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Technique fishing tips

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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
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
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
12
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Match the hatch

Match the hatch! When on the water, pay attention to all life signs both in and around the water. If you see gulls diving you may want to use smaller lures because the fish are probably keeping small baitfish just like the gulls. When schools of mullet are present try and see what size they are and experiment with different colors based on the color of the water. Don’t be afraid to mix it up with a crazy color!! Sometimes the lure that stands out amongst thousands of natural baits is the one that catches the fish’s eye!!

Topics: tips, technique, fish, fishing, lures
20
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Low Impact Sturgeon Fishing Tips

Use non-offset circle hooks. Non-offset circle hooks offer three big advantages over traditional J-hooks:
• Fish are seldom hooked deeply with non-offset circle hooks because their unique shape rarely lets the hook embed until it catches
on the corner of the fish’s mouth.
• Once solidly hooked, fish rarely become unhooked.
• Circle hooks are less likely to snag on rocky river bottoms.
Because circle hooks are very different than J-hooks, anglers should use some different techniques for them to work properly: First, “hang” the
bait on the hook and leave the point exposed (A circle hook needs to be free to pivot for it to function properly). Second, when a fish
starts to bite, let it mouth the bait a few seconds longer than you would with a J-hook. Lastly, do not set the hook. Instead, simply start reeling
until you come tight on the fish. The hook will catch on the corner of the mouth as you smoothly tighten the line.
When using a regular J-hook, it is important to stay attentive to the rod and hook the fish quickly before it has a chance to swallow
the bait.
Use barbless hooks (it’s the law!). Pinch or file the barb down to ease removal of the hook and minimize the damage to a sturgeon’s fleshy mouth.
Use a sinker slider (a law beginning in 2011) Tie your sinker to a dropper line on a sliding device,
using at least ten pound test lighter line than your main line. This will minimize the chances of leaving a baited
hook snagged to the bottom if you break off.

Topics: Sturgeon, Low Impact
14
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Change things up every now and then - go old school

OK, I'll admit it - I have a Tracker boat (the best Father's Day gift ever, thanks hunny! Wait, I have to pay for it for 7 years? WTF?), a few rod and reel combos that are technique-specific, and 4 trays of lures, and yeah, I like to go here, there and everywhere in search of bass, but sometimes going old school is a great time.

Grab a bottle of water, a bag of beef jerky, a rod, a tray of nightcrawlers and a rag and go hang out on the shore to pass the time. You may be surprised as to what bites, and if nothing else, the relaxation will probably be good for you!

Topics: Nightcrawler, old school, fishing
12
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Watch your Casts

One of the most over-looked noises an angler makes, is actually their cast. When fishing shallow water, make sure to use an underhand cast with a low trajectory to the water rather than the traditional overhead long bomb, that, in some situations will send our finned-friends fleeing.

Topics: presentation, technique
11
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simple is sometimes better

When fishing, don't be reluctant to use simple set ups!! One of my favorite tactics is using Some split-shot,a hook, and a piece of bait!!! of course, different techniques work for different situations, sometimes just a simple float is best!!! Or even just a small jig-head, i once caught a 27 inch pike on a small white jig-head and a minnow while fishing for walleye!!!

Topics: jigs, splitshot, simple, floats
6
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Ice fishing for crappie

Crappie have their eyes on top of their heads, and will see your bait and lures above them. If you have a sonar and can see crappie at a certain depth, try to keep your bait or lure just a little higher because crappie won't see anything below them. Crappie will often continue to follow your lure higher and higher until they strike, and when they hit your rod tip will actually go up instead of down because the fish is taking your lure higher. Make sure to set the hook when this happens.

Topics: crappie, technique, depth, lures, bait, sonar, ice fishing