In this post
- Docks vs. open water
- Why go lighter at the docks
- Pitch it out 10-15 feet
- The dock retrieve: flutter, pop, reel
- On the water: two docks, about 8 fish
- Jigs to start with
Do micro slow pitch jigs work at the docks, not just out in 50 feet of water? Yes. I took a light slow pitch jig into the Mission Bay docks in 10-20 feet of water, pitched it out instead of fishing straight down, and caught about eight spotted bay bass off two docks in an hour to an hour and a half.
This is the follow-up to our kayak breakdown for spotted bay bass. The free spool and flutter basics are covered there, so this post sticks to what changes at the docks.
Docks vs. open water
Last time I fished out in the open, 40 to 60 feet. The docks are a different game: 10 to 20 feet of water and much calmer conditions.
Marinas are built to keep the weather out. Riprap and high rock walls knock down the wind, current and tide, because people live on those boats and nobody wants them damaged. That shelter is what lets you fish lighter gear and fish it differently.
Why go lighter at the docks
In 20 feet of water, a 40g or 60g jig hits the bottom too fast. My rule: use the lightest jig you can get away with, so it stays in the strike zone doing that wounded baitfish action as long as possible. For water that shallow I go 10g to 20g. In this video I ran a 20g the whole time.
Pitch it out 10-15 feet
In deeper water with current, you want to stay straight up and down so the jig doesn't swing. At the docks there's basically no current and you're not drifting, so you can pitch the jig out 10 to 15 feet sideways and let it free fall. It still gets that dying-baitfish flutter.
Get as close to the structure as you can. If you can slide into an empty slip, you can also just yo-yo it straight down.
The dock retrieve: flutter, pop, reel
- Pitch it out 10-15 feet and let it flutter down. Give it as much slack as you can.
- Pop it four or five times.
- Reel it in, with a reel on each pop as it comes back.
In my experience, 80 to 90 percent of the time you still get bit on the fall. But I figure about 20 percent of my bites came on those pops. With jigs 20g and lighter I also like a slow retrieve with a couple of bounces. I get bit on the bounce with the small jigs, and haven't had luck with it on 40g and up.
Fishing tight to pilings and boats? Our guide to fishing slow pitch jigs in heavy structure covers keeping your jigs out of trouble.
On the water: two docks, about 8 fish
This was only my second time fishing Mission Bay. Most of my San Diego fishing is in San Diego Bay, but I'd joined the Spotty Bowl, and when the tournament weekend says Mission Bay, you fish Mission Bay. So I went out on a Thursday to scout: find where the fish were and where they weren't.
I moved around a lot, point A to point B to point C, until I found two docks where everything was stacked up. I worked them hard for an hour to an hour and a half, everything on the slow pitch, and caught about eight or nine fish, including a "big old girl" and a few decent sizers. Then I packed up and went looking for more fish with other techniques.
Jigs to start with
The 20g jig in this 2021 video is an older jig. For dock water like this, my rule is the lightest jig you can get away with, and our Micro line (10g and 15g) is where we'd start:
- Mercenary Micro Slow Pitch Jig 4-Pack (10g & 15g)
- Ogre Jr. Micro Slow Pitch Jig (10g & 15g)
- Sumo Micro Slow Pitch Jig 4-Pack (10g & 15g)
More on fishing docks: Dock Fishing with Submission Jigs: The Complete Guide and When to Use 10g-20g Micro Slow Pitch Jigs.
Ready to work the docks? Shop 10g-20g Best Sellers
Outfish Plastics. Outlast Bait. Outwork Luck.
OSS 🤙
Muto
