that so where you're not walkin' towards it, you just cut down the bank comin' to it or whatever your options might be.

Those are a few tips I'd have for you as far as just fishin' the bank. Try to be quiet. Try to make longer casts. And it's a really enjoyable way just to have fun and catch all different types of species. And take some kids along, you know. But just try to tell 'em be quiet. Use that to your advantage.

BassResource may receive a portion of revenues if you make a purchase using a link above.