By Joseph Albanese
You have been wasting gas almost every time you leave the dock. You’ve been doing it for almost as long as you’ve had a boat. It’s not your fault; it’s been ingrained in you by years of habit. As long as you’ve had that boat, you’ve cracked the throttles wide as soon as you’ve cleared the no-wake zone.
As fishermen, we often think that the greater the journey, the greater the reward. I mean, after all, why would anyone run miles offshore when there are fish mere minutes from the dock? There is a sense in all of us that the “easy way” will never pay off. There’s simply no way there are fish right outside the marina; they must be farther away.
My first vessel was a tin can side-console of about 16 feet. It had a 25-horse Mercury on the back that struggled against the 20-something years of moisture stored in the boat’s plywood floor and furniture. To say this boat was heavy is an understatement. As such, it had two speeds: slow and not at all. It was 3 1/2 miles to the nearest inlet, which may not sound that far, but at 8 mph it was a major undertaking. If I couldn’t find fish near the dock, it wouldn’t be worth going.
Because so many anglers feel this way about covering great distances, it is often not the case. That same mentality that has you dropping the sticks as soon as you leave the port certainly isn’t exclusive. If you simply change your habits, and pay a bit more attention, you can bag more fish with way less travel time. The structure may be less dramatic, and in a smaller scale, than pieces that are farther out, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hold fish.
And many times, it is very easy to find. There are a multitude of man-made structures that will attract and hold fish within a harbor setting. Even the marina itself can be a fish magnet. All of those fish heads and guts that get tossed off the filet table attract crabs and baitfish, which bring in the predators. The docks themselves provide cover. Jetties and break walls are good places to look. On a falling tide, be sure to fish the ends of canals. As bait is flushed out, gamefish set up to take advantage of the resulting buffet.
There are other less illustrious places that can be very productive. Storm-water outflows often carry excess fertilizer within their flows, which attract plankton, and then baitfish. There are also some smaller wrecks right in the mouths of harbors that are great fish attractants. If you’re looking for stripers and blues, don’t speed past the wreckage of those old bay houses. Looking for bottom fish on the left coast? Attack the remains of that dry dock. Targeting redfish and trout? Don’t forget to hit the dock line on your way out. You may never even make it to the mangroves…
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