Floating Boat Docks: Bass Fishing’s Best-Kept Secret

The sun is shining. The fish are calling. You head to your floating boat dock and zip away to open waters. Guess what? You just abandoned some of the most predictable and dependable bass action you’ll find.

You see, boat dock fishing is easily one of bass fishing’s best-kept secrets. Shelter and plentiful feeding opportunities make boat docks the perfect dwelling for bass. Floating boat docks, especially, are often crawling with enormous populations of quality bass thanks to the solid, concentrated cover and shade they provide. This takes some of the guesswork out of consistently finding large populations of bass.

Let’s go through some tips you can follow to maximize your efficiency and productivity when fishing from a floating boat dock.

Focus on Isolated Docks

Big bass don’t like competition. They would rather not fight when it comes to filling their bellies. This is why the more isolated floating boat docks are known to host big bass.

While you can certainly catch bass on larger stretches of dock, the most consistent bass fishing tends to come from small, ordinary floating boat docks that sit by themselves. While these docks don’t look like much, the small amount of shade that floating boat docks offer can act as a magnet for bigger fish.

Look for a Concentration of Shade

Shade cannot be overlooked when fishing on a floating boat dock. It’s important to consider the type of shade being created by various floating docks. The concentration of this shade can make all the difference.

With floating docks, all of the shade is concentrated in a very small area. You’ll know right where the bass fish are going to be when it comes to a floating dock. That creates a nice, predictable fishing spot.

Don’t Ignore The Bank Location

While the dock is important when fishing, don’t forget to pay attention to the bank layout and location at all times. Did you know that the “perfect” bank changes with the seasons?

• Spring. During this time, prior to the spawning period, prespawn females will often hang out near floating docks adjacent to flats with a sandy bottom. Females will tend to drift to floating docks on or near secondary points or any sort of irregularity. Both prespawners and post-spawn bass can be found near these docks.
• Summer. Sharp depth changes during this season can attract bass, making primary points productive. Bass are able to feed on top of the points or even slide off into deeper water when inactive, allowing them to eat as much as possible while exerting a small amount of energy.
• Autumn. This is the time of year when bass often use floating boat docks as a strategic ambush point to catch shad during their annual migration. The best location tends to be near the backs of creeks.
• Winter. In the colder months, bass are known to inhabit structures with some verticality, like a bluff wall or hard river or creek channel bend. They’ll reside in the deeper water when inactive and slide up the water column when it’s time to feed.

Are the Bass Suspended or On the Bottom?

A key to success when bass fishing is determining whether the fish are suspended underneath of floating boat docks or hanging out on the bottom. Did you know that there’s an easy rule-of-thumb to figure out where the bass are hanging out?

When the water temperature is at its coldest, most bass sit tightly on the bottom. But as the water temps warm up, the bass tend to hang out suspended underneath most boat docks.

Bass fishing is all about patience. When properly fishing from a floating boat dock you should catch fish rather quickly, but if not, be patient or change up your location. The bass will be yours in no time.

Want to start bass fishing on your very own floating river dock? Invest in a floating boat dock today from Jet Dock.