Spoons, Spinners, and Pike

Good question dude....

Shore fishing techniques depend on the species you are trying to catch.  Fall presents a great opportunity for you to land everything including bass, crappie, catfish, trout, and more.  Needless to say, you will be busy.

Bass:  Grab your self a bag of Gary Yamamoto "Yamasenkos" in Green Pumpkin or Pumpkinseed color.  5" is a good size.  You will need to buy a pack of 3/0 EWG Worm Hooks with an "Offset Shank".  You can buy them at any fishing store.  Good brands are Gamakatzu and Lazer Sharp by Eagle.  Many anglers, including me, like to hook their Yamasenkos "wacky" style, meaning right through the middle of the worm.  They sell special "wacky hooks" just for this occasion at Cabelas.  Just cast the worm into the water, let it sink, and twitch the end of your fishing rod.  Bass can't handle it, and will jump on them.  Don't be afraid to let them take the bait for a couple seconds before setting the hook as they need time to engulf the whole worm.

Crappie:  They sell a plethora of crappie jigs, spinners, and even live maggots at the tackle shop.  If you don't mind getting your hands dirty, you are better off with the live bait.  If you do mind, you can buy plastic maggots, that smell a bit like licorice, and catch them that way.  Again, nothing can beat a live bait.  You will need to buy yourself a crappie rig, including a bobber, swivel, bobber stop, jigs, and bait.  Ask your local tackle shop for help.  If you live in the Coeur d'Alene area, check out Fins 'N Feathers on Sherman.  They give you great advice and will have you set up in no time.

Catfish:  Catfish are great for night-time fishing.  You can see the catfish anglers lining the shores with their lanterns at Hauser all the time.  Plus, the rigs are simple.  Some fishermen like to set their bait a foot or so off the bottom, but if you want to have an easy rig set up, just laying your bait on the bottom will work.  Now for the bait.  I love to use chicken livers.  You can buy them for cheap at the store, and a little pricier at the bait shop.  Some people use hot dogs, live worms, even dog food.  Catfish pickup garbage on the bottom all day long, so they are pretty indescriminate.  Make sure you watch the palm of your hand when pulling them out of the water, because they will spine you if they get the chance.

Trout:  This is a great gamefish to fish for from shore.  Check out Fernan Lake, Hauser, Hayden, Priest and Pend Oreille for some great trout fishing.  Trout in the early fall pattern will bite on Mepps Aglia Spinners, which can be purchased at basically any shore including Wal-Mart.  You can also catch them using Powerbait by Berkley, right off the bottom.  I love the Rainbow Shebert color.  Be very careful if you decide to take trout home from Hauser, as they are almost always filled with worms.  Just cast out your Powerbait, and let it sit on the bottom.  You can use a bobber with a bobber stop as a marker to watch your line.  A lot of anglers like to pull their bait up off the bottom about a foot in case it is garnering more bites.

Shore fishing can be a ton of fun for the whole family if you don't have the budget for a boat, or time to launch.  Thanks for the question.