Phillip Gentry
Each year, over a million people take to the water in the state of South Carolina to fish. Of this number, it’s estimated that almost half of them fish from land at some point, and 20% fish from land full time.
Overwhelmingly, spring and summer are the two biggest seasons when land based anglers take to the water, often lining up side by side in pursuit of their finned quarry.
One of the trends that works against the land based angler is private development around public waterways. To combat this, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the US Forest Service and a host of other federal, county, and local municipalities have created and maintain public access to waterways. Many of these public accesses are mandated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission which seeks to balance shoreline management on public waterways.
Where space is available, nearly all public access areas – boat launch ramps, public access sites, and public parks, also provide some type of fishing structure. These usually take the form of a pier, dock, or other fishing friendly area. In addition to those areas provided for public access, there are a host of other locations that are legal to fish in public waters without trespassing on private property. Most all of these scenarios involve a public roadway that intersects a public right of way along the shoreline and may or may not be developed.
While fish may be shallow in the warmer months, the one thing that all good bank fishing locations have in common is proximity to deep water. This deep water can be the gradual slope away from land accessed by pier, a creek or river channel accessed by bridge or shoreline, or a naturally occurring drop off adjacent to accessible land.
The choice between live and artificial baits when fishing from shore tips heavily in favor of live or natural baits. Live baits have the capacity to attract fish from long distances while artificial baits typically rely on a reaction strike when the lure comes into proximity.
The type of live or natural bait may vary depending on location, time of year, and specifically, the species of fish the angler hopes to catch.
Shore based tackle tends to weigh both heavier and longer than typical rod, reel, and line used from a boat. The primary reason is the lack of mobility on the angler’s part relegates the angler to having to muscle the fish to shore.
Longer rods offer greater casting distance where it’s important to reach deeper water than what is close to the angler’s location. Spinning tackle is also typically favored for the same reason.
Shore based fishing using live or natural baits is a game of “bait and wait” with anglers employing multiple rods, where allowed, to cover more area. It’s also interesting to note that some ingenious rod holder set ups have been developed by shore based anglers to accommodate the use of multiple rods.
Approaching quietly, walking softly, not wearing bright colors, and not making noise are all important to not spooking those fish when fishing from shore. While many feet of water may separate you from the fish, keep in mind, your quarry is always just a cast length away.
It’s also advisable to pack your tackle and gear which will allow you to hike further from public access areas to get to those under-fished locations or to allow you to stay longer and be comfortable.
Finally, the best shore based anglers are those who apply some strategy to location, bait, tackle and presentation. In order to consistently catch more and larger fish that the average shore based angler, you’ll need to find areas that aren’t fished as much as popular public areas.
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Phillip Gentry is the host of “Upstate Outdoors,” broadcast from noon to 2 p.m. Saturdays on 106.3 WORD FM or online at 989word.com. This week’s guest will be Brandon Bobb, local Greenwood BASS Elite angler on his recent win last week in Texas.
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Photo Caption – Fishing from shore often involves similar strategies applied by boating anglers in order to be successful. Photo by Phillip Gentry
