Northwest Fishing Reports

Tomarow is the first day of fishing for the 2009 season.
I am wondering the best way to fish from the bank?
Like the bait, the set up, bobber or bottom?

-All comments will help-

thank you

I need to make a diagram because I have posted this a few times in the last month but this is a great place to put it.


First off start with a 6lb or 8 lb main line. Then you slide on a 1/4 to 1/2 oz. sliding sinker. Attach to the end of the main line a small or medium barrel swivel. Now you want a 4lb leader if you use 6 lb main line or a 4 or 6 lb leader for 8 lb main line.
Attach a healthy leader I would start with 2-3 ft... Then at the end you want a snell (or baitholder) hook in size 6. For bait I would get a couple bottles of power or I like gulp eggs. I like the yellow,pink and red.(not all at the same time) I do mix and match sometimes though. It takes 3-4 eggs to float the hook. Make sure the bait floats and start catching.

If you feel like trying something a little more tricky take a night crawler cut it in half running the tip of the hook through the cut hole and come out about as far down as the hook is long. Then you want to take a worm inflater or a syringe and add some air to the worm by bringing the needle in from the top pointing down and injecting the air. You want to make sure there is only 1 hole where the hook tip comes out the body and I add a power egg to keep the night crawler up on the hook.

This is tried and true:cheers:

TAZ

Great info! I would love to see a diagram. Thanks!

Craft or flavorite miniature marshmallow and a 1.5-2 inch piece of crawler. 24-36 inch leader with a 1/4 ounce egg sinker rigged slip style. Thread the marshmallow on the hook and pull it onto the line, thread the piece of crawler onto the hook keeping it as straight as possible, straight is important, I don't know why but it outfishes any other way 10:1 for me. I sue a #4 bait holder hook to keep the smaller fish from swallowing it too deep. Doesn't always work but it helps some. I still catch my share of dinky 4-6 inch smolt plants from the year before.



I have never failed to get a bite using this rig if the fish bit at all. Trout love it. You can substitute a sand shrimp piece or salad shrimp for the crawler and that works well too. Just stay small with the bait as the mallow has to be able to float it.

All great tips and info.; however, I fish much lighter for trout. I use a 6 1/2' - 7 1/2' UL -L action rod with 4lb. to at most 6lb. test line and 2lb. or at most 4lb. test leader and a UL -L spinning reel. A light drag setting and the action of the rod allow me fish this way. As descibed and diagramed, I use a sliding sinker setup of generally, 3/8oz. My casting distance easily exceeds anglers using short M -H action rods, 8lb.+ test line and a big chunk of lead to counteract the resistence of the short rod and the "rope" for line.

The best way to fish from the bank is with a fishing rod, fishing line, and something on the end with a hook on it.

OK, maybe I'm a little catty here, but I have caught a lot of bass and trout, and of course pan fish, casting spinners and spoons from shore. I have done well fly fishing from shore. I have done well bait fishing from shore, using a dozen, no 10 dozen different methods.

In short, the best way depends too much on the conditions you will be fishing in. Can you give us more information on those conditions?

The key to fishing is to be able to roll with the punches, able to adjust. The more information you can give us the better our information to you will be.

So, I saw size 6 and size 4 hooks recommended.

Would you say that size 8 is too small? Recently, I started wondering if size 4 was too large for a 12 inch pan fryer. Sometimes, I see other anglers with hooks even smaller than an 8 and I was beginning to wonder to myself if I was using too large a hook with a size 6 & 4. My last few trips, I did use an 8. The fish were close to swallowing them and I did find it hard to remove the hook without hurting the fish.

Also, I've been experimenting with spinners a lot more this year. For trout, I bought 1/16 oz spinners (Panther Martin). Those trebles are small (I don't know what size they are exactly). I've even had a few hits. I'm just wondering if a larger spinner would do just as good or better a job.

size 4 all the time perfect size 8 would be pushing it.

Best way to becoming a better angler in all waters other then remote high lakes and creeks get a tub and outfit as a working work bench from a floattube to a 55 fter:chef:

i like a smaller hook like a 8 for trout.

Best way to fish from the bank....Well....FIRST make sure when you cast your rod, the line goes in the water...depending on what you want to use, make sure it is tied right....fishing the bank isn't much different from a boat, the boat just lets you move more. Best way, have fun with it! try new things, try old things, just have fun with it!

Landlocked wrote:So, I saw size 6 and size 4 hooks recommended.

Would you say that size 8 is too small? Recently, I started wondering if size 4 was too large for a 12 inch pan fryer. Sometimes, I see other anglers with hooks even smaller than an 8 and I was beginning to wonder to myself if I was using too large a hook with a size 6 & 4. My last few trips, I did use an 8. The fish were close to swallowing them and I did find it hard to remove the hook without hurting the fish.

Also, I've been experimenting with spinners a lot more this year. For trout, I bought 1/16 oz spinners (Panther Martin). Those trebles are small (I don't know what size they are exactly). I've even had a few hits. I'm just wondering if a larger spinner would do just as good or better a job.

Your hook size has a lot to do with the bait you plan to use. I prefer very little of the hook to show when bait fishing; thus, I'll even use a size 12 or size 14 hook with a single egg or even with PowerBait. However, I find myself using size 8 or size 6, the majority of the time.

Remember every fish caught on bait counts against your limit; whether you release it or not. If you don't plan to eat your fish; I suggest a switch to 1/8 oz. spoons, 1/16 oz.-1/8 oz. spinners, 1/8 oz. plugs or 1/16 oz. jigs.

I dont know the specifics of the bank terrain you're fishing, but here's a rig I've had great luck with in mountain lakes with a drop off bank and mossy/grassy bottoms. In that situation, you want to suspend the bait above the bottom cover and not snag up and this rig will work pretty good and catch fish. Wont say its the best, but try it.

Attach one of those smaller tear drop sinkers with the brass eye to about 18" of mono and tie a small overhand knot on the other making a looped end to attach to your rods line with a snap swivel of some sort. Then tie a #8 bait hook on about 8"s of mono and attach it to the same swivel (or use a snelled bait hook you buy the in cellaphaned 8 paks).

Bait the hook with a couple sticky salmon eggs, powerbait or a worm and cast it straight out. Let it sink to the bottom and as the line goes slack reel it until the slacks out and you can feel a taut line without reeling it in. The bait will be elevated above bottom cover on the dropping bank and passing fish will hit it pretty quick, so be ready. Its a pretty sensitive touch to feel the fish striping off the bait, but you'll get the hang of setting the hook after reeling in a few times and finding your bait gone.

For bank fishing spinners I fish a clock pattern (9:30, 10,11,12,1,2, 2:30) then walk to next spot and repeat. I switch spinners before walking and overlap about half the last area with the new spinner. You're bound to run into where the fish are, many times they're cruising along the bank just like you are.