Best places to fish from shore

[livinisfishin]

Does anybody have any preference to what type of spot they are fishing from shore? I have a few but im always looking for new spots to fish. Im hoping that maybe some of you guys on here can give me a hand and help me think of different kinds of spots i may have overlooked, or would not normally try.

[gone_fishin]

from my experiences, it's usually best to keep your shore fishing spots to yourself and maybe a few CLOSE friends. otherwise it turns into a zoo in no time. especially if it's posted on one of these sites.

 

sorry i can't help ya, but i'm sure you'll find the same attitude with most board members about sharing shore spots.

[livinisfishin]

thanks for the first reply, and being honest, i would be the same way. Im not to worried about exactly where to go , im looking for different ideas about say structure, or marinas. I dont need names thuogh. I prett ymuch just answered my own questio nthere, but those are the places i already go to..im looking for new ones.

[Joeytier]

Many of the marinas/backbays of Lake Ontario can provide good shorefishing for warmwater species.

[Pigeontroller]

Asking for the location of spots on your first post? BAD interweb etiquette!

[livinisfishin]

once again, im not asking for your gps hot spots or anything like that, im asking for ideas of places to fish, structurally and just different areas to try. I dont know where anybody is from that is replying ,so say you are from thunderbay, im not going to go there just to fish near a shoal or whatever answer you give to me. Im going to fish a shoal around my area because you told me that it is a good place to start to find the fish. What a better way to start out by jumping right in there and talking about fishing with my fellow fishermen. Im not saying i dont want to get to know people on here but im not going to make it apoint to introduce myself to all 160000 members or how ever many there are. I will make friends that i will get to know talking about this stuff, so i think its a good ice breaker for me to start off with.

[tdotfisherman]

When fishing from shore, I try to locate weedy and rocky areas that I can cast spinnerbaits and crankbaits in and around to attempt to produce strikes.. Just try to locate different types of structure that fish usually cling to, and attempt to cast around it the best you can from different angles from the shore, or a dock.. the biggest fish I've caught have all come from shore, and I actually really enjoy shore fishing..

[Greencoachdog]

I like to fish around bridges when shore fishing, they're a great fish hold structure! Public launches are a good place too.

 

Thye best places are the places you discover yourself because you put the legwork in to find them.

[mikeh]

another vote for around bridges, also try rivers when trout season opens. You can get alot of exercise walking the banks of a river and also some fresh air.

 

hope this helps

[forrest]

If I am unfamilar with an area I always like to find an area that shows signs of others fishing from them over a period of several years. The better ones are usually harder to track and deeper in the forests.

 

Sneaking onto golf courses was an old favorite of mine. A set of hip waders will also let you get to areas you normally cannot fish properly. How many times do you see a guy standing in a lake with hip waders?

 

I think the biggest unknown factor is: "what type of fish you are looking for?"

 

forrest

[livinisfishin]

Bridges thats a new one, i ve fished some of them but they arent usually the first choice...maybe they should be. What kind of fishing do you find in the golf courses? I know one around me has a small creek ,but i believe its very shallow and i dont think anything is in there but i really dont know til i try. Very good suggestions so far. One kind of place i have read about is farm ponds....anybody know how you can find a good one?

[oxcowboy]

around here farm ponds are always a good place for lm bass,catfish, and crappie as well as alot of blue gill. also i have a favorite spot on our local creek where the riffle or white water enters a deep pool of water. i have caught many different kinds of fish there. lm and sm bass, flathead,blue,and channel catfish, sauger,blue gill,carp and then some. another favorite spot for me is near the exit of one of our local coal powerplants, the warm water really brings them in especially in the early season when the rest of the water is cool. hope this is helpful to ya, and good luck out there.

 

jason

[Clampet]

If you don't care about edible fish, there are many options.

Some guys target Carp. Some go after the Pike and occasional Bass.

These species are readily available around the GTA, particularly the Toronto Islands.

 

On the edible side, yer pretty much gonna find yerself waging a loosing battle.

[fishindevil]

Well start by doing your homework man !!!! grab a map, of your area and of the area you may want to fish,and search out all the creeks the lakes the briges,as well as the roads that lead to them....then go for a drive,and check them out then check what species you want to catch,and make sure they as well as the area is open to fishing,meaning the seasons ,as some will be open and some closed....before the internet thats how it was done,and thats the way it should still be done

[Mike Pike]

Welcome to the board, Livinisfishin.

 

I think most urban areas have pretty good shore fishing and not very many fisherman. In Hamilton, our harbour has lots of shore access and you always have a chance at some bass and panfish when you move around and work the shoreline.

 

I just saw a show( 'Lunkerville' ), where the host took the New York city subway and went to Central Park and hooked into some beauty bass. Man, if you can find bass in THAT urban area, you can find 'em anywhere!

 

I think, though, if you just add a good pair of waders to your fishing arsenal, you multiply the fishable waters you can get to considerably and really increase you chances at finding fish.

 

Cheers!

Edited February 18, 2008 by Mike Pike

[Marko]

If you are not sure what kind of fish you want to fish for, try finding fish by actually seeing them couple of feet underwater.

Carp are lazy and they lake to sunbathe and they are easiest ones to stop and they give a good fight.

Bass you can find around weedy areas also lots of other panfish will be around.

 

that small creek that you are talking about might hold some trout so you might want to investigate a little bit.

[bassmaster4]

try around dams either above or below

[kennyman]

If you can find faster running water with a deep calmer pool close by try fishing the pool especially if it's sizeable.

[forrest]

Bridges: thumbs up for bridges and the pools under them.

[Mike Pike]

And regarding bridges, don't forget to fish the water directly infront of the abutments. When the current reaches an abutment, the water splits before it travels down each side of the abutment which actually creates a small area of slack water that fish can be holding in.

Edited February 18, 2008 by Mike Pike

[Big Cliff]

Welcome to the board!

 

It is getting harder and harder to find good spots to fish from shore, once word gets out that a spot is producing it usually ends up being so crowded that you can't fish it properly or people leave enough of a mess behind that the access gets closed down. It might help a bit if you give us an idea of where it is that you live/intend to fish. Do you drive?

 

If I was fishing a new area from shore, I would probably get a map and a chart of the lake or river, look for streams entering, points of land with drop offs to deep water that come close to shore and that have public access. It really does depend on what you want to fish for, weather conditions, and time of the year.

 

Dont pass something by without checking it out, that little stream in the golf course could easily hold some nice trout, as long as the water is flowing it doesn't need to be deep, they love to hide under the grass along the banks and can often be found in a few inches of water.

 

One of the most productive pike lakes I know hardly ever gets fished because everyone drives right by it assuming that because it's small and right beside the road there probably aren't any fish in it. If they only knew LOL.

 

As others have said, do a bit of home work, and exploring you should be able to get a list of stocked lakes from your local MNR office and most if not all of them should have public access.

[Mike Pike]

...It is getting harder and harder to find good spots to fish from shore, once word gets out that a spot is producing it usually ends up being so crowded that you can't fish it properly or people leave enough of a mess behind that the access gets closed down.

True enough Big Cliff. I do a lot of my fishing from the shore and wading rivers and I gotta say that us shore guys are getting as tight lipped about our spots as brook trout guys are about their honey holes.

 

And it's as you said, with limited shore access and the 'power of the internet,' it doesn't take long for these places to get crowed with shoulder to shoulder fishing.

 

The neat thing is we can still talk about shore fishing techniques and tactics, and still have valuable information that someone can apply in their area. Keeps the posts interesting and relevant to board members.

[livinisfishin]

Thanks everyone so far with your replies, some wicked ideas that i will be trying out definately!

[fishing n autograph]

I hear bass pro shops has an excellent pond full of a variety of species

[mepps]

The best advice I can give for shore fishign is to cover as much water as possible. Spend a minute or 2 in each location adn cover as much water as you can. A spinnerbait is perfect for testing water and it will catch a variety of fish. I like to cover as much area as I can until I start finding fish. Lake Ontario has a lot of easy to access shore - you just gotta put in your time to find the best spors.