{"id":2446,"date":"2021-05-02T19:51:23","date_gmt":"2021-05-02T19:51:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-711416-2356891.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=2446"},"modified":"2021-05-07T19:56:51","modified_gmt":"2021-05-07T19:56:51","slug":"6-tips-that-will-help-you-catch-fish-from-the-shore-at-a-big-lake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gofishingoutdoors.com\/6-tips-that-will-help-you-catch-fish-from-the-shore-at-a-big-lake\/","title":{"rendered":"6 tips that will help you catch fish from the shore at a big lake"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
If you\u2019re stuck without a boat, you might be feeling a bit overwhelmed trying to fish a large lake from the bank. But don\u2019t worry, while you certainly are at a disadvantage, you can still catch great fish from a lake on the shoreline.<\/span><\/p> Below are 6 tips that can help you catch fish from a big lake from the shore this year. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t If there is one thing that not enough anglers do, it\u2019s studying a topographical map of the lake they\u2019re fishing before they head out to the lake.<\/strong><\/span><\/p> Most of what\u2019s under the water is a mystery to fisherman. You can\u2019t actually see much, so a topographical map will give you the best possible information about what\u2019s happening under the surface. And that information is key to finding where the fish are in any lake.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t The Navionics Webapp<\/strong><\/a> is the best online resource for finding topographical maps of most major lakes. Take a look and see if your lake\u2019s information is available. If not, you\u2019ll have to look up a topo map which is usually available at the lake\u2019s website, on an information board, and can often be purchased from local bait shops.<\/span><\/p> Reading topo maps and how each kind of fish relates to all the different structure you can find on them is too broad a topic to cover here. Just covering one species could take hours. So I recommend you google the species you\u2019re looking for with the time of year you are fishing to get the absolute best information.<\/span><\/p> But there is one thing you can find on a topo map that can help you find most any fish quickly – look for something unusual.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p> Topo maps have the depth represented by lines. The closer the lines are together, the more quickly the depth drops. If they\u2019re spread far apart, the depth stays the same for a good ways. A good way to find areas fish hang out in is to find where the lines are just doing something different than what\u2019s around them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The best example of this is a point<\/strong>. Here, the lines on a topo map curve around and make an actual point out in the water, usually with deeper water around it. It\u2019s something different in the contour of the lake bottom that all kinds of fish are drawn too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t So if you see relatively straight lines and then a random point sticking out – fish where that point is.<\/strong> That little something different happening in the bottom of the lake that fish are drawn to.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> But you can find many structures like this. The key is just finding the areas you can fish and finding areas where just something different is happening.<\/strong> It\u2019s a great sign that fish could be there ready to be caught.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t Following the tip above, you do have to break down a large lake into sections that you can realistically reach and fish.<\/span><\/p> When you look at a topo map you might find hundreds of spots that look fishable. That\u2019s great if you’re in a boat and can get to each of them. If you\u2019re fishing from the shore, chances are there\u2019s only a few that you can reach.<\/span><\/p> So instead of dissecting the whole lake break it down into the areas that you can feasibly reach.<\/strong> This means areas that are publicly accessible first of all. There could be the greatest structure of all time to fish but if it\u2019s in someone\u2019s backyard it\u2019s not doing you any good.<\/span><\/p> But also make sure you can actually reach it from the bank. In most cases you aren\u2019t going to be able to cast out more than 50 feet from the bank<\/strong>. So if you\u2019re trying to fish a hump in the middle of a lake you\u2019re just not going to get close enough to actually catch anything from it.<\/span><\/p> When doing your map study, make sure you\u2019re only studying the areas that you can actually get to and reach from the bank. You\u2019re sure to still find some interesting features on a topo map that you can fish and it will save you time and headache finding great places to fish that you can never actually get to. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t There seems to be about a hundred different ways to catch a fish. But they all have specific situations where they work well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> When you’re on a boat you could be fishing grass one minute, rocks the next. 50 feet and then 2 feet. It\u2019s what makes a boat so great but also makes it hard to plan out exactly what to throw. It\u2019s part of why you see professional fishermen with 20 rods on the boat at all times.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t If you\u2019re on the bank though this is likely not as big of an issue. You\u2019ve chosen your spot and scoped it out on the topo map. Maybe you even looked at Google Earth to see what it looks like from above.<\/strong> That should give you almost all of the information you need to pick the best technique for fishing.<\/span><\/p> So take all that information into account and pick the absolute best lures that will work to your strengths. If you looked at the topo map and found that everything you can reach from the bank is 10 feet or less, don\u2019t pick a crankbait that dives deeper than 10 feet. Or you saw on google earth that it\u2019s very grassy, then don\u2019t throw a bait with open hooks that will get stuck in grass.<\/span><\/p> Instead pick the lure that best matches your conditions<\/strong>. So if I find a rock pile in 8 feet that I can reach from the bank I\u2019m going to bring a jig and a crankbait that dives to 8 feet with me. Because those two lures work for the type of fishing I’m going to do and work at that depth. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t Which brings me to my next point – if you find a place where fish should be, fish it hard from every angle.<\/strong><\/span><\/p> The boat fisherman has a lot of advantages but this is one they don\u2019t. A boat is constantly moving in the water from wind and tide. Plus they usually troll along bank lines anyways and don\u2019t stop and fish one spot too hard.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> From the bank you can stand in one spot and fish all day long if you want to, really making those tight-lipped fish want to bite.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> So if you have found something that should hold fish – stick there and fish it.<\/strong> For example, there may be a big tree fallen over into the water that you can fish around. Don\u2019t just throw a texas rig into it once and then decide there\u2019s no fish and move on.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t Throw at the edge of the tree, then in the tree. Walk to another angle and fish it again. Fish it quickly, slowly, knock into some branches with your lure. These are the things that make the big fish bite.<\/strong><\/span><\/p> Or if you\u2019re doing a slower kind of fishing like bottom fishing or bobber fishing, let your bait stay in those prime locations for a long time. Fish will swim in and out of an area. They will get hungry or seem to decide to start feeding randomly. Patience is a virtue in fishing and will pay off.<\/span><\/p> The key here is to make sure you\u2019re spending your time fishing the areas where the fish should be.<\/strong> Don\u2019t sit in a spot with no fish holding features for an hour if you aren\u2019t getting bites, But if you found something in the topo map or see something that you\u2019re sure can hold fish. Don\u2019t be afraid to fish it hard for a long time to get those bites.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t We\u2019re onto the more practical tips now of simple things you can put into your practice to help you when fishing from the bank in a large lake. This will help you with casting farther so you can more easily reach the middle of the lake if needed.<\/span><\/p> Using a heavier weight is a sure fire way to get your casts going further.<\/strong> I\u2019m not a scientist so won’t pretend to explain this with some great level of detail – but a heavier weight is going to go further with the same force of cast as a smaller weight.<\/span><\/p> This is because you can get more momentum behind a heavier weight and the resistance from the reel, wind, friction, and other factors aren\u2019t as impactful the heavier you go. But just trust me or go out in your backyard and see for yourself. You\u2019re likely to be able to throw a \u00bd ounce weight about double the distance you can a \u215b ounce weight.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t If you want to get even more distance out of your cast you can also go to a lighter line. Again, just try it for yourself. The lighter line will have less diameter which creates less resistance when you\u2019re casting. You can also use braided line instead of fluoro or mono<\/strong> to maximize casting distance for the same reason.<\/span><\/p> If you just need a few extra yards to get where you want – downsizing a line or upsizing your weight can easily get you there. Obviously there is a break even point though where you don\u2019t want to fish too heavy a weight with too light of line. If you want more information on that, please Use Navionics Webapp or a Topographical Map to gain information before going fishing<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
Break down a big lake into small sections that you can actually reach<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
Pick a few techniques or lures that are ideal to the location you're fishing<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
Really pick apart the key spots that the fish should be<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
Use lighter line or heavier weights to cast farther<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t