Shoreline fishing help needed

[scottyc]

Hello, I nees alittle help here, I have a fairly large and deep lake near me and cannot catch any crappie, I see guys pulling there boats in with some major slabs, I'm not able to own a boat so i'm forced to fish from shore, Maybe someone has an idea that could help me catch some slabs, i scouted the whole shore line and found 5 or 6 places with alot of cover such as trees and bushes would these be a good place to start?

[feelay]

Make friends with someone who has a boat. There will be times when those trees and bushes will have fish on them, but more times than not you'll come up empty.

[Iuka22]

Hi scottyc! I too am a bankie, and sometimes it sucks. I always look for structure, trees, rocks, points anything that breaks things up. Try to find a topo map of the lake it will help. And don't be afraid to ask other fishermen, especially the boaters, they seem less threatened since we don't have a boat. Good luck!

[PBUG2009]

make friends

[Fatman]

Yeah sometimes it stinks but yeah if you can make some friends with boats. I've never had a boat myself but get out with my nephew from time to time.

Fatman

[Fishaholic]

the heavy cover will work at times, but definitely get more info like deep water near structure or channel breaks near the shoreline...well, that's what I do anyway, I'm a dedicated shore fisherman and there's plenty of times when conditions offer up some great opportunities for crappies from shore.

Right now with the temps being lower at night, they've been roaming the shallows herding minnows - that's always a great opportunity that shouldn't be overlooked.

[yankee doodler]

from here, and if it weren't so long a throw, I'd slide over and take you out just to meet ya Scotty! The other advice is good too. Talk to the boaters and start makin' aquaintences that can become friendships. Shoot ya can always offer a small guide fee too.

[wannabe fisherman]

Making friends with someone that has a boat is a great idea, just remember to offer to share expenses. It does get a little costly to run a boat now a days.

[skeetbum]

Boaters can sometimes be the answer, but club brothers will help you every time. Look into local clubs and join as a non boater. Sharing expenses is an etiquette thing, done by stand up folks and goes a long way. If'n you want to experiment on your own till these avenues open up, learn how to rig a slipfloat and work different levels in different areas. You might stumble into a gold mine. Suspended fish are sometimes slow to bite and leaving the bait(or jig) in their face instead of dropping past them might entice a strike. Of course, all questions are answered here on CDC as well. Welcome from Middle Tennessee.

[scottyc]

I thank you guys for the advice, Being a car salesman by trade i find no problem talking to people, but the only people that know about this lake are people from the city, there boats are blow up rafts and i cant find myself sitting in a raft with someone from the city talking about the next up an comming rap star or talk of fellow gang members, honestly i am amazed that other anglers dont know of this lake, i understand the state just bought the land 3 yrs ago and you have to carry a boat 150 to 200 yrds to get there,but i guess i'm going to have to buy a canoe and then i'll be writting a new thread about how to fish from a canoe