How to Find Productive Shoreline for Better Bass Fishing

Especially early in the open-water season, fish are found shallow. Whether you’re talking bass, walleye, pike, or panfish, most fish are going to congregate somewhat close to shore. There are myriad reasons for this: reproductive phases, water temperature, food availability, and more. 

So this begs the question: What is the best way to find productive shoreline on the lake you’ve chosen. And for the focus of this blog, we’re going to be talking about largemouth bass. 

TL;DR: The best shoreline features for bass fishing are:

• weedlines and vegetation edges
• reeds, cattails, and bulrushes
• lily pads
• docks and boat lifts
• shade banks and overhanging trees
• transition areas where cover types meet

Old wisdom was all about beating the bank, cruising around with the trolling motor and investigating spots that looked “fishy”. Next came electronics like Side Imaging which made spotting submerged, shallow structure way easier and from a distance that beat staring into the shallows (and potentially spooking fish) with a pair of polarized glasses. Don’t get us wrong: electronics and good sunglasses still play their part. And all of this used to happen once the angler got to the lake, thus reducing the time on the water to simple trial and error. 

Now, with OnX Fish’s Aerial Imagery feature you can plan ahead and waypoint areas that look great on the map before you ever get to the launch. Recent satellite and Aerial Imagery is key to finding productive-looking spots and assembling a milk run ahead of putting your boat in the water. 

Best Shoreline Features to Target for Bass

Weedlines and Vegetation Edges

Especially spring through summer, submergent weedlines and weed edges play a huge role in holding bass. That could mean inside weedlines (where the weeds meet sand or vegetation-free areas near shore) or outside weedlines that can run into depths in the teens – and on some lakes even deeper. Fish will be scattered from inside to outside depending on the food sources available. And, as summer progresses the deeper weedline edges come more into play than shallow areas around weed patches, whether that’s coontail, cabbage, milfoil, or some other predominant aquatic plant. But you can still find bass up shallow on the inside if the shade and food presence is there, which we’ll get to in a bit. 

OnX Fish’s Aerial Imagery makes it pretty easy to find where the inside and outside weedlines are by the difference in color compared to surrounding water. Again, concentrate on the edges, or fish in the jungle. You’ll need to investigate to find out where the bass are holding. But depending on the water clarity, it might not always be easy to locate weedlines from Aerial Imagery. The best approach is to use it along with your electronics – everything from standard sonar to FF sonar to locate on the screen at what depth the submergent weedlines are on the lake you’ve chosen. 

Reeds and Emergent Vegetation

Especially earlier in the season, reeds, cattails, and bulrushes are hot spots for bass. First, these plants grow on a harder, sandy bottom which bass are fond of for building their nests. Because stands of reeds can be massive, so baits like spinnerbaits, swim jigs, chatterbaits, do well to cover water. A lot of times the best areas of reeds are those with openings, almost bay-like areas within larger stands of reeds. 

And then you have lily pad canopies, a frog fisherman’s best friend. If combined with other thick vegetation, you might also try punching openings with a Texas Rig or punch bait besides scooting a frog over top. Providing shade to the fish below, concentrate on areas that also feature overhangs, little areas of open water, and other anomalies. Combine shallow lily pads with overhangs and you have a high-probability fish-holding location. 

Docks

Docks are a bass magnet spring through summer. Single docks with a boat lift and canopy can hold fish but larger docks with numerous spots for boats, jet skis, and other water recreation and be even better. They provide shade, food, and cover for bass. And look for docks with variations in depth; those situated close to a weed line or break line can be especially good. Pitching, skipping, and flipping jigs and soft plastics is standard fare for working docks. Make sure to work all depths – shallow to deep, as well as pinch points with shade from lifts and canopies to find the best fishing. Bass can hold anywhere on a dock, from right up on the bank to the very end. 

Shade Banks and Overhangs

Depending on the time of day, certain lake banks or steep shorelines can provide shade that will hold bass spring and summer. Watch for them, especially if combined with emergent or submergent vegetation, wood, or other structure. 

Overhangs can be deadly. Trees that extend out over the water provide shade and a lot of times are surrounded by fallen wood, too. These areas often hold fish and should definitely be on your must-fish list. 

How to Use Aerial Imagery to Find Bass Faster

Once your waypoints and routes are chosen in the app, it’s easy to build a very repeatable strategy for fishing the lake should you want to return or share with a buddy. It’s really that easy. In your spare time you can be pre-fishing with the OnX Fish Midwest app and building plans for how to fish various lakes saving a lot of time once you get to the water. 

Start by choosing the layer menu in the lower right hand corner of the app, and toggling between the different options in your basemap.  You can select Topo, Hybrid, or Satellite – each giving you a different basemap view from which to study.  If aerial imagery sleuthing is your goal however, select either Hybrid or Satellite, then toggle from High Quality Imagery (summer, leaf-on) and Recent imagery (lower resolution, last two weeks imagery).  Each has a place in helping you find more bass faster.  

Common Mistakes When Fishing Shoreline Cover

Fishing the Prettiest or Easiest to Cast Shoreline, Not the Best Edge

One of the biggest mistakes made by beginning anglers is to spend time fishing expanses of featureless shorelines missing the above kinds of cover we’ve discussed above. Edges are key, whether that’s a transition from weeds, a dock, shaded bank, overhangs, or areas of sunken wood and other cover. Rock to weed transitions as well as transitions in soft to hard bottom can also be fish-holding locations. 

Creating Too Many Stops (Analysis Paralysis)

But keep in mind it is easy to use Aerial Imagery to an extreme. Chances are, a lot of spots will look really good on the map and before you know it, the entire map is full of waypoints. Keep your waypoints to a few examples of the different kinds of cover mentioned above and work from there. A dozen spots will get you started. 

Not giving a spot enough time 

That leads us into the common mistake of working your waypoints and routes too quickly. Make sure to give a good-looking spot enough time for bites. Don’t just take a couple casts and leave. Work your bait from different angles, use difference cadences, try different baits; chances are if it looks that good, it probably is. 

Working a spot too long

On the other end of the spectrum, you can work a spot too long for the number of stops you’ve created on your milk run via the OnX Fishing Midwest app with the aid of Aerial Imagery. After approaching good-looking spots from different angles, using difference cadences, trying different baits without a bit, it’s time to move on to the next stop, which you should already have a route created.

Ignoring Transitions (reeds to weeds, docks to weed edges, shade to sun line)

Transitions are often key, which provide bass resting points to ambush food and explore different areas easily. Fish areas where reeds merge into other types of weeds; docks merge with weed edges; and lastly – very importantly – shade lines that can provide bass shelter from the sun. These shade lines can anywhere and are worth your casts. 

Not re-fishing productive segments at the right time of day

You might start fishing early in the morning and have potentially productive spots marked but maybe these areas don’t warm up until afternoon. Make sure to revisit spots later in the day when the heat turns on and bass seek cover.

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