By Perry Hensley
Dock shooting in my opinion is one of the most exciting ways to catch slab crappie. Now when you are dock shooting, it’s important to know that this will take some practice. I will be honest as much as I do it seems I’m a rookie every time for the first 10 mins or so.
One thing to remember is that crappie love shad and other organisms and also other baitfish. Do not be surprised to find large schools of baitfish lurking around most any dock.
Lets not forget that crappie love shade and cover and docks provide them with everything they need to survive.
Once you have located a dock it is best to start scanning either with side scan sonar or your live sonar unit as to not waste time. You will quickly find out that the crappie will be on the most shaded parts of that particular dock and sometimes it can be difficult to reach them. You will also find that crappie will stack on the anchor cables of the dock, and these seem to be the best docks to shoot.
Boat positioning is key when shooting into those sometimes 3 inch openings on the dock. This is why it is important to practice at home first at a distance of 20 feet with a 5 gallon bucket and after that becomes an easy target it’s time to graduate to a coffee can at 30 ft and so on. Crappie will tend to be higher in the water column under these docks and be ready to catch a bluegill or two shooting docks.
All in all like I said before I love shooting docks year around. As always I hope that some of what I explain is helpful to most of you. Do yourself a favor and get out and enjoy all our creator has given us and make those priceless memories with those you love.
Tight Lines!
Perry Hensley