Well everyone, as most of you know i am without a boat, and i do ALOT of shore fishing, but for some reason or another this summer has proven that i've got some schooling to do as i have not been able to find any consistancy!!! most of the time, its one or two fish, but last year and years before i couldn't keep track of the amounts of fish brought in... anyone got any suggestions as to where i could go to find some consistant fish? bass, pike, walleye, etc... anything... i just wanna get some decent amounts of fish landed...
JaY
Shore Fishin... Consistancy?
Shore fishing is tough.
Before I got my boat 3 years ago I also spent a lot of time fishing from shore. Pretty much most places around the city.
I found myself shift from fishing for Eyes, bass, and pike to spending a lot of time fishing for cats. It's really hard to consistently catch quality fish from shore.... but the cats can be a lot easier and you can typically catch decent sized fish pretty frequently.
If you want to stick to the game fish, well it will be hit and miss all the time. Thats not to say you won't have good days.... but for me back then a good day was getting one fish at one spot.... driving to another and getting another fish or two, etc etc.
Also, pretty much the only bait I threw from shore was a spinnerbait. It will catch the bass, pike, and the eyes... and even the occasional musky but good luck landing it. They also don't snag as much as other baits.
Before I got my boat 3 years ago I also spent a lot of time fishing from shore. Pretty much most places around the city.
I found myself shift from fishing for Eyes, bass, and pike to spending a lot of time fishing for cats. It's really hard to consistently catch quality fish from shore.... but the cats can be a lot easier and you can typically catch decent sized fish pretty frequently.
If you want to stick to the game fish, well it will be hit and miss all the time. Thats not to say you won't have good days.... but for me back then a good day was getting one fish at one spot.... driving to another and getting another fish or two, etc etc.
Also, pretty much the only bait I threw from shore was a spinnerbait. It will catch the bass, pike, and the eyes... and even the occasional musky but good luck landing it. They also don't snag as much as other baits.
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gerrymackenzie
- Bronze Participant
- Posts: 190
- Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2007 2:29 pm
- Location: Kanata
I agree with Bradford. My son and I are exclusive shore fishers and we have never had consistent luck anywhere in the city or even outside the city. A good day for us is when we each catch and land two nice size fish. There have been weeks go by that we have been skunked each and every night. Now for the good news, we are true amateurs and are still learning the Ottawa areas rivers and streams so hopefully this will change as we get more experienced and meet more experienced fishers.
Gerry
Gerry
Hey Jason,
You can improve your consistancy by using the early morning or evening twilight hours, and fishing fast water and the tailings.
Keeping safety in mind, if you can wade out a bit and work a bait in the fast water, then let it drift over into the tail water, with a slow retrieve, this should help.
Also, unless you're going for pike, downsize your lures, use 1/16th oz, jigs and smaller grubs. The tiny jigs take longer to sink, and allow a smallie or crappie to whack it on the way down.
Any colour is good for the tails as long as it's black, or white. Dark day - dark lure; and conversely. Pike like yellow.
For just chucking from shore in calm water, try a jig under a slip bobber. These'll catch just about anything.
Live bait.
worms
hope this helps
Jigs
You can improve your consistancy by using the early morning or evening twilight hours, and fishing fast water and the tailings.
Keeping safety in mind, if you can wade out a bit and work a bait in the fast water, then let it drift over into the tail water, with a slow retrieve, this should help.
Also, unless you're going for pike, downsize your lures, use 1/16th oz, jigs and smaller grubs. The tiny jigs take longer to sink, and allow a smallie or crappie to whack it on the way down.
Any colour is good for the tails as long as it's black, or white. Dark day - dark lure; and conversely. Pike like yellow.
For just chucking from shore in calm water, try a jig under a slip bobber. These'll catch just about anything.
Live bait.
worms
hope this helps
Jigs
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gerrymackenzie
- Bronze Participant
- Posts: 190
- Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2007 2:29 pm
- Location: Kanata
I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL GERRY... i was in New Brunswick and also out west on Victoria Island fishing salmon and trout for some time... so i know what it feels like to try and get the hang of fishing a new species... but in the end,.. it beats bein at work... let me know if u wanna get out fishin sometime...
JaY
JaY