BRAINERD, Minn. (MCT) — Absent a boat, some anglers remain couch-bound, thinking more about fishing than doing it. This needn’t be, particularly when the target is largemouth bass, and especially not in late spring and early summer, when these fish inhabit shoreline haunts.

Bill Marchel and I were talking about this the other evening as we pulled on our waders and slapped the odd mosquito. Wade fishing for bass has long been a favorite pastime of Bill’s, and over the years I’ve joined him on a few forays into shoreline slop — bait-caster in hand, its spool wound with heavy line.