BP On Successful Shore Fishing

I received a comment from blog reader Cory asking about bank/shore fishing that I would like to respond too. Here is what Cory wrote:
So I've noticed that often hit several spots when you head out to fish. Are you fishing all of these spots from the bank?

I don't own a boat, so all of my fishing is done from the bank. Any bass fishing tips you can offer to us bank fishers that might help with landing a few more?!?
Yes Cory, a lot of the time I am hitting spots on the bank, especially this year.

As far as tips go, I think I have to start with something basic and that is the L of the In-Fisherman F+L+P= Fishing Success formula. The L stands for Location. If you are going to have success fishing from shore, you need to do the leg work of finding productive spots, the more spots the better. This may or may not be easy to do. I am lucky in that I have access to some pretty good bass fishing spots from shore. Not all spots are created equal and some spots were much more productive the last few years than they have been this year, Eddy's Jetty for smallmouth specifically. While Eddy's Jetty hasn't been so good this year, I started fishing another spot, the Shakopee Bridge, which is on the way to the Eddy's Jetty that I just ignorned before and this new spot has paid off well.

Another thing I think that is important with shore fishing is timing. When I think of timing there are 3 different aspects of it: Seasonal Prime Timing, Daily Prime Timing and Fishing Pressure Timing.

Seasonal Prime Timing- Is all about being aware of at what point in the year your shore fishing spot will be at it's best and worst. A shore spot may only be productive for a limited period of time. Thus it is important that you find out when that prime time is and take advantage of it.

Daily Prime Timing- Is all about hitting your shore spots at a time of day that have the most chance of being productive. That may mean getting out early, fishing at dusk, or at night. If you are lucky, you might have access to spots that can be good at any time of day, but usually dawn and dusk will be best in the summer time.

Fishing Pressure Prime Timing- How much fishing pressure your spots will get is usually going to be beyond your control. Hit this one wrong and there may be nothing for you to catch, because someone beat you to it. Still, even though a spot is getting pressure it still might be worth a stop. This is another one where the early bird may get the worm or the person that plays the Daily Prime Timing right.

One last tip: If it's feaseable bring multiple rods or presentations to try. One thing may work and another not. Or maybe trying different things will catch additional fish. I will shore fish at times with 6-8 rods. If you've got em', use em'.