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Largemouth bass love to hang out around boat docks. For them, this is a good place to hide in the cover, get shade from the sun, and to find bait fish when the dinner bell rings. So it stands to reason that boat docks are good place to fish for [tag]largemouth bass[/tag].

The problem is getting your bait to them. The overhand cast will usually send your fishing lure to the top of the boat dock, potentially lodging in the boards and such that the dock is made of. The best way to do this is to use an sidearm cast or an underhand cast. Pitching and flipping are good methods. This article is not designed to cover the ‘how to’ of casting, but to let you know the best way to fish a boat dock.

You can flip or pitch most any lure you choose, but most bass anglers agree that soft plastics work best. Good examples of soft plastic baits to use are worms, lizards, flukes, Senkos, slug-o, brush hogs, and tubes. Some good companies to purchase plastic baits from are Zoom, Berkley, Bass Pro Shops and Strike King. Most of these baits can be fished Texas rigged (the hook is buried in the belly of the bait) with a weight or weightless.

For Senkos and flukes, it’s probably best to fish them weightless. One clever idea is to put a small light weight nail in the butt of the weightless bait and pitch it near the edge of the dock. This will cause it to crawdad backwards under the dock giving you a better presentation to the bass. If you are good at side-arm casting, teach yourself to skip the bait up under the dock. This is not terribly hard to do, but does take some practice. Most anglers use open face spinning reels for this, but if you”re good with a bait caster that can be even better. It’s like skipping a rock, in the sense that you have to come in at enough of an angle to make the bait bounce 2 or 3 times causing it to land back under the edge of the boat dock.

The idea is to get the lure as close to you target as possible. Stay back from the dock far enough to give yourself plenty of space to make the right cast and for the cast to complete. Before getting too far under the dock, be sure to fish the edges and the posts. If you catch one there, there may still be another under the dock.

Fish these docks slowly, methodically and thoroughly. Let the bait sink completely and sit for several seconds before starting the retrieve. Use a quick twitch or two and let it sink again. Alternately, you can slowly pick the rod tip up from the 9 o’clock position to the 12 o’clock position, then let the bait sink back down. Largemouth bass will often hit your bait while it is sinking.

Any time you are out fishing and see boat docks and piers, be sure to fish them. They can be the hidden home of some real hawgs.

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If you’ve never fished with a Senko, you might be missing out on one of the best baits to ever meet a hook. These soft plastic baits were originally designed as finesse baits (light tackle) for stubborn largemouth bass. But they have become widely accepted by anglers now as a ‘go to’ bait in many situations.

The popular size is 4″, but they can be had in other sizes as well. There are many companies that make Senko style baits (soft plastic stick baits), but I”ve never seen any that work as well as Gary Yamamoto’s and Kinami’s. They cost more but they are definitely worth it.

The Senko is a no frills bait. It looks like a combination of a thick worm and a straight stick (like a pencil). But don”t let that fool you. It has plenty of action to it.

One of the best ways to fish a Senko is to throw it out, let it sink and then let it sit there for several seconds. Then just give it a little twitch with the rod tip. That little twitch will make the lure come to life. It will dart around sideways and backwards. It’s amazing how much action it has.

If you are fishing around docks, stick ups, brush or other cover, do this presentation a few times, then reel it back in and throw it back out. It could almost be said that there is no wrong way to fish a Senko. This is because it is so versatile. It is usually fished weightless because a weight changes the action on the bait. It normally falls slowly and horizontally, giving black bass plenty of time to eyeball it on the fall, which is when they are most likely to hit it.

But you could also put a light nail in the butt end of it. This will make it sink backwards, which could help you better place it under a dock or heavy cover.

It can also be used with a Carolina rig to get it down deeper. Just use the same routine; pause and twitch. I have even seen people use them as top waters by ‘walking the dog’ with them. They are only limited by your imagination.

A good way to rig them is with a #5 offset straight shank hook for the large size, and a #3 offset straight shank hook for the smaller. The hook can be attached directly to the line, but for best results use a small swivel and a 10″ fluorocarbon leader. The swivel reduces line twist and the fluorocarbon line leader helps the bait to sink.

To set it up on the hook, just insert the offset straight hook point through the flat end of the head with the barb horizontal. Push it in about 3/8 of an inch then push the tip through the bottom of the bait and turn the hook 180 degrees. Run it through to the eye of the hook and stick the hook point in the belly of the bait to make it weedless. Do not let the barb go through the body. Make sure the bait is straight after you have your hook inserted for proper action.

As far as color goes, in my opinion they are all good choices. But I tend to use darker colors in mirky water or cloudy days, and brighter colors in clear water and sunny days. I’ve had most of my success on shades of watermelon green and red, Christmas tree, and lime and dark green laminated. On some lakes shades of black and blue as well as shad colored work well.

Experimentation is key and as in all bass fishing, usually the best baits and colors are those that you have the most confidence in. But the most important thing is that you have fun. Good luck.

Learn How To Make Your Own Bass Fishing Topwater Lures Here

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