Good advice!
When I started shooting docks available information was pretty hard to find. As the years passed I picked up some things along the way. I certainly added some shooting irons. Advancements in electronics and trolling motors have made things easier as well. Before spot lock if the wind was pushing you into the dock and you couldn't fish the downwind side. You hade to go find another dock out of the wind. These days point the trolling motor into the wind, hit spot lock, then shoot under the dock from the back deck
Good advice!
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Dock owners didn't have the added structure to stop others from fishing their docks also. The little I have shot docks I was amazed the efforts owners did to stop somebody from catching a fish under their dock. Lake Washington docks have a lot of cables & boards strategically placed obstructing any fish from a boat. I'm looking to add a Spot Lock trolling motor to my arsenal, a lighter one than the Ultrex I had before.
Docks on Lake Guntersville were mostly boat houses complete with garage doors. One fella saw me catching fish from under his dock. When I returned a few weeks later he had a cattle panel hooked to the bottom of the door and extending door into the water. Ol Boy made me a much better dock shooter. Since I had to shoot through those 6 inch squares
Poor fella about blew a gasket when he saw me pulling fish in. Came running down the dock screaming he was calling the police because I cut his fence out of the way. I offered to call the DNR because of harassment of a fisherman and wait for them both to get there. Those DNR officers remember you when you tow them back to the ramp. Get waist deep in the water to help them get their boat back on the trailer.
Dock shooting has become my favorite technique. I am no expert by any means. Last weekend I was sitting on a L-shaped dock and shot under the side facing me. A young fellow thought that was awesome and said he is trying to learn. I gave him the same advice given to me by DSJ. Felt good to be helping.
More often than not shooting docks is what you will find me doing
The love for fishing is one of the best gifts you can pass along
When I bought my place on Clarks Hill several years ago, I noticed the dock had chicken wire all the way around it to the water. I asked the owner why he was so against people fishing under the dock. I got an education on why from him. He said the wire was there to prevent birds from flying in and making nests on top of the floats. The nests and eggs would attract water snakes and he couldn't stand snakes. That was very evident when I replaced the boards on the dock, there were old nest parts on EVERY float from before he put up the wire.
Never thought about birds nesting
The love for fishing is one of the best gifts you can pass along
It is obvious with some of the rigging owners install on their docks they don't want someone fishing under it. We don't have any real amount of Shootable Docks here where I fish. On Ross Barnett I only fish above the 43 bridge so no docks there either. The information about the bird nests is interesting and I glad it was shared.
I do a lot of dock shooting but not from a boat and I have been ketchn more and bigger fish than even the Crappie Guru's who fish those docks about everyday.
have only had one incident with a butthole dock owner years ago on my toon and I didn't get excited and started talking to him about why? turns out he was jealous as he wasn't ketchn many himself so I handed him my bucket full o crappie and said have a fry on me. He then calmed down, let me get on his dock and use it anytime I wanted and I gave him a crappie fishing 101 class and then HE started ketchn and we are buds now. Even helped me put brush on each of his corners and now he and I have go to spots to fish off of and I can drive to his place and walk on and often he will come down and fish with me.