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Line fishing tips

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1
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Ticks

Watch out! They seem to be out early and in large numbers this year as far as I have seen. I brought the dog to an area 2 weeks ago and found 7 ticks so far on her and a friend brought his 2 this weekend out and found 10 on each dog in just a few hours. Buy your dogs frontline or other similar products to save yourself from being creeped out.

Topics: Ticks
1
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Lighten your fly rod

There is a new product coming available to help reduce the weight of your flyrod by allowing you to remove the reel and reattach it to a harness on your chest giving you a lighter weight and better feel of your rod. It also allows you to quickly attach your rod to your chest so that you can have both hands free while handling fish and anything else you may need two hands for such as tying on a new fly. A simple way of testing out the product is to simply let as much line off the reel as you would need and simply take the reel off and put it in your pocket to give you the feel of a reel-less rod.

Topics: Fly, rods
1
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Fall Fishing is here

Fall is here, it is getting cold, and its a good time to fish. The ice is already starting to build on the ponds and shorelines. A lot of people already have brought there boats out of the water. But if you have a small boat I recommend trolling along the shoreline for muskies, jigging for walleyes, top lures through the weeds for Northern/Bass. The walleyes are in the cold shallow waters. Fall is my favorite time to fish, and usually one of the only times I fish off shore. Since the walleyes are in shallower waters, you can just cast off shore for the lunkers.......

Topics: Walleye, Muskies, Pike, Fall weather
3
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Steelhead fishing is here

Steelhead fishing is new to me so I've been looking at tips and strategies. It seems the most basic and direct approach is best.
Here are 5 tips to get you started.

River-Level Check- Know what flows your going to encounter as to have the right equipment for the job. Flow and clarity of the water, based on recent conditions, will affect what and where you will fish.

Pre-tie your Leaders- The more you have your line in the water, the better your catch rates will be. Try and manage your leaders in a way that don't allow them to get tangled or you've wasted your time.

Don't be afraid to move- If your not finding fish in your hole, move on to another and check back. Don't wait for the fish to come to you. For all you know someone may have just pulled those fish just before you showed up and spooked 'em out. To make this easy on you, Bring what you need with and no more.

Change Bait- If your looking at fish or watching them be pulled out from under you and your not turning heads, don't be too lazy to change colors, bait, hook size, leader length, or presentation.

Follow the crowd- If your looking for a new whole, follow the crowds. Many people only fish a few hours or limit out right away. Some stay all day, but when those people leave and the fishing pressure turns off the bite may turn on! Even when the pressure is on, try fishing something different to turn the fish.

Topics: Steelhead
2
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Fall Trout

One of my favorite fishing tips techniques for fall trout fishing is to use live worms rigged on a gang hook rig. A gang hook rig is simply a set of pre-tied hooks in line one after the other and is attached to your line using a small barrel swivel.

This is how it's done: Start by taking the end of your line and tying on a small barrel swivel. Now, tie a set of pre-tied gang hooks or use 9-18 inches or so of leader and tie on one hook. Next, tie on another hook directly to the bend of your first hook and shorten it up so they are only about 1inch or apart from each other. Or if you have the skill, go ahead and just tie a Snelled knot. At this point add a couple of split shot sinkers above the barrel swivel (the number and size of split shot will vary with current flow) for weight. Now rig a live worm onto your gang hooks (if the worms are really large, simply pinch them in ½).

The idea behind this is that you can drift or bottom bounce a worm and have a larger presentation as the worm is laid out over both hooks.

Topics: Fall, Trout
5
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Landing a Big fish

If you hook a powerful, explosive musky, striper, or pike don’t bring it near the boat unless you’re prepared to land it. A still-green fish can do a lot of damage and cause you numerous problems if brought to boatside too quickly.

One thing greenhorns do a lot is to reel the fish in too close to the rod tip. Never have a fish any closer than the full length of the rod away. Reeling a big one within a few feet of the rod tip is just inviting trouble. It reduces line stretch, rod flex, and reaction time, giving the fish a better chance to make a last-ditch escape.

If your fish is going under the boat, don't fight 'em, either let them take some line or better yet steer them away by not pulling up out of the water, but to the side and turn their head. They cant swim down if you turn them, but watch out if your using anchors. I've lost plenty of fish on the anchor rope trying to be too gentle.

Watch my latest videos of people breaking rods trying to bring a fish out of water from directly below them rather then pulling from the side into them.

Topics: Landing fish,
7
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Dont be afraid to change locations

Over the weekend, we had explored 9 different lakes and streams in Nevada and California. We had almost no luck at all. Because there are so many lakes in close proximity though, we were able to explore so many places in just 3 days. And because we were able to move so much we were able to hook into a couple fish. We had to move so much to get away from the easy access points and get away from over fished sites. With all the available water out there, there is no need to stand shoulder to shoulder or to be crossing lines.

Topics: location
7
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Casting Shore Lines

Getbit wrote a tip about casting parallel to shore a while back and it's worked for me in the past but last night it was a little slow for me. Most fished that were getting hooked were actually being caught by casting just outside of or on top the weed line and pulling from the shore to open water; most of which were casts ahead of the boat. I'm thinking that the fish could hear the action or splash above 'em and could then see the lure come out from "hiding" from out of cover of the weeds and would have less time to process whether to strike or not vs seeing the lure coming from downstream and just come past 'em. I was using a floating rapalla and could cast directly on the weeds and just lift it off of and through the weeds but then it would dive down 6 feet or so when i started reeling. It seems I may have to test this out a little more to see what might be more consistent for different lures. Any body have a similar/different experience?

Topics: Casting, Techniques
9
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Muskies

Here in Minnesota a good time to fish for Muskies is late Fall/early Winter. When the ice is building up on the shoreline. Most people on the lake have there boats out by then. The ice is a thin layer about 20 feet from shore. I like to take the paddle boat around the edge and troll for Pike and Muskies, even walleye.

Topics: Late, Fall, Fishing, for, Musky, and, Pike
8
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Prop wash

My personal favorite way to fish for Northern is trolling in the prop wash. Boat speed at about 3-9 mph. Line should be out 8 -20 feet. Some people think 20 might be too far out I personally do not. The prop wash stirs up the water possibly looking like a school of fish or a wounded bait fish ? I'm not sure what the reasoning is I just know it works. I'm starting to hear more and more that It works for a lot of different fish. I guess depending on the lure you use:

Topics: Boats, and, Fish
9
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Bobber Fishin

I keep it simple with just a bober and worm about the length of my rod(5-7 feet) below the surface within 20 feet of the rocks and just jig it a little if they are nibbling but wont take the bait. They seem to strike 90% of the time i try this. Keep your line as tight as you can without dragging the bobber, and rather than set the hook by lifting up, try reeling as much slack as you can then rip the line through the water by keeping the rod tip down and pull to one side or the other to keep the most tension on the line especially if your fishing deeper.

Topics: Bobbers
9
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Spinnerbait and braided line

SpinnerBait, Braid. Try throwing your spinnerbait on braid the next time you go out. The sensitivity is AMAZING and the thin braid cuts through vegetation that would stop mono dead in its tracks.

Topics: spinnerbait, braided line, bass
11
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How to Win the Fight

When fighting a big fish from a boat resist the urge to constantly ‘chase’ the fish. Use the boat to gain line initially when the fish is making long runs but when it slows down try to keep the boat just close enough to maintain a 45 degree angle on the line. This puts maximum pressure on the fish which means you stand a better chance of catching your fish of a lifetime.

Topics: fish, line, reeling
12
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The Night Walleye Bite

Fishing for Walleyes @ night! Evenings the big females start to come shallow probably to return to their spawning beds or feed on minnows along the shore. For the big 10-pound walleye, evening and night is your best chance. Troll slow and close to shore or along reefs with Rapalas or a bottom bouncer rig with lots of line out. Stop and cast if you come up to some structure on bottom that is within close proximity to the weeds they hide in during the day. Blues, Greens and especially Fire-tiger jigs!

Topics: Walleye
12
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Avoiding line twist on spinning reels

Two tips here for avoiding line twist on a spinning reel:

1. After a cast, never force the bail closed by reeling in. Always manually close the bail with your hand, otherwise you'll introduce line twist every time.
2. Never reel in with slack line. Pull your rod tip up or put your finger against the line to create some resistance, otherwise you'll be trapping loops and slack line onto the reel, causing line twist and birdsnests waiting to happen.

Topics: line twist, spinning reel
13
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Use a loop knot for live bait

The next time you use livebait, try a loop knot. They allow your bait to swim freely adding more action to your bait. Big fish didn't get big by being dumb, try a loop knot and fool that monster you've been looking for.

Topics: knots, line, bait
11
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Lighter tackle can get more bites

When the bite gets slow or when fishing in clear water try downsizing your line and leader. You may lose a few fish due to break offs but you can’t catch them if you can’t hook ‘em….

Topics: fish, fishing, leader, line, tips, techniques
16
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Walleye Tactics

Since walleyes have excellent visual acuity under low light levels, they tend to feed more at dawn and dusk, on cloudy or overcast days and under choppy conditions. Similarly, in darkly stained or turbid waters, walleye tend to feed throughout the day. In the spring and fall walleye are located near the shallower areas due to the spawning grounds; and they are most often in shallower water at around six feet deep. On calm spring days the walleye are more often located at the deep side of the shoreline drop-off and around shore slopes around or deeper than ten feet.

"Walleye chop" is a term used for rough water typically with winds of 6 to 16 mph, and is one of the indicators for good walleye fishing due to the walleye's increased feeding activity during such conditions. In addition to fishing the "Walleye chop", night fishing with live bait can be very effective.

"Walleye Jig" is another very effective approach for catching the fish. Simply tie on a 3/8 ounce jig and attach a minnow. Lower the jig to the bottom of a sandy bottom stream and slowly move the jig up and off the bottom. When you feel a tug – wait a moment, as walleye are cautious fish and it may just be nibbling at the bait, then hook the fish. Calm water in an anchored boat is ideal for this approach.

Here is a good site with more detailed tactics for different times of year, colors to use, and how to find the big females.
http://www.garden-island.com/how-to-catch-walleye.htm

Topics: Walleye
6
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AnglerCo-Angler Ettiquette

OK, this is a tip borne more from frustration than anything. I may not cover every scenario or situation, but it's a good start for things to think about.

If you're fishing as a team, then just by the nature of it you'll be maximizing your cooperation. This is a tip more for the Boater/Non-Boater tournaments where you're still competing against each other.

1. Remember, it's the boater's boat. Offer some gas money. Respect their property. Hooks in seats, 3 big tackle bags, and 10 rods that overwhelm their space isn't appreciated. Bring a small bag for your trash - a wrinkled up grocery bag is fine. Their boat isn't your garbage can. Ask if something is OK - "can I put this here?", can I use this?", etc. goes a long way.

2. Show up with a PFD and culling system. The boater may not have spares for you to use. Most boaters probably have those items for a co-angler to use, but don't assume they do, and don't get upset or throw a fit when they don't.

3. Bring your own lunch, snacks, and drinks, but be reasonable. Built-in coolers aren't huge, but boaters do leave room for the co-angler. Bringing a 32-quart Igloo probably isn't a real good idea, either. Remember, space is sometimes at a premium, so use it wisely.

4. Boaters do what they can to position the boat to everyone's advantage. Sometimes, it doesn't always work. Sometimes, the co-angler doesn't always get the best spots first. Talk reasonably about it. Most boaters will do what they can to make sure it's as fair as it can be. When the boater decides to move spots, give the co-angler fair warning. Co-anglers need to be ready to move when the boater is.

5. Boaters, you have the front of the boat to fish from. Don't cast back from the midline of the boat. Co-anglers, don't fire casts up over the shoulder of the boater. Keep your area as your area.

6. When an angler (boater or co-angler) is going after a fish, fishing a particular spot, bed, etc. let them have it. It's their fish. If they hit get a hit and miss, it's still their fish to go after. Don't wait for them to reel their line in and fire a cast at the fish

7. Don't destroy each other's things. Rods, reels, baits, equipment, etc. gets expensive when it needs to be replaced.

8. Be respectful - that goes for everyone. If the co-angler doesn't like the boat he's drawn or been assigned to, keep your opinions to yourself. Certainly don't put down the other angler's equipment, style, baits, etc.

9. Remember, you're there to fish competitively against each other. Small talk is OK, especially if you're new draw partners. But that doesn't mean start talking from launch time until you weigh-in. Comeraderie is great, especially after the tournament ends, but sometimes extreme concentration is needed when you're trying to boat a limit.

These are just the basics, but they're a good foundation and they go a long way. The basic rules should be this - don't be the boater that everyone dreads going out with, and don't be the co-angler that boaters say they'll never fish with again.

Topics: boater, nonboater, coangler
6
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Glue your soft plastics to your hooks

OK, another glue tip. Ever get frustrated because you rig your creature bait to your extra-wide gap hook, only to bump into a rock and the bait slides down the hook? Rig your lure, and apply a drop of the same glue to the hook shank near where the line is tied. It's safe for all lines, will help the knot hold, and will cement the head of your soft plastic bait right where you want it to stay.

Topics: Gluing, soft, plastics