The fishing can be excellent, but be prepared for nearby landowners

One of my favorite locations for catching fish is along seawalls and piers. I have caught numerous bass and won several tournaments by getting up close and personal with bass as they utilize these hot spots. The reason is really quite simple.

Bass are pretty well-known for preferring shallow water structures, and seawalls and piers are natural forms of man-made structures.

Many times, the shallow water warms up much quicker, and fish can be caught within mere inches of the seawalls. They also like being able to hide under piers, waiting for a frog or minnow to venture close enough so they can gain a quick meal. They also like being able to hide in the shade to avoid direct sunlight. They can hide around pier posts, and the skilled angler who can present a lure in the right place can usually catch several bass.

Most natural lakes have an abundance of piers and seawalls and normally some great grasses and weed lines that offer the bass cover. Usually, if there happens to be a drop-off close by where the water depth drops from very shallow to deep, they bass will often feed along the seawalls and under the piers.

If boating and fishing pressure gets heavy, they will simply relocate to the weeds and deeper water for safety, and when the pressure subsides, they will return to the shallows and feed.

I have had the best success fishing piers early in the morning when the bass are actively feeding and again in late afternoon or evening when they start feeding again. But on warm, sunny days, I have done exceptionally well skipping soft plastic worms, tube jigs, and creature baits up under the piers where many anglers cannot present their lures.

When it is a light rain or heavy overcast day, I have done fantastic fishing a top-water buzzbait or Pop-R along the edge of the pier, starting at the seawall and fishing all the way to the front of the pier. If there happens to be a boat or pontoon moored alongside the pier, I like to skip a 3”-4” finesse worn up under the pontoon. I allow the lure to sink, then I slowly retrieve the lure. Many times, the bass will savagely strike the lure.

One drawback to fishing piers is landowners. They seem to believe they own the entire body of water, but that is false. They own the land where their house sits. They own the pier, but they do not own the water or the fish.

I have had countless landowners come out, stand on their piers, and chastise me for trespassing. I had one man threaten to shoot holes in my boat and threatened to have the DNR or sheriff arrest me.

I also had some people write down my registration numbers on my boat and threaten to call the DNR. I politely told them to go ahead, and I would stay there and wait because it is actually against the law to harass anglers.

Now, not all landowners are that belligerent. I have had them casually walk out and say, "Hello, are you catching any fish?" We carry on a conversation, and I have even had them compliment me on my boat. But be aware of the ones who do not want you fishing around their piers.

If I am fishing along the piers, and I notice I am approaching people swimming close to a pier, I will stop casting my lure and pass that particular pier. I figure all the commotion they are making while swimming made any and all fish in the area to relocate. I will then approach the piers father away to continue fishing. It seems like that works out well for both parties.

I had one man quietly come out on the front of his pier. He acted very polite and he told me he preferred I not fish around his pier. He explained he had an angler cast a lure between the opening around his boat and motor and the hook got caught in the rubber boot surrounding his inboard motor. The angler approached the boat, took his pocketknife and cut the rubber boot around the motor to retrieve his lure, and in the process, the hole he cut allowed water to get inside, causing some expensive damage.

This man had every right to express concern, and he acted very nice and respectful. I appreciated that. I told him, "I understand perfectly, and I am sorry for that situation." I bypassed his location and continued fishing.

I was fishing at another small lake and had a guest angler in the boat with me. I also had a cameraman. We were shooting a military appreciation podcast. I had mentioned in previous segments that I would hosting a member of the United States Air Force, and my guest was Tech Sergeant Foy Cox.

We were fishing and discussing his tour of duty and the places he had seen during his deployment. I was hoping the fish would cooperate. We had numerous people see us, and they walked to the front of their piers and talked with us. They congratulated my guest and thanked him for his service. We even had other boating anglers that had served in the military talk with us as we fished around the lake.

I told the people we would be ending the segment in the parking lot at the boat ramp at 4 p.m., and as we approached the ramp, there must have been at least 50 people lined up awaiting us. To my guest's surprise, I had a few of my fishing sponsors donate some prizes that I presented to my guest. One sponsor donated approximately $100 in fishing lures. Another sponsor donated a set of Frogg Toggs rain gear, and the grand prize was a custom-built graphite fishing rod.

I was asked when and where the visitors could view the filming of the segment, and I gave them the information. I received many positive remarks about the show, so as you can see, not all landowners are difficult to get along with.