Rock the Dock - Become a Better Dock Fisherman
By Andrew Shufelt

I used to head out in the fishing boat at the crack of dawn, and be back before breakfast, sometimes with breakfast. Now that we have added baby number two to our family, my boat-bound fishing time at the cottage has been somewhat curtailed. Being the fanatical fisherman that I am, I didn’t give up. I just decided to make the most of my fishing time off the dock. Here’s how…

When deciding on lures to cast off the dock think of the entire water column and present your lure or bait to all levels effectively. Think top-water, mid-depth and deep. Also try lures that you can cast far, lures that are shaped to travel through the air and lures that have some weight to them. Remember to fan cast the entire area with all the different depth presentations to really cover the water thoroughly. For live-bait anglers, you may find improved casting ability and better depth control with the use of slip floats.

Top Water
Good top-water lures for casting long distances are walk-the-dog style baits like Zara Spooks or half-ounce, safety-pin style Buzz Baits. In the case of Zara Spooks they are shaped like a rocket which allows them to fly through the air with the greatest of ease. Buzz Baits have some weight to them so even in a stiff wind; most anglers can cast them well. Other top-water options to consider, although they don’t cast as far, are lures such as chuggers, propeller baits and classics like Jitter Bugs or Hula Poppers. Most of these top-water baits are designed to create a commotion on the surface, imitating an injured bait fish, frog or other snack-sized prey. The commotion and noise they make allows fish to see them with their eyes and feel them with their lateral line. I find these baits work best fished extra slow in the early morning or at dusk when the water is fairly calm, and the fish are active. I remember one afternoon while reeling in a two-inch black jitterbug; I caught two large smallmouth bass on the same lure, during the same cast! When a local neighbor witnessed me pulling out two bass on one lure I acted nonchalant and said, “Yah, that always happens, I’m just that good (wink).” Just that lucky is more like it!

Mid-Depth & Deep
For sub-surface depths try imitation minnow baits or crank baits. These baits are shaped like small fish and have a lip on the front, allowing them to dig into the water and run down to a pre-determined depth. Generally the straighter and bigger the lip on the bait, the deeper the bait will go. Minnow baits are manufactured with a target depth listed on the package which allows you to get to the exact depths you want to fish. Other good choices for mid-depth fishing are lures with variable running depths like Mepps or Blue Fox inline spinners, safety-pin style spinner baits, jigs tipped with life-like plastics, blade baits and one of my dock fishing favorites, spoons. You can vary the running depths of spinners, jigs and spoons by adjusting the retrieval speed. Since at rest these lures sink, the slower you reel them in, the deeper they will run. But the opposite is also true; the faster you reel them in, the shallower they will run. Spoons are one of my favorite dock-casting baits because they have some weight and they are aerodynamically shaped. This combination allows spoons to be cast out great distances and worked effectively through all water depths from two feet down to 30-plus feet deep. Here’s a spoon fishing tip; add a soft-plastic trailer or live bait to the end of a spoon to fool even the pickiest of eaters. I have often caught fish casting to the exact same spot, but altering my presentation deeper and hooking-up as a result.

Bobbers & Live Bait
If bobbers and live bait are more your style, you may want to try slip bobbers next time you are dock bound. The old red-and-white bobber from my childhood is no match for a slip bobber when it comes to casting distances and ability to fish greater depths. Trout and river fishermen have been using slip bobbers for years, but the technique has not really caught on with most cottage anglers. The problem with the old red-and-white bobbers is that you set the depth (one to four feet maximum) then cast it out. If you are targeting depths any more than four feet with a red-and-white bobber the casting part becomes a disaster, as the weight of the hook, sinker and bait creates a lasso like casting action, dramatically reducing your casting distance.

The advantage of a slip bobber to target depths greater than a few feet is when you reel in the line the tiny bobber stop travels through the eye’s of the rod and onto your reel. You can cast it out a decent distance and when the bobber lands, the line travels through the slip bobber until it reaches the bobber stop. Slip bobbers are a bit more work to set up, but because you can cast rigs much further and you can target deeper water; they are a useful tool to include in your dock fishing tackle box.

The last important consideration for serious dock fishing is your rod and reel. I prefer to use rods in lengths greater than eight feet to improve leverage and really cast those lures out far. Match the strength of your rod to the weight of the lures you will be casting. My reel choice is most often a spinning reel loaded with 15 to 20-pound super braid or eight to 10-pound test monofilament.

Ever take a few casts off a dock and think to yourself “Oh well, I guess there are no fish here.” That used to be my approach, but since I’ve been forced to really focus my dock fishing efforts my success off the dock has dramatically improved. I hope yours can too.

Tight Lines,
Andrew Shufelt

Andrew Shufelt is a member of the Ontario Federation of Anglers & Hunters, Kawartha Lakes Fishing Club and the Canadian Bass Anglers Federation. He can regularly be found fishing on the Kawartha Lakes and competing in various sport fishing tournaments throughout Ontario. You can reach Andrew at ashufelt@yahoo.ca

Sidebar: To rig a slip bobber, first thread on a bobber stop onto the fishing line (a bobber stop is a small piece of rubber that you can move up and down your line to set the depth you are trying to fish). Next, thread the fishing line through the top and out the bottom of the slip bobber. Finally attach your terminal tackle (hook, weights and bait).