Fishing plugs from the bank?

Anyone ever try this?

Was fishing a new zipperlip yesterday early morning and knew there were some nice Dollies in the area, so put on a rather ugly looking plug I had...third cast got a decent cuttthroat, following cast brought a 20+" Dolly to the bank and a dozen casts later this fellow jumped all over it!



My second steelhead....30" long with a 15 1/2" girth...the Weight O'Meter puts it at just over 9 lbs. Gave me the full-Monty...3 somersault jumps and a 15 min. battle.

Never expected such a fine result!

Mike

Nice job! I have often wondered about fishing plugs from the bank. Were you fishing it like a spoon, casting directly across and letting it drift down through the holding area? What kind of plug?

Nordic,

Was fishing some slower holding water, basically working it like a spoon, but with a bit more retrieve across the current.

It was a ugly old plug in the shape of a minnow...tried it as a lark, mostly.

Hey, if they can catch steelies on Snoopy rods, why not on ugly plugs?

Its a bit of a drive to the spot, but the wife and I are going to try it again later this afternoon.

Mike

Sounds like how some people fish in the Great Lakes near the river mouths. I watch them on TV casting large Rapalas and other plugs and slowly reeling them acrossed the current then bringing them back on a swing. They caught many large lake browns, steelhead, and chinook. I was wondering if that would work in some areas around here.

Congrats on number two on a plug even!!! I've fished plugs on rivers with success but don't do it that often because I love bottom bouncing or spoons. That plug is producing fish so try not to loose it!!!!!!! My experience with plugs is they either produce or they don't. Even with identical plugs one will catch all of the fish and the other wont.

My uncle catchs more than I want to count on plugs off the bank. It is very productive way to fish.

Fishing plugs from the bank is very effective. Sometimes I cast them for steelies like fishing for bass with a crankbait. There is one method that I just discovered too.

Way to go, Mike! Another nice fish and another story to go with it......you're doomed now! Have fun!!

I forgot to say nice fish . Good Luck.....Ross

Casting plugs is very popular with some of the locals on some of the Skagit tribs when targeting dollies. The state record came from the whitechuck and was taken with a rapala.
I've used plugs on small streams, standing above a hole and backing them down like you would from a boat. No success yet but my dad has hooked one or two doing it that way.

Plugs also well behind a sidewinder, or sideplaner(cheap mans boat). hey nice fish.

Hey Mike B. what color is your house, A great fisherman from this wep page took me fishing on his jet boat and told me he thought the brown house on the east side of the skagit was yours?

I've taken several steelhead and a silver on hotshots fished from the bank like Cupo suggested. Key is to find a bend in the river where you can line up the plug with the drift downstream, or on a medium to small stream a gravel bar or island where you can position yourself. I've never taken a steelhead casting a plug, but have taken a couple springers while tossing Mag Warts at the mouth of Wind River.

Howdy DJ!

You mean you floated by and didn't so much as holler a "Hello"?

Most times, if I am in my office, I'll hear a sled or see a db going by and will step out on the deck. Your welcome to pull up on the beach, coffee's always hot.

Below is a shot of the house from the river. Were on the south side about 1/4 mile down from the big bend after the Baker enters the Skagit, as shown in the bottom pic. There is another place that looks a bit like ours 3 houses further west, but Les's place is bigger and his yard has a more manicured look.





The waters behind our place look good, but don't hold fish....too much sand and no structure.

Mike

I got a pull down about 100 yards from your house...DJ

Cool!

Down past our place is that tail-out...there is a good hole there, but only reachable by boat. The deeper water is on the right, and the shallow section is on the left. The hole sits just to the right of the whitewater.

That's why a DB purchase is in the very near future..wife just doesn't know it yet..I'll probably get.. for it...but hey, ya only go around once!

The arrow on the below pic might be the spot you got the take-down at? Faster water, but big boulders down below:



Here is another good spot..it is to the outside of the big bend after the Baker enters and about 1/4 mile above us.



I meant to say the water directly behind our place doesn't hold fish..:-)

Mike

Get a jet that way you can just motor back to your back yard.....DJ

Would love to...but no $$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Got an ex---anyone wanna take over payments?

Mike

I've seen that slot before

tight lines

Kevin

That slot is terrible, no one should ever fish it. wink wink

LOL @ DJ...

Fact is, I have never seen anyone fish that slot except just drifting over it. Might be that the water is too fast to backtroll...don't know, but I do know there is a nice boulder patch under it.

Like has been said...probably no fish there anyway. It is a big river with lots of better hiding spots.

MB

I too have a question about bank plugging. Is it a good sign or a bad sign that my plug lips are all worn from scraping rocks? Since the conception of this thread I've been curious to know if there is a certain depth and retrieve rate that should be maintained. I've tried size 10 jet divers a couple times down on the queets, but was quite unimpressed. Also, do most of you just flatline it or rig it up like you're drift fishing. I have found that it can at times be advantageous to use a short dropper for your sinker.