4 Tips for Better Fishing from the Shoreline

Consider these helpful tips to increase your chances of catching fish from the shoreline.

Corks: Structure in ponds and lakes can be heavy along the shorelines. When anglers are casting from the shore, they get snagged a lot, especially when fishing on the bottom. Consider using a popping cork in areas with lots of tangles. Adjust the depth so you float above problem areas. By simply popping the cork, you simulate fish feeding and thus attract real fish. Many anglers may think of fishing with corks as child’s play because their first experiences watching a red and white bobber in a farm pond, but corks are a tool used by the savviest of anglers, too.

Chumming: Most anglers associate chumming with offshore fishing, but it can do wonders for land-bound anglers too. Simply take a fish basket or a commercially sold chum bag, tie it off to something on a pier or the bank and throw it out to draw-in fish. Mashed-up shad, shrimp or any other kind of aquatic life will work, but canned mackerel is hard to beat. Punch some holes in the cans and throw them in your chum bag.

Circle Hooks: Circle hooks do not look as if they would be effective at catching anything, but the polar opposite is true. Circle hooks were developed by commercial fisherman who needed something that would hook a fish in the corner of the mouth where it will stay lodged. The reason circle hooks work great for land-bound anglers using live or cut bait is that you really do not have to set the hook; the fish hook themselves. Just grab the rod when you have a bite, pull back with a sweeping motion and start reeling.

Use Big, Live Bait: By learning to throw a cast net and using mullet, croaker or sand trout, you can greatly increase your odds of catching big fish. If you’re land-bound in freshwater, use live shad and perch, which you can easily catch in a cast net.