Fishing

Rivers snake their way through the land in many sizes, be it wide, still chasms or the waterfalls and heavy currents caused by their sources of glaciers, lakes and tributaries. Due to some of their confines, overhanging trees and bushes can end up on the end of the line more regularly than fish unless you are careful and skillful at fishing.

If fly-fishing is your thing, then the rod, reel and lines will depend on the obstacles you have to get around to reach the fish. A small eight-and-a-half to nine-foot rod with a five to six class reel and a dry and an intermediate sinking line that can be changed over quickly is practical.

For newbies fly-fishing on rivers, practice side casting and rolling casts until you are confident at delivering your fishing hooks.

The fly box should contain patterns from, nymphs to wet and dry flies in various sizes and colors. Landing fish in tight spots can create dangers, especially if you are wading. Never fish alone in this kind of environment and use a wading stick to check the bottom.

A landing net will reduce losses in confined areas or mid-river and some types can double as a wading stick. Keep an eye on weather too; showers higher up can cause flash flooding.

If you plan on spinning, a spincast or a bait-caster rod and reel set up with appropriate strength line to retrieve lures, bobbers and crank-baits from hazards as well as fish. Baits and lures should include everything from soft-baits, worms, frogs to mice and bobbers as well as spoons, hard baits and spinners.

Fishing regulations and permits are as compulsory and bring polarizing eyewear, scissors, fishing pliers and your knife.

Growing up, I loved to fish.  I wanted to catch the first fish, the biggest fish, the most fish and the last fish.  A few friends and myself would bike down to the river and compete in those categories.  They were good times.

Nowadays, I still love to fish, but it's a little bit different.  I don't really care if I catch the first fish.  As a matter of fact, I'd rather not.  I don't want to catch the most.  I don't want to catch the biggest.  I don't want to catch the last.

I'm fishing for a smile, not the fish.

My old friends and I don't fish much together anymore.  We certainly don't ride bikes down to the river.  We all have moved away for the most part and have our own families.

I fish with my family now and my five-year-old daughter loves it.

"Dad, which rod is mine?"

"Dad, can you put my wormy on?"

"Dad, can you throw it out there for me?"

So I let her choose her rod.  I put her hook on, her bobber on and her "wormy" on.  Then I cast it out for her.

When we go fishing, I make sure we go to a fishing spot where the fish will bite quite often.  Usually we go to a nice perch, sunfish or bullhead spot. 

So as soon as she gets her "Dora the Explorer" rod in the water, she is catching one.  I hardly have time to throw my line in the water.

"I got one!"

The scream of excitement puts a smile on my face.

"Reel it in" I tell her.

As soon as she gets it up to the dock, "Dad, can you take it off for me?"

So I take her fish off for her and hand her my rod so she can keep fishing.  She’ll look back now and then to see how I'm doing and to take another look at the fish she just caught.

Before I get her fish off her hook, she's catching a fish on my rod and the scream of excitement is hitting the air again.

I usually don't catch much.

I don't care.

I'm fishing for a smile, and I always catch my share.

Summer is here and the Marlins are starting to run. Marlin fishing is very thrilling! Here are a few fishing tackle tips to help hook a big one.

Starting out early in the morning, sometimes it’s an hour or longer boat ride to get to the prime fishing spot; however, using the Hawaiian Eye Lure you can get a line in the water as soon as you leave the harbor. The Hawaiian Eye is designed to be used at high speeds.

It has a very realistic black eye with a golden circle around it which flashes as it speeds through the water. The blue body with a white nylon skirt really attracts attention and when you add a meat trailer you have a real winner.

Once you arrive at the fishing spot you’ll want to change up lures. Using a variety of lures with assorted fishing hook sizes will help entice the fish. One lure that will run great on the short corner slot is a Copa fishing lure called the Cado. The Cado was developed in the late 1970’s and its hand made. In addition to catching fish, it is a work of art. It is a bigger lure with a big black eye and a red rim around it. It has a black, red and blue trailer that really gets the fishes attention.

In the long out rigger slot you want to use a straight running lure. The Pakula Limo Sprocket is the perfect lure for the job. It is a unique lure with a cupped nose that has been known to catch marlin over 500 pounds.

A good universal lure is the Mold Craft Wide Range. This lure, developed in 1977, can be used at a wide range of speeds and water conditions. It has a square nose and a center hole so as it’s pulled through the water it looks like a flat nose bullet.

This combination of lures takes advantage of different movements, fishing hook sizes and fishing rod slots that will make productive fun fishing. You will be ready to enter and win fishing contests, or just be ready to play some amazing fishing games.

I don't know about any of you, but anytime I see the Tennessee Volunteers logo I immediately think of fishing legend Bill Dance. Most sports enthusiasts would think of the actual college. But avid fisherman like myself think of the old but still very mobile Bill Dance.

From his witty sayings to his making fun of his own weight, he has captured a small but loyal group of fans. He has always taught very useful information about fishing and even about the bass himself.

Most people don't know about his career on the B.A.A.S. Masters tour, but he was very successful. He was perhaps the best to ever be on the circuit and received many awards. One of these awards was being inducted into the International Fishing Game Hall of Fame.

He landed the first Bass in B.A.A.S. history. Bill won the 1970, 1974 and 1977 B.A.A.S. Angler of the Year award. The legend has 23 titles and seven B.A.S.S. titles to his name.

Unbelievable.

Oh, and by the way, he is in the National Freshwater Hall of Fame. But that was a given.

I will always remember the knowledge I gained from watching his shows and how much my fishing improved. Bill was always smiling and loved his job and was very good at it.

Perhaps one of the best things about Mr. Dance was his bloopers tape. This video gave me so many laughs. You really get to know more about Bill as a person through these tapes. My personal favorite is when he fell into the water with a battery or when the snake fell out of the tree and hits him in the head.

I will always remember the way he talks to the fish and says some hilarious things to them.

I guess to sum up this article, I can say this: I would be a happy man if I grew up to be Bill Dance.

The rocks that you see protruding into the sea are known as jetties. These structures serve to protect an inlet that has been dredged from the strong tidal currents that could otherwise fill the area. Also, they are a perfect landmark for boating anglers to go fishing. However, being able to safely anchor your vessel around these large rocks can potentially be rather dangerous due to currents and boat traffic.

If you are planning to drop your anchor near a jetty, you must first own a jetty anchor. You can purchase these in a variety of styles, but the standard versions are all that is needed. Unlike regular anchors, anchors made specifically for jetties are crafted from lead pipe and have rebar tangs allowing the anchor to free itself and bend when needing to be retrieved. You can purchase one of these anchors at just about any bait and tackle or sporting goods store. They truly are an valuable investment for a jetty angler.

Since tides will be moving rapidly in and out of the inlets, the resulting currents will usually be significantly stronger than one might first anticipate. These currents have the ability to turn and move boats that are extremely large. As soon as you decide where it is you will anchor, notice in what direction the current is moving in as it will either send your boat into the rocks, or it will push it away.

The direction and speed of the wind can also influence how your boat swings into the current. You will need to take note of this so that the wind doesn’t end up pushing your boat back into the rocks.

Now, plan so that when you drop your anchor, its placement will serve to move your boat away from the jetty. You will always need to be watching for any changes in speed and direction of both the wind and the water so that you can react quickly.

A quick change in tide can be the end of any boat that happens to be anchored beside a jetty, yet anglers will always want to be as close to these rocks as they possibly can as this is where the good fishing is. Because of this, it is important that you always anchor in a place that provides you with an easy out in an emergency. Large boats that are passing by have the potential to create large wakes that could further push you into the rocks. When anchoring near a jetty, you must always be aware and alert of your changing situations as there may be only moments for you to react.

On days when you are unable to make it out to the water, try out some great online fishing games to keep yourself entertained and your skills sharp.

Fishing for large mouth bass offshore has recently seen an increase in popularity. A number of large mouth fishermen have a habit of limiting themselves to pursuing their bass inshore. However, this is a mistake that also tends to limit the numbers of the live well.

When I mention offshore, I am not necessarily referring to structure in deeper water. What I mean by offshore is that fishing this aspect of the water should never be neglected. The weeds that are located in these areas are considered prime fishing locations, especially when in pursuit of bass. If you are to come across a 5 to 9 foot cap along a shoal that is sprinkled with vegetation, this is another area that has the potential to be holding a significant amount of fish. If this area is also surrounded by water that is nearly forty feet deep, there is a possibility that some small mouth bass can also be found here as well.

However, if the surrounding water is somewhat on the shallow side such as ten or fifteen feet, then the chance that you will get a bite from a large mouth bass is a lot higher in these fishing conditions. Searching for the best areas in which to begin your fishing should start with noting the temperature of the water. If the water is warmer or there is not a sufficient amount of adequate cover, this is the time when bass are most likely to venture offshore.

Deep weeds, shallow weeds and large rocks, all in conjunction with shallow and deep water as well as a decent amount of food sources, suggests that bass will be in that area. Peninsulas located on the bottom of a lake are like magnets to large mouth bass. However, once you catch one of these fish in an area such as this, you might be surprised as to how many soon follow.

Any islands found offshore are usually surrounded with shallow water and where there is shallower water, there are large mouth bass. Kawartha Lake in Ontario Canada has one island in particular that has plenty of large mouth and small mouth bass and has consistently had these fish here each and every year. However, you would think that more fishermen would know about this bass fishing goldmine than the amount of anglers that do.

Once you find the weeds offshore, be sure to fish them slowly and thoroughly. You will be surprised to find the results that you get  and your new favorite fishing spot just might be offshore. Dust off that fishing gear and head out onto the water.

Whether or not you have entered into this spring with some official or unofficial fishing instruction, chances are that you will happen across certain terms such as these that might make something seem rather complex and confusing that may not be in reality. In fact, most if not all fishing concepts are rather basic with logical, simple explanations to them. For example, the boom rig.

At first, this idea might seem like some sort of far off technique or complicated method that you might never be able to understand. However, a boom rig is simple a piece of fishing gear in the form of a jig. This jig simply helps to allow fishermen to fish along some rather rough lake or river floors without running the risk of their fishing line becoming tangled and snarled in the grasses and weeds that exist below.

The boom rig does this by suspending the fishing hook on what is called a boom. The boom serves to hold the fishing hook at a certain angle from the weight on your line so that the bait as well as the barb both remain pointing upward while being suspended right above the floor.

This comes in extremely handy for when you are fishing along bottoms of lakes with a significant amount of vegetation growing, particularly if your drift picks up due to some wind. Too many times in these sorts of conditions the anglers hook will continuously get caught or snagged or the drift will be too quick to even let the fish catch up to the lure.

With a boom rig, this problem is solved because it prevents your hook from dragging along the bottom and keeps it from drifting too far as well.

Working with a boom rig can be extremely beneficial particularly if you are using larger weights that normally aren’t ideal for these situations. If the wind is blowing rather strong, the floor of the lake is full of weeds and you find that you need to fish along the bottom in order to catch your fish, boom rigs are a perfect option.

The next time you are curious as to what the fancy name of a piece of fishing gear means, keep in mind that these pieces of equipment can also mean they are used in a variety of different ways or locations as well. You may have already even used a boom rig and just heard it called by a different name.

Stripers, otherwise known as striped bass, can be fished in both salt and freshwater locations. Usually, the best place to begin fishing for this species of fish will be near any kind of significant wreckage or large rocks in the vicinity as they tend to linger around structure in order to catch potential prey by surprise.

In the state of New York, you will likely find plenty of stripers when fishing the tidal areas near Long Island such as Montauk Point as well as the Hudson River. Montauk happens to be regarded as one of the best surf fishing places in all of America. Each year, hundreds of anglers flock to the area in order to take advantage of the spring migration of the species. Most of these anglers are highly experienced fishermen who are looking for that one trophy bass of a lifetime. In fact, striper fishing is extremely important to the economy of this area, something that most locals likely do not even know.

The sound of Long Island separates the ideal fishing opportunities Connecticut and New York all across the entire area that until the Western part of the Sound meets with the Hudson River. This river is actually one three prime spawning locations for the stripers that make their way here during the months of May and April.

Spawning generally takes place as soon as the temperature of the water in the region reaches around 60 degrees. The smaller males first arrive here in the river prior to the females who will arrive in groups shortly after. Spawning will then occur in the river during the months of May and the beginning part of the month of June.

Stripers will typically lay their eggs rather close to the water’s surface in deeper water where there exists some current or movement. The buoyancy of these eggs will allow for them to drift along with the current until they hatch an average of four days or so later.

By the time summer rolls around, the young stripers will find their way towards the shallower waters of the Tappan Zee and Haverstraw Bay. As soon as fall begins, these same bass will then start to leave the nursery in pursuit of the coastal regions and shore areas. As soon as the adult stripers have completed their spawning process, they will immediately leave the vicinity in order to meet back up with the bass that are traveling along the migration path of the Atlantic Coast.

On days when you are unable to make it out to the water, try out some great online fishing games to keep yourself entertained and your skills sharp.