Are you severely handicapped as a fisherman if you don’t have a boat? Should you just have a garage sale, sell all of your fishing gear and burn what doesn’t sell? Give up on fishing, buy a set of golf clubs and become a regular suburbanite?
Back away from the cliff and let’s try to talk you through this one. In some cases, fishing off the bank is actually more successful, so don’t feel like a second-class citizen if you don’t have a boat. In fact, just last weekend I was reminded of how successful you can be off of the bank.
For July Fourth, Katy and I were over in South Dakota. I just caught a decent walleye off the bank and we had him for dinner. In fact, the biggest walleye that I’ve ever caught was off of the bank.
Now no doubt, overall it’s best to have a boat but it doesn’t cripple you if you don’t have one.
Let me give a few examples. One time we were crappie fishing over at Lake Owyhee. After a few hours I went down the bank fishing and caught quite a few bass. In a while a tournament bass fisherman came by and we got talking. It sounded like if I had of been entered in the tournament I could of won it.
Years ago, Katy and I were northern pike fishing over at a wildlife refuge in Nebraska. We caught a 16-, two 8-, three 6- and three 4-pounders. All of these were off the bank and wading.
And if you’re a bow fisherman, you should know I’ve shot truckloads of carp and gar wading. Sure, it’s nice to have a flat-bottomed boat and lights for night fishing but at times you can get tons of shots wading. One time at Lake Lowell they were on the bank side of the willows spawning. There were so many logs washed in that I couldn’t get in to them with my little Jon boat. You had to wade. The only gear you need is a pair of cut-offs, tennis shoes and your bow.
And what about fly fishing? Sure, it’s nice to float the river behind the dam at Anderson Ranch or on the Rio Grande where most of the banks are brush covered but I’ve only floated rivers a few times — 99.9 percent of my fly fishing is on foot.
Not that high mountain lakes are usually that deep but they usually have silt bottoms. So you may not be in two feet of water but you’re sunk down one to one and a half feet into the silt. Float tubes do help on high mountain lakes so you can get out to where the water is a little deeper.
Also, where Katy and I used to northern fish a lot you had to wade out past the cattails to be able to fish. It was deep enough so the water was about to come over the top of your waders. And then of course with the muddy bottom you were trying to stand on your tiptoes. So like I say, sometimes no doubt a boat is beneficial.
Sometimes if you’re able to fish it, I think in shallow waters being on foot is best. Banging around in a boat can spook fish. I’ve for sure seen this with northerns. They just drop down and disappear into the weeds.
So, do boats help? Are they necessary? Yes, but if you can’t afford one, don’t give up on fishing. Sure, I own a little jon boat and am going to buy another big boat next spring, but without a boat, you can still catch fish. One time I pulled up to the boat ramp and there was a lady by herself setting in a lawn chair in one and a half feet of water. I thought, "Poor girl. I ought to give her a few fish." I asked her if she was having any luck. She grinned and pulled up a stringer that I bet had 50 to 75 crappie on it. Gee! I about asked her for some fish. She’d caught them fishing at the boat ramp while I was out all day chasing them around.
As we’re getting into the middle of summer, get out and fish. Along the bank, you’ll probably do best early morning and late evening. The catfish seem to move in and feed in the shallows at sundown. Have fun!
Tom Claycomb lives in Idaho and has outdoors columns in newspapers in Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Louisiana. He also writes for various outdoors magazines and teaches outdoors seminars at stores like Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse and Bass Pro Shop. He can be reached via email at smileya7@aol.com.
