There sure is a lot of stuff to do this time of year on those precious days off from work. Relax and watch your favorite football team, catch up on the honey do list, go hunting or the obvious best choice - FISHING.

We’ve been blessed with some very nice days lately and that’s enough excuse to ditch a couple of items on that honey do list for a few hours of fishing. There’s no doubt that I love my bass boat, it is big enough to carry all of my equipment, it fishes and rides great and goes fast.

 I realize that boating isn’t for everyone, or you may have already put your boat away for the season but that doesn’t mean you still can’t catch some fish. There are a lot of opportunities fishing farm ponds, small rivers and streams where fishing from shore is the only option.

There’s an enormous amount of fish species caught ever season from shore and many of these are trophy size or even record sized fish! I’ve spent a good deal of time fishing from shore for bass, crappies, bluegills, catfish and even carp and there are some differences but the basics are the same.

A good deal of the time when fishing out of a boat, especially in our area this time of year, you are within 30 feet of the bank so there is little need to make hail mary casts to the center of the lake when standing on shore.

When the stretch of water you are fishing has only a few or no obstructions, like if you were fishing a rocky shoreline, cast your bait at a 45-degree angle to shore. Doing this as opposed to casting straight out still covers all of the water depths that the fish may be in but keeps your bait in the strike zone longer during each retrieve. Casting at this angle also allows you to capitalize on the wind or current which can be very important. Most fish and especially predatory (game) fish position themselves facing into the wind and current. Knowing this little bit of information will get you more bites. This means you should cast into the wind or at very least across it.

When fishing some type of cover from bank, like a fallen tree, position yourself so that you can make a few angle retrieves through the deeper part of the cover then reposition so you can make some retrieves the full length. If it’s a large tree or several trees piled together work each branch as if it was a tree of its own.

A point of land protruding out into the water is a great place to fish but don’t start by walking out to the end. Fish your way there by making the same 45-degree casts up each side then across the point itself. What a great way to spend a few hours on one of these beautiful fall days - plus the bonus of getting a little extra exercise. So fish for health and leave the boat at home and walk the bank. Until next time keep your lure wet!