Not me...There are only so many hours in a day and life is too short to waste time waiting for fish to come to me to bite. No sir.
Call it spot hopping, puddle jumping, or a bayou boogie .., for me its always been Bogstalking .
The overall premise of Bogstalking is all about searching for active fish, pinning down their location and searching for anymore active fish in the area before moving on once they stop hitting your presentations. No need to waste much time trying to coax neutral or inactive fish into biting.
This also isn't about trophy fishing or lunker hunting, although you will find over time Bogstalking that you will run into far more bigger fish than you would have sitting and waiting for them to come to you.
It isn't just a warm water technique. I use it year round albeit it, aggressive in terms of fish behavior is a relative term that changes throughout the day and season.
Throughout my travels, I've come across a few anglers who have adopted this angling lifestyle on their own terms and are extremely successful at it.
I have mentioned my friend Sheridan a few times in the past and for good reason. He has taken Bogstalking to a whole new level; stalking the shorelines almost every day of the year, he has become an apex predator of sorts along the shores of Lake Sharpe and Oahe, catching limits of fish, primarily walleye, in all manner of ungodly extremes of weather and temperatures. He has raised Bogstalking to an art form, taking it even further than I have ever been able to. He has set the bar high and relays his success through social media.
I used Bogstalking just last week on a night trip to the Missouri River below Gavins Point dam. I knew from past experience up there this time of year can be feast or famine if you are fishing from shore.
This trip around proved no different. But this time I had prepared and done my homework and went up early to get started combing the shoreline. I opted for what I've been hearing in some recent fishing reports, a barometer of true activity from guys who are out almost every day along the entirety of the Missouri River system. I fished areas normally not highly pressured and eventually found my active fish...all the result of Bogstalking. It took hours to comb the shoreline but when I found them it was in a very non-descript little eddy off the main current. A spot I normally might have walked by.
One point I really want to immediately clarify about Bogstalking is that for an angler, looking for aggressive and active fish doesn't necessarily translate into fast aggressive retrieves. Sometimes just slowing down beyond the norm can be the ticket. A jig can be fished slowly and yet as aggressively as any jerkbait and sometimes draw in more fish and provoke them to strike.
Bogstalking is also about finding new spots, holes or areas that are bypassed by others simply because they don't look fishy enough or don't raise the proverbial "stop and fish this spot" signs.
Key point to always remember...Our eyes aren't especially suited to see any real depth into stained water (-the norm where I typically fish) so while we might think we have a general idea of what lies below, often we are are being mislead about our ability to read water or what think we are seeing. Our minds direct us to move on and "ignore".
Keep in mind that spots do change from one year to the next for all manner of reasons. The fish will always adapt. Someone may plant a few brush piles in the area, the primary weed type may change, the weeds may thin out...there are a host of spot changing events. The hot spot last year, may or may not be as hot the following year. Stalking and actively fishing from the shorelines helps identify these little nuances and allows you to make adjustments.
Walking long lengths of shoreline necessitates packing light and only taking what is necessary. This is key to a more enjoyable experience. Why lug a huge tackle box around a lake if there is no need to do so? Especially when the bulk of your fishing is going to probably going to be you using a select few lures.
I typically use my Cabelas club bag as a pro tempore stalking bag. Its big enough to accommodate a few trays of lures, a stringer, forceps, clippers and a few cans of soda. All that will only weigh a few pounds if that. Packed correctly, there is hardly any weight to it at all and I am geared up to walk miles with little to no discomfort.
But what to take for lures? That is the rub right there isn't it?
But for those of who aren't quite grasping what I am implying, here is an example...
I am currently moving towards more removable Plano trays and organizing and labelling them by the standard Calendar developed by In-Fisherman and by species type.
I base the selections filling those trays on water temp, fish type obviously, and the areas I will be looking for or fishing. When I decide to hit the lake and fish for walleye or bass, its often just a simple matter of taking a few trays out of the bag and adding new ones. You might think this all sounds like overkill but I am telling you, organizing your tackle this way eliminates a lot of unnecessary baggage, headache and/or mystery. It is worth the effort.
The more you know, the better you can prepare and hone down what you are going to take with you. And as I have stated in a previous article, (Failing to Plan is Planning to fail), the better you plan, the better your success rates will be in general.
There are other challenges you will come across.
No matter how well you plan, you will come across areas where you will wish you had brought something else that might help you fish the area better. That is normal and something you need to make note of for your next trip out.
You might also come across areas of rip rap which tend to be a little hard to maneuver through, especially in the dark. The last thing you want is to try and wind your way through that maze of sharp shifting stone while trying to maintain your balance with a tackle box that weighs more than a toddler. Try that and you will likely get hurt. A light source is definitely a must. I prefer headlamps rther than lanterns or flashlights but do what works best for you.
You will likely come across areas that might not necessarily be holding a lot of fish now, but through your past angling experiences, you'll recognize might be the best place to fish in a few days, weeks or months. You will come across areas that hold a lot more fish than you suspected and yet will be overlooked. Time and experience will guide you if you let them.
If you aren't actively stalking the shorelines at least several times a season, you aren't maximizing your opportunities to pop fish, learning or discovering seasonal habits or taking advantage of adding more spots to your go to list.
We as anglers tend to get stuck in certain ruts and go to the same spots over and over and over...regardless of times of year.
Dont get me wrong. Some bodies of water don't necessarily have a lot of options available for shoreline fishing. This is when the little things you find on your spotting trips during the day can translate into bigger and more fish at night.
Every lake has community holes, like I have mentioned above. Fish do adjust to the level of angling pressure in many ways. Getting away from the crowds, even just a little bit or fishing off hours can put more fish on your stringer.
Observation, continual fishing education, time on the water and awareness are the four cornerstones of sustained success. Proper gear, thinking outside the box, and a sense of adventure through Bogstalking can and will help pave the way to greater opportunities than you imagined.
Keep those lines wet, those hooks sharp and the fish afraid...
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