Bank fishing or in a boat, it's all good

I read a statistic once that said half the people in Ohio had been fishing at least once, and the same statistic noted that many of these fished once or twice a year. Or more. That's a lot of fishermen. Some of those anglers are hard core, working out of glittery bass boats, trolling for muskies, hitting Lake Erie for walleye, fishing hard for smallmouths. But I suspect that most just like to go fishing.

You see them everywhere. Drive around big lakes like Charles Mill, Indian, Pleasant Hill, Delaware, and Pymatunning, and they'll be scattered along the bank. They frequent city reservoirs, loaf along streams and rivers, usually with two forked willow sticks to hold their rods, and they have a good time. The kids play some and fish some, adults talk and watch redwing blackbirds singing on cattail stems, a relaxing, good way to spend a weekend afternoon. Bank fishermen.

I've done a lot of bank fishing myself, and talked over the years to hundreds of shoreline sitters, and I've found they fall into two categories. One is the type that just wants to fish, and doesn't really want to catch much. They need a few bluegill or a bullhead or three to justify the trip, but too much action means too much baiting, fishy smelling hands, swallowed hooks to be extracted, all interfering with peaceful contemplation of lapping waves and that passing muskrat.

The other category wants to enjoy a trip too, but they want something to take home and fry up for supper, a tasty cap to a fine day. It doesn't happen to most because they simply find a spot and toss out a line, but there are ways to build a good catch and find plenty of makings for that dinner. For openers, take a minute to pick your spot.

Most days a section of lake that drops off quickly will outproduce a long mud flat in the lakes shallow end. Because fish can move quickly from deep water to shallow and back. If you're fishing bottom and using the standard two snelled No. 6 hooks above a sinker, toss one well out and leave the other just 10-15 yards from shore. When fishing with a partner, try to cover four depths so you can quickly find out where fish are holding. Bottom anglers interested in anything that'll bite should always use worms or nightcrawlers, while those interested mostly in channel cats and bullheads might try shrimp, slightly crushed minnows, or prepared baits.

If you're bobber fishing, concentrate your efforts within 50 feet of shore, moving in and out on each cast to locate fish, and add a sinker to your hook a few times to find the depth out there, then adjust floats to keep them within a foot of bottom. You might use worms or waxworms on one hook and rig the second rod with a larger hook and a good sized minnow impaled through the lips. Fish this one on the outer side of any weed beds because bass like to cruise these beds and a minnow looks good.

Wise bottom fishermen in a fair sized lake might try chumming their spot. I met an angler just two years ago who'd brought a can of fish base cat food, rolled it into golfball sized balls, and tossed the balls out in all directions. He had six nice channel cats drawn in by the scent. I've mentioned this more than once in these pages, but remember again to move your rigs occasionally unless there's wind to push the float. And bottom fishermen should cast here, then there. You might have a nice pod of keepers in a 10 foot wide area, and nothing elsewhere. Change cast directions and sooner or later you'll find that spot.

Stream and river fishermen have a different situation. Finned residents here like to lay up in the deepest pools for the day, so this is where they should be fished using again nightcrawlers, minnows and similar baits. If you're there at dawn or dusk, do your fishing just below any riffles or right on them if they're deep enough. Foraging gamesters love riffles. And you can chum here too, maybe with a can of oily jack mackerel attached to a line so it can be retrieved later. Toss the punctured can to the upper end of a pool and fish right below it. You might be surprised at the rod bender who'll suddenly take hold and make your day.