Fishing School
Positioning
This lesson will show you the easiest ways to position yourself to make sure you’ll be getting into some fun fish catching action even if you’re a complete beginner.
Topics Discussed
- 1:41 – Easiest Strategy – Boat
- 3:06 – Easiest Strategy – From Bridge
- 3:48 – Biggest Mistake
- 3:56 – Situational Examples
- 4:28 – Strategy for lures
- 5:36 – Cross current lure trick
- 6:15 – Worst time to fish bridges
- 7:13 – Positioning around docks
On The Water Example
Here’s a helpful video that shows these positioning strategies in action on the water:
If you’d like to see some fun fishing reports of this type of fishing, here are some links to posts we believe you’ll enjoy watching:
Please use the Comments section below to let us know of any positioning related questions you have. We’ll gladly make more lessons for you as needed.
Tight Lines!
been a member for a couple years now but have not had time to sit and watch the videos. I am starting as a beginner: Have my lures that I want to master (the Prawn kit) and now learning how to read currents, eye structures and use what I have. Also, thanks for the videos. Very helpful
I’m very glad to see that you’re able to get some time to watch these lessons. They lay the foundation for getting more and more consistent at catching good fish.
Nice lesson. I hadn’t really thought about fishing current differently for lures vs bait. My background is bass fishing lakes in Maine so current is not really a factor up there. I’m glad to have found this group!
Thanks Brandon. We’re thrilled to have you part of the Salt Strong Family.
Great teaching, especially for a person like myself who is a beginner in saltwater fishing.
Thanks Tomas!
I’m new to this but how do we know which way the current is going and what is the current is running more in a diagonal from the structure? I think I’m going to need a lesson on kayak anchoring also. Yesterday I couldn’t fish any structure I was being blown and pushed all over the place.
In many cases, the current isn’t moving fast enough to be a bigger factor than the wind. The best way to determine current flow speed and direction is to look at any fixed structure you come across such as channel markers, crab trap buoys, seagrass, etc, so that you can see how it’s hitting/impacting them (eddy forms on down current side of pilings, buoys get pushed by the current, grass lays down along with the current).
In general, if it’s not easy to see which direction the current is moving, then it’s not going to be a big factor to worry about.
What type of spot were you having trouble anchoring in? Do you have an anchor trolley system on your kayak?
Sometimes the current is going with the wind, is it better to just avoid lures and use live bait then?
Not necessarily… it’s very rare when lures can’t work at all due to the wind and current being aligned.
The alignment of current and wind in a given spot favors live bait, but lures oftentimes work well in that scenario too (especially if the current isn’t very strong).
I’m still a little confused. I have a lot of trouble casting into the wind and up current for a good distance.
If the wind is too strong to cast into, there are 2 options: 1) switch to a heavier or more streamlined lure/bait that can punch through the wind better, or 2) reposition so that you can at least cast cross wind vs. directly into it.
Really appreciate all your answers!!
Love the videos so far, I mostly fish off piers in SC . Do you have videos on pier fishing?
This is an excellent video about positioning. Everything explained very nicely, in simple terms.
Unrelated question, but did the pelican survive at 1:16 though? 🙂
Thanks for making time to post the nice comment Attila! All pelicans seemed to be fine that day out on the water.
Great video! Beginner Question: you mention several times that we must fish lures (working them) differently from how we fish live bait like a dead shrimp (soaking them). You don’t say “why” we must do that? Thanks!
Great question David! The core reason why dead bait works so well is because its scent attracts fish to it. And since fish are tracking to the bait by following the scent trail that’s pushed by current, it’s important to not move it so that the fish can more easily find it.
Great video on positioning, it seems very logical. Does this apply to beach fly fishing for snook? I am from Naples and beach fly fishing for snook is very popular. I am just trying to apply the previous lesson positioning to what I am targeting.
Thank you guys so much for these video. 100% worth the yearly investment!
Thanks Bryson! For targeting snook along the beach, it’s most often best to stand as far away from the shoreline as possible since the snook are almost always cruising very close to shore… I’ve seen many people who are wade fishing and casting out while the snook are passing behind them:)
Thank you.
This will help a ton. I just bought a kayak and live right by two bridges that can be targeted. Great insights on positioning. I bought a paddle kayak (no pedals) which makes it hard to stay in position when the current and/or wind is pushing me around. I have a small 3.5lbs anchor. I’m always a little wary about anchoring close to bridges with fear of my anchor getting stuck or big boats wake. Anyone has any tricks/tips for anchoring a kayak to fish bridges/fenders?
Given the dangers of anchoring in areas with current and boat wakes, I recommend drift fishing when fishing bridges from a kayak.