General
Archived Posts from this Category
Freshwater Fishing Articles and Saltwater Fishing Articles
Archived Posts from this Category
Posted by admin on 25 May 2008 | Tagged as: General
There’s more than one way to skin a cat; a catfish that is. And there’s more than one way to get fish into the boat; dynamite doesn’t have to be one of them. Whether you’re out to catch some kitties or another species altogether, there are some differences in angling methods. We’ll go over some of them, like chumming, luring, and rigging. This may help you to differentiate between times when you should do each, or both. If fact, one leads to the other.
While choosing whether you should lure or chum, be cognizant of what species of fish you are angling for. Chum is a mess to make and to stow away so make certain that you’re employing it for the correct purposes. Lures are used the bulk of the time, but if you’re contending with fish that are keen with their sense of smell, lures may be a wasted effort. In general, chum is used to fetch fish to the boat and lures are typically used for spot fishing to find the fish.
Once you choose to use a lure, what kind do you opt for? There are a lot of different kinds of lures and they are appropriate in different areas for an assortment of intentions. Whenever you memorize the fundamentals then you’ll not appear to be a beginner by studying the back of the box will browsing the shelves at Bass Pro Shops.
Fishing lures are usually created to look like a fish’s feed, bait fish, and and have one or several hooks that ‘hook’ the fish. You tie a lure to the end of your fishing line and cast it into the water repeatedly until an fish, hopefully, bites it. There are also flyfishing lures which float and are twitched on the surface resembling the movement of an insect. You can also troll lures behind a boat to produce the visual aspect of a living creature in the water. Lure are classified as spoon lures, plugs, fly lures, jigs, wobblers, spinners and plastic worms.
Jigs are made of weighted metal heads and a tail that is made from animal hair, soft plastic, feathers, or rubber. A minnow can be added or a pork rind can be attached to the hook to enhance the appeal. Jigs can be used for most styles of saltwater or freshwater fishing.
A spoon is a metal lure that also resembles a bait fish. These can be casted or trolled behind a boat, or jigged up and down in deep water.
Plastic baits are also very popular. These are usually plastic worms, lizards, frogs, crawdadds and fish that may be scented in to better attract fish. They can be used with or without a weight. A jig head is sometimes use. Plastics like Senkos and Flukes are mostly fished weightless, and the others use slip sinkers and are rigged in a fashion that makes them weedles..
Plugs are made out of hard plastic or wood and typically used on top of the water; top water baits. There’s another type of plug called a diving plug that are fashioned to dive into a certain depth of the water.
Spinners baits have blades that spin around a wire shaft. Some spinner baits have more than one blade that spin around a safety shaft. They’re characterized by ‘skirts’, which are made of animal hair, vinyl, rubber, and other materials.
Poppers and flies. Poppers, notably Pop-Rs are famous for topwater bass fishing, but there are also fly fishing poppers. Flies and poppers are primarily used for panfish, trout, and bass. Fly-tying is a harder concept to learn, and just as much of a hobby as the fishing itself.
You don’t need every lure off the shelf, but you need a decent variety to accompany all situations, including water clarity, clouds in the sky, a variation of sizes for active and sluggish fish, etc. However, if you’re just starting out, don’t break the bank trying to load up the tackle box. You will primarily need 3 types of baits: topwater, something for the middle column like a crank bait that runs 5 to 10 feet deep, and something for the bottom, like a plastic with a slip sinker. Being conservative when buy fishing tackle will leave you with more money for the beer ![]()
Posted by admin on 29 Sep 2007 | Tagged as: General
Fishing is a sport, but it has become less about survival and more about fun in recent decades. There is an issue of fish becoming depleted and many anglers are now employing the practice of catch and release fishing. Catch and release fishing is a great theory, but many people are doing it incorrectly and as a result many fish are dying. A few steps should be followed when trying to catch and release a fish. Once you get the hang of how to do it correctly, you will be able to enjoy your hobby and keep the population of fish full in your favorite stream or lake.

Take measurements of good fish and get
artificial fish mounts - they last longer.
The best place to start is with the hooks. A fish that has a hole through its mouth is going to be more likely to survive than a fish with a hole in its lung or gill. If you happen to hook a fish in the gut, the best thing to do is to cut off the hook as much as you can then release the fish. Many times the hook will dissolve and the fish will spit it out, but they can also live with a rusted hook hanging from them. Whatever you do, do not tug on your line to pull a hook out or you will severely hurt the fish. If you are able to easily remove the hook, use a pair of needle nose pliers. The process of pulling the hook out is easier if you remove the barbs from the hooks, but try not to wiggle while you pull the hook out.
Fish are obviously unable to survive outside of the water. Therefore, the longer that it takes you to release them, the more it becomes as if you are suffocating them. The way that a fish is gripped when out of the water will make a big difference. For instance, avoid touch a fish’s body with your bare hands. The fish have a slimy protective coat that will be stripped if you touch them with your hands. If you have to touch a fish, make sure that your hands are wet. You may want to wear gloves to protect your hands from cuts or permeating fish smells.
Part of the fun in [tag]fishing[/tag] is to play out the fish. The struggle can be what some anglers wait all day to do. Fish are like humans; when they work out, they build up lactic acid. When you are fighting a fish, they are fighting too. Just like when someone works his or her body out and it feels sore, a fish experiences the same thing. The build up of lactic acid can be toxic to a fish even days later. Therefore, if you are going to practice [tag]catch and release[/tag], try to keep the struggle to a minimum.
Try not to let a fish flop around when you catch them. A fish that flops around can bruise or damage its internal organs, causing them to die later from the injuries that are incurred. You can also revive a fish if you need to do so. A fish is likely to run out of oxygen and pass out, so to speak. In order to revive a fish, you place the fish in the water with their belly down and gently grasp their tail. Start to slowly move their tail back and forth until they give you the signal that they are ready to take off into the water. Sometimes you will need to repeat the process more than once, but don’t let a fish go until they are ready. A fish that is not ready to swim could get carried away and swept into rocks or embankment and cause serious injury.
More than anything, when you are practicing [tag]catch and release fishing[/tag], have everything ready to go. Make sure that your camera, pliers, and gloves are in reaching distance. Try to take the precautions necessary to preserve fish and one of America’s favorite pastimes.