Growing up, Erik and I never had our own boat to fish fish from. We have a couple john boats that stay out at our lot, but that's where they stay. We never had a bass boat or any sort of way to get off the bank. That was until we bought kayaks, but that's a blog post for a different day. When Erik and I were in grade school, we had to rely on our mom to drop us off at a neighborhood pond and pick us up we were done. Thank God for cell phones. This was long before any of us even had a car. There were several times when we would have such bad cabin fever that we would walk several miles on the side of the road with our fishing gear to fish a pond.
Those were the good old days. Nothing else mattered except going fishing and playing Black Ops 2 on the Playstation. Life was good. Purchasing a new rod or reel was always a special occasion because this was before any of us could work. Everyday seemed to be a new adventure. Those days gave birth to memories I will never forget.
Those after school days were also the days that taught be to be the bass angler I am today. Most of what I learned about bass fishing came from countless hours on the bak trying different techniques and different lures. I learned how to fish a pond better than any other body of water.
If you are a pond angler, chances are, you are young and don't have a way to get off the bank. I've been there. I feel that. Do not fret, there is hope. Pond fishing can be some of the most fun fishing days you can have. Pond bass are often more likely to hit different lures, and they are more forgiving to mistakes. Not to forget, bed fishing from the bank is lots of fun.
Bank fishing provides many opportunities to try different kinds of water without spending thousands of dollars. Once you find all the local ponds, you will learn what lures work on different bodies of water. If I want to go throw a frog, I got a pond for that. If I want to do some shallow water cranking, I got a pond for that. You name it, I most likely have a pond for it.
The moral of the story is, if you are limited to the bank, don't let that discourage you from trying different types of fishing. Go explore different lakes. Find the local honey holes. Plus you don't have to worry about boat problems. Don't let your lake access limit you from cutting your teeth. There are plenty of opportunities if you are willing to look for them. Google Maps is your friend. That's how Erik and I found all of our spots. get creative. Ask for permission to fish private ponds. It never hurts to ask.
That's all I got for this week. As always, Love the Adventure.
- Paul Hoffman