Good morning brothers.
Are you tired of the cold yet?
Tired of the wind? The chapped lips? The dark dinners? Heart-attack shoveling? Split fingers? The icicles of death? (See Die Hard 2 for reference.) The SUCK?
Golly man. I understand some of you masochists like to set up little tents and dangle the ‘ol worm deep down below the frozen ice. If that’s you, God bless ya, but I am absolutely clawing at the walls, waiting to get out and start the season off the same way I always do: Bank Fishing. I can’t wait for the dew to soak my shoes, the sun to cook my goose (I’m not sure what that means) and the bass to gnaw on my thumb.
But as I worked through some footage from last April, I almost felt like I was doing something wrong…
Is Bank Fishing OK?
I’m a Midwest Fisherman, and in April we typically see water temps anywhere from the 50’s to the low 70’s. These temps fluctuate based on depth, wind and weather, but the bass are going to spawn. You can see them clear as day from the bank. They’ll be on beds. Or around beds. They won’t all spawn at the same time, and this can be confusing to anglers. Myself included. What triggers that spawn? Is it the temperature? The length of the day? Something else? A combination? The “why” is a discussion for another time, but the “what are you two doing in there?!” is pretty obvious…
Some beds will have “fry guarders” hanging around, some will have big, fat, beautiful females. Because of this, bank fishing (or specifically “sight fishing”) can be extremely productive… but there is a conversation to be had about a big problem with bank fishing for bass on beds…
These bass are up shallow, doing the hibbidy-dibbidy or guarding the results of said dibbidy. Giggity. But you know they have to be getting pestered all day. They’re just too close to the bank, especially in areas with lots of foot traffic.
You can see them. They can see you. The tension builds. Slowly, carefully, you pitch a half ounce Texas Rig with some outer-space-looking plastic thing that breaks the surface of the water with the subtlety of a cannonball. On ANY OTHER DAY, that bass is going to bolt – especially in such shallow water! But not today… today that bass looks up, annoyed, rolls her eyes and slowly does what she knows she has to do… she saunters over and slurps up your ridiculous offering (not having thumbs means in the mouth it goes, like a toddler) and tries to remove it from the clearing… SNAP!!… “I DONE GOT HER GEWD!!“, you bellow. She rolls her eyes a second time, allowing yet another goober to hoist her onto the bank, snap a picture, and (hopefully) put her right back.
Yes, I am the goober in this story. Yes, it is an exaggeration, but do you see the problem? On any other day that fish is going to run (swim) or at the very least, develop an immediate case of lockjaw as soon as they become aware of your presence. Could be your shadow. Your footsteps. Your B.O. (hopefully not that). I’m really struggling with the ethical side of this equation.
But… (there’s always a “but”) they are SO HARD to ignore. I mean look at this fish – how am I supposed to quit you!?
Are bank fishermen “better” than tournament anglers? Are tournament anglers “worse” because they target bedding bass, throw ’em in the livewell, take them miles and miles back to to ramp for an official weigh in… only to release them there, instead of taking them back home?
(Pro-Tip: always plan a trip to go fish around the ramp a week after any local tournament wraps up. You can thank me later.)
Surely us bank fishermen aren’t that bad… at least not as bad as them… after all, we put ’em right back and that’s better… right? Hard to say. I don’t think it’s a question of “better or worse,” those are just shades of gray.
On the flipside: bass eat bass. Are we protecting the newly hatched fry that can’t protect themselves? When you consider both males and females eat baby bass by the mouthful… maybe we’re actually filling the role of a bassy savior?!
Hmmm… check this out and let me know what you think. Then I have one final question for you…
Quick Sidenote: the best bank fishing equipment is pretty simple. Stickbaits, first & foremost. Getcha some Senkos or Ochos if you want to fish weightless. Go with Dingers if you need to save a few bucks, but plan to use weight to add some movement to the lifeless plastic. Bang StickZ are a good option if you want a stickbait that will last all day and float, but again, they are lifeless on their own.
Hooks? The Trokar Pro-V is a NASTY little bugger. You hook ’em on these and they stay hooked – plus you can use up to a 4/0 and still stay relatively low profile with the baits mentioned above. The Magworm and the Grip-Pin are great options for stretchy morsels you want to lock in place (a la Bang StickZ), but they will tear “regular” plastics, especially those loaded with salt. Reaction Tackle makes a nice little bread ‘n butter EWG that is a good combination of strength and thickness. It’s not super-chunky, but you probably won’t straighten it out. I discovered Reaction Tackle years ago ordering on Amazon and assumed they were a foreign company, but they’re actually headquartered just 2 hours away from me – right in Big Bend Wisconsin, USA. If you want to reload the tackle box they have some quantity discounts worth considering, plus you can get 15% off of your first order. I plan to get up there for a visit later this year (and hopefully a video) to talk more with Cody Dobberstein & Chad Hoover. Good dudes!
The Ethics of Bank Fishing
So GEAR is always fun to talk about… but back to the matter at hand. Is bank fishing for bedding bass ethical? Is it OK? We all know it’s fun… but are we doing something wrong, or are we just enjoying a natural (renewable) resource?
I’m curious to hear what you think.
Warmer weather will be here before we know it. I’ve moved from sharpening hooks to loading the backpack and planning with great excitement in anticipation of some big, fat, springtime bass. Bank fishing is without a doubt one of the greatest ways to spend the morning…
Question is… do we bother them in bed?
Tight Lines & Godspeed, Patriots.
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