Dock Fishing Positioning Lesson [NEW Mini-Course]
- By: Sean Person
- on
In this video, you get to see a sneak peek of the Dock Fishing Positioning Lesson that is just a part of the Docks Fishing Mini-Course!!
Insider Members can access the full Mini-Course RIGHT HERE!
If you want to catch fish all year round, then you’ve got to start fishing underneath docks.
Learn more below!
Dock Fishing Positioning Lesson [VIDEO]
Access the FULL Mini-Course Here
For this lesson, I am fishing with the Power Prawn U.S.A. and the objective is to have it just slowly bounce along the bottom underneath docks.
You want to first position yourself down current from the dock.
This is so your lure is retrieved with the current to appear natural and that is where the fish are expecting bait to come from.
If you are unable to tell the current direction, you can look over at a dock piling and the location of a current eddie will tell you its direction.
Approaching The Dock
First, I position my vessel to face into the current and then aim for the dock I want to fish at about a 30-degree angle.
That way I can cast passed the dock and get a measure of how close my line will drift towards that piling.
Then, you can let the current start swinging your lure over and begin to lightly jig the lure.
You want to get right up against that first piling.
Most of the bigger fish are going to sit right in front of that first piling.
The fish may not always hit your offering the first time so make a few casts at the first piling.
Remember not all docks are the same and things can always be different in specific scenarios.
Moving on to the second piling requires a skip cast underneath the dock.
Make sure you are letting your lure sink all the way to the bottom for at least a few seconds.
Once I feel that I’ve exhausted all the opportunistic pilings on one dock, I’ll move on to the next one I see making some casts in between docks to check for crusing fish.
But odds are, most of the bites will happen right next to the pilings.
Additionally, in many cases, if you catch one under a dock, there are more under there.
Mimic the same casting pattern and try again for those fish that might be hiding underneath the dock.
Furthermore, there may be older docks that are just pilings now without any dock cover.
These still can be advantageous to fish but aren’t as preferred as fully assembled docks.
Casting
Before trying to skip a cast underneath docks, make sure you practice and feel comfortable enough to do so.
The absolute last thing you would want to do is hit someone else’s boat.
Treat it as if it were your own and if you wouldn’t cast underneath that boat if it was yours, then don’t.
Also, never launch a cast over a dock with birds sitting on it.
The bird’s instinct is to get up and fly away and you do not want them flying right into your line.
Moreover, there can also be ropes and lines hanging off other people’s docks which more often than not are crab traps.
Try not to cast near them or it will be a headache for you trying to get your hook loose.
Sometimes it’s best to just completely skip those docks and move on to the next.
Leader Line & Knot Importance
When fishing around docks, you need to use strong leader line to protect against fray and rubbing on the pilings.
A fish’s first instinct after they feel hooked is to dart right back underneath the dock which can wrap your line around the dock’s pilings.
This is why I use nothing less than 30lb monofilament leader line.
Snook have a tendency to cut through fluorocarbon easier than monofilament.
Anytime you are not confident in your line, knots, or it is frayed, cut it and retie.
Depth Control
Some docks are longer than others which means the water is deeper beneath the front pilings than other docks.
The same premise of casting holds true you just have to wait slightly longer for your lure to reach the desired depth.
Structure Underneath Docks
If you know for a fact there are rocks or intrusive structures underneath a dock that can be avoided using a weedless presentation, then go for it.
Personally, I prefer to use the Z-Man Weedless Eye Jighead in these scenarios.
This jighead skips very well, has a great hook-up ratio, and it doesn’t snag unwanted grass as often as other jigheads.
Also, when you switch over to a weedless setup like this, you can get way more aggressive with your casts.
Tackle & Gear
You cannot get away with using lighter tackle around docks because the fish are strong and you need the strength in your gear to sometimes pull some really big fish out from the cover of docks.
And we certainly do not want to lose lures and hooks stuck in a fish’s mouth.
At a minimum, you should be using a 20lb braided line or higher but keep in mind casting performance decreases with heavier lines on spinning reels.
In most cases, I would recommend a 3000-sized reel but a strong 2500 can get by.
The Daiwa BG 2500 matches up to most other manufacturers’ 3000-sized reels.
As far as rods go, you need a sturdy rod with strength in the backbone.
Go Medium-Heavy for any rod brand rated 10-20 lbs.
Lately, I have become more and more of a baitcasting fan for dock fishing because of the power behind these outfits.
With baitcasting reels, you can bump up to heavier lines and the casting distance is not affected much at all.
I specifically use the Daiwa Tatula SV spooled with 30lb braided line.
It is a mistake to use open flats fishing gear for fishing around docks.
Conclusion
Although not as appealing as other types of fishing spots, docks can hold any species at any time of the year all year round.
Make sure you think about your approach and positioning when fishing with artificial lures because it is different when fishing with live bait.
Just remember if you are out on the water and struggling to find fish based off of your pre-trip plan, go find some docks and use these techniques to pull out some fish!!
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Alright I broke down and decided to buy the hoss helix jigheads and twist lock hooks so I better start catching fish with these power prawns because now I have the full setup before I was using the mission fishing jighead a boxer style not the football like the hoss helix is so maybe that was the g e problem with not catching fish on the lure anyways gonna give them a try and yes I do fish docks quite often especially at night under dock lights thanks for the mini coarse and all you do😉
Another one that should be identified in the “Casting” section . . . many of these docks have boat lifts which are powered by 240v, and other 120v circuits. Not sure if it’s a state law, but new docks constructed in my county now required to post warning signs about dangerous voltage being present. The issue is if casting, and the lure snags a “hot” wire, one could get a nasty shock trying to remove the hook, especially for someone wading in the water. In addition to ropes and lines hanging from docks, some docks have underwater lights and electric cables running to them which can also be snagged although usually low voltage.
Thanks for sharing the helpful insight… great tips about being careful around any wires hanging from the dock!
Nice video on dock fishing. Do you only fish the deeper pilings? I have caught some fish on the shallower pilings but was wondering if the percentages are better on the deeper ones.
Thanks Donald! I fish any piling that’s deep enough to hold fish (which is pretty much all of them in at least 10 inches of water).
But most of the bigger fish are caught from the deeper pilings.
Sorry, DOCK FISHING. Big fingers, small keyboard.
Haha! I just made a quick edit to the original comment to fix the typo.
Great mini- seminar video in dock fishing. I particularly liked the general gear recommendations (sans in-article advertising specific gear). The tips on utilizing the current to mimic natural bait movement was a terrific tip as well as allowing the bait to sink before moving. Thanks for the great video.
Thanks so much for making time to post the. nice comment Ed!