With certain techniques, casting for trout from
the shore of a lake can result in a good day’s catch

The thrill of catching a trout from a shoreline and fighting him into exhaustion is never-tiring. A trout seems to fight harder and longer as he is brought closer to shore than in the open water. And there is always that last thrusting effort before submission ensues. Whether it is by fly fishing or casting a lure with a spinning rod, fishing from shore can yield a creel full.

Although some fishermen feel that fishing from shore is not as productive as in a boat nor as exciting, fishing from the shores of a lake can produce great results for those who know what they are doing. There are a number of key factors to catching a good number of trout by casting from shore.

The ability to cast a lure far out into the water is a significant consideration for getting your fishing lure noticed. Although many trout come close to shore while the water is cold, the lunkers are stay a bit further out, beyond most casting techniques.

One of the keys to getting the furthest cast possible is to use a heavy lure. A good-weighted lure will fly further than most lures on sale today. The weight of the lure will depend upon the strength of the fishing line. The heavier the lure for the given fishing line rating the better.

The fishing line is the other factor in getting a long cast. It is best to use the lightest fishing line possible for the weight class of the trout being fished for. There is also the line-snap factor when casting a heavy lure. If the cast is not perfect, the heavy fishing lure is likely to snap the line as it flies faster than the line can keep up.

It is also key to find the right spot to fish from shore. The ability to read a lake’s shoreline becomes very beneficial. If access is available to work along a good stretch of lake shoreline, the prospect of catching fish is improved. Moving down a shoreline while casting allows you to cover a lot of ground and you can work your way back up when you get to the end.

The technique to use when fishing from shore is to cast out in the form of a fan. Start your casts to your left and stagger each cast towards your right in an arc like opening a fan until your casts end up to your right. If you were catching trout, reverse the order of your casts from right to left.

If you have not been catching fish after one complete casting arc from left to right, move down the shoreline of the lake twice the distance of the arc distance of your casts. Do this until you catch fish.

And make sure to give your lure some action. A bright lure is best for most visibility. Give the tip of your rod a good twitch every couple of reeling cycles. The right speed is necessary to get the right action out of the lure. Too fast will make it spin and repel trout. Too slow will not make the lure act appropriately and fish leave it alone. As you reel in, just a short, quick twitch of your rod will give the action to your fishing lure that will make it most effective. And don’t forget to switch lures if the one you are using is not getting results after one sweep of casts. You may need to try two or three before you find the right lure that the capricious fish are happening to prefer at that time.

The time of day or night also comes into play when fishing from shore. As with most freshwater fishing, the early morning and evening into dark are the best time to catch trout and most fish. And so it is true with lake fishing from shore. To have to most luck, these times are the best bet for catching fish because that is when they feed the most and are the most active.

When fishing from shore, however, these times are extended as some trout venture into shallower waters for a late morning or afternoon snack of bait fish that are eating along the shoreline. And when the weather is cloudy, fish will come closer to shore.

If you have not fished from shore because you thought of poor results and too much work or you have fished from a lake shore, but you had little luck, try the methods outlined above and see if that doesn’t work for you. If there are fish within casting distance and they are hungry or very active, you will catch trout, assuming you are using the right lure.

If you don’t catch fish with these strategies, the fish are either not biting or there are no fish there. Then it’s time to move on or call it a day when the casting arm gives out. Some things you can control to determine a fishing day’s outcome like what we have discussed here and some things you cannot like the weather and the whims of the fish. If the fish aren’t biting, you can always play a round of golf.

But no matter what the outcome of a fishing outing, there is always another day. Fish have to eat.