Sitting on the dock of the bay
Well, you may not be sitting on the dock, but I’ll bet you’ll be fishing it. And probably a lot of them too.
Dock fishing, especially in the winter months can be a productive way to make a tough morning’s fishing somewhat productive. More than not, when the temperature is 50 degrees and the wind is blowing 10-20 out of the north, I’ll find myself gravitating to docks to find fish. These docks can be found throughout the Intracoastal Waterway as well as most of its adjoining waters. The challenge is finding docks that hold fish. And, typically, once you find ones that do, they’ll most likely hold fish consistently year after year during the same time period. So keep track of the good ones.
Now, when I’m fishing docks I like to use a few different kinds of bait. Live shrimp on a 1/2-ounce knocker rig usually produce the most action. I also like artificials such as Berkley Gulp shrimp or DOA shrimp. What I like about all three of these examples is that with a little practice you can really zing them under the dock by casting from your boat. Ninety-nine percent of the time that’s where those fish are going to be. If you cast short or too far to one side or the other, chances are pretty good you’re not going to get bit.
Finally, dock fishing can provide a variety of species. The most typical are redfish, black drum and sheepshead. Don’t be surprised to hook into mangrove snapper, flounder and snook. Notice that every one of these fish are worthy of being filleted. That’s pretty good odds in my book that something is coming home for dinner.
