Docks line the shorelines of many lakes and rivers across Louisiana. Each dock creates excellent cover for big fish to hide from prey and avian predators. Practically every angler fishes around docks, but most simply hit the outside pilings or troll baits past them. For the really big slabs, put baits where few other people dare to fish.
“The farther a person can get a bait underneath the dock, the better the chances of a big fish taking the bait,” said James Blaine Salter, Jr., whose father, a legend in Louisiana crappie fishing, started Salter’s Jiggin’ Pole and Tackle (225-627-5151, www.saltersjigginpole.com) in Erwinville in 1981. “Getting baits into spots that most other people can’t imagine fishing gives us an advantage over other anglers because most people won’t even attempt to do it because they’re afraid to get hung up.”
