x

Join the coolest online fishing community. FREE!

  • Get the latest local fishing reports
  • Find all the best fishing spots
  • Show off your catches, photos and videos
  • Read and share top fishing tips
  • Meet other anglers in your area
  • And it's all FREE!
Sign in with Facebook
or
Create your account

Fishing tips by Bronco66

Add a new tip View Tips By Topic
5
Vote

Golden Trout vs. Golden Rainbow Trout...

Golden Rainbow Trout-
Oncorhynchus mykiss-

The golden rainbow trout is a gold-orange rainbow trout raised under artificial fish culture conditions and stocked as a novelty for angling sport. The golden rainbow was developed from one fish, a single female trout with a genetic mutation that gave her a mixed golden and normal rainbow trout coloration. She was found in the West Virginia hatchery system in 1954. Through selective breeding with regularly marked rainbow trout, an all-gold, golden rainbow trout was developed. In 1963, this fish strain was popularized as the “West Virginia Centennial Golden Trout.” Pennsylvania and other states hybridized the pure strain of West Virginia golden trout with normal rainbows and produced palomino trout, which were true genetic palominos. Palomino trout were first stocked in Pennsylvania in 1967. Since then, the genetic strain in Pennsylvania has weakened, but in recent years the hybrid was selectively bred back closer to the stronger, better-colored golden rainbow trout. Although palominos were stocked as both average-sized and large trout, today’s golden rainbow is raised only to trophy size for anglers and stocked throughout the state.

The golden rainbow trout is a different species than the golden trout (Oncorhynchus aguabonita) of some California streams. In fish hatcheries, the rainbow trout has occasionally produced other unusual genetic mutations, such as the blue rainbow trout, whose body color is sky-blue.

The gold color mutation of the Rainbow trout, is also known as a Palomino, Banana Trout, or Yellow Rainbow. There is also a true albino Rainbow that is stocked frequently in Utah. They have the red eyes and are easy to distinguish.

Using the term "Golden Rainbow", even though it is correct, is confusing because it is too close to the name of the California Goldens which is a separate species.

Topics: Golden
3
Vote

Canals Drying Up

It's that time of the year when the canals around here are gonna be drying up> To some people, this is an opportunity to fill the freezer. You won't have to look very far for some of the deeper pools with fish in them still. You may not even need your pole! Just a bucket and a net.

Topics: Canals
3
Vote

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
Vote

Fishing the hump 2

Fishing underwater humps is fairly easy. There are four primary ways to fish them. 1) Parallel along the edges of the humps; 2) On the top flat part (shallower water); 3) From the top flat down the hump into deeper water and; 4) Casting into the deep water and bringing your lure up the hump into shallower water. These different presentations along with changing from lure to a worm harness or dragging and bouncing some bait as necessary will most definitely do the trick to landing some of the larger fish on average. Don't forget the deeper humps in the middle of the lakes as well. The fish don't just cruise the shores, the big ones will cruise the humps for bait fish and protection also.

Topics: Humps
3
Vote

Fishing the hump

Fish the "humps" in the water! The fish love 'em. A hump is basically an underwater island and could be just below the surface to 10's of feet down. Look for a raised surface bottom from its surrounding depths and sharp drop-offs around the island forming the edges of the "island." Often they are made of rock and or sand and weeds and this mixture is inviting to the fish. They are a good resting place and a food source for big fish looking for bait fish staying out of open water. Throw in a marker buoy or anchor, but don't get caught in the rope!

Topics: Hump
2
Vote

Cast and Blast

Fall is here and with the rain, snow, and wind it's hard to think fishing and time to start thinking hunting. But why not both? In Idaho, you should keep your shotguns handy when fishing the mountain streams and inlets to lakes. You never know when you might jump a cubby of quail or spook some chukar!

Topics: Fishing, and, hunting
2
Vote

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
2
Vote

Fall Bass

It's that time of year when the nights and days are getting cooler. You have to think that when we can feel it, the fish can feel it. It almost puts our bodies and thoughts in a different mindset gearing up for winter. So why shouldn't it be the same for our favorite fish?

The bass are gonna be piling up soon following the little guys around the banks and in streams and the mouths of rivers and I'm gonna meet them there and hopefully have a few look my way.

Topics: Fall, Fishing
5
Vote

Two-pole Permit

I think it's always a good idea to buy your two-pole permit for fishing. 99% of the fishing I do is from a boat where I drift bait, troll, or bobber fish, or on a lake where I can sink bait or bobber fish with my second pole. This allows me to always have a pole in the water while I figure out what fish are biting on. Also, now that I have a better grasp on fly fishing, this will allow me to fish the surface of the water as well as a few feet below with a bobber, or on bottom with some bait or jig.

Topics: Twopole
5
Vote

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,
4
Vote

Slowing your Troll

I was having a hard time getting my dodger to dodge and instead it was laying flat cause we had too much speed trolling. The new engine just won't slow down enough, so give this a try. Take a 5 gallon bucket and tie it to the back of the boat with enough lead to get past the prop. It'll drop your speed in a hurry!

Topics: Trolling, Kokanee
7
Vote

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
Vote

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
8
Vote

Jigging and Snags

I found a little trick. If your finding your self getting snagged a lot, use shitty weighted jigs that bend on a snag or bend it out almost straight once or twice. I just kept bending them back after a snag. The tip of the jig would snag and bend because the pressure was applied at the tip where it can be pulled at it's weakest point, but when a fish was on, they pull at the bottom of the "U" on a hook so it wouldn't ever bend on them as I was able to land all the fish without the hook bending. So i caught my fish and didn't lose any more gear. It may not work for those monster fish, but i wouldn't know; Its been a while since I hooked into one. But I'm pretty sure it would take quite a fish to really bend your hook even though it may be a little weaker.

Topics: Jiggin
9
Vote

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
16
Vote

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
21
Vote

Landing a Kokanee

The tactics for catching a kokanee are very different from other fish, people lose a lot of fish because they are trying to horse them in. Kokanee have very soft mouths and they will throw the hook if you are not careful. Before you start fishing set your reel drag on the lighter side so that the fish can take some line as he runs and jumps because if the drag is too tight you will lose a lot of fish. You also need to stay tight on them don’t give them a lot of excess line, if you do they always seem to find a way to come up missing. Let the downriggers set the hook and if you stay tight on the fish with a smooth drag you won’t have any problems.

Topics: Kokanee
20
Vote

Downrigger

I recently bought a new Downrigger from Walker at Cabelas and got the Lake Master Combo that also came with a new Pole for trolling. Over just a few hours of using it, I've learned that an accurate depth finder is extremely important. Dragging your downrigger weight on the bottom can be scary because your worried about your downrigger ripping off the boat, then your poles going with it and all your gear on the line. Meanwhile, everybody is leaning over the side of the boat trying to help, so then your worried about capping the boat. You learn quickly what you can and cannot do when trolling with one of these. I suggest when using a down rigger, plan on buying a few other essentials, such as: A decent fish/depth finder with temperature and maybe even gps for marking your fish, so you don't make the same mistakes I did. A vinyl coated downrigger wieght; vinyl can help block fish from "feeling" the electrical charge given off from the boat through the downrigger line and ball. Some fisherman say red vinyl coated balls seem to entice more strikes. Also you will need a release that can be consistently be adjusted as light as 1/2 lb of release tension especially when fishing for Kokanee because of their soft mouths.

Topics: Downrigger, Kokanee
20
Vote

Fly Tying Knots

It is important not only to select the right knot for a particular job but to tie it properly. Poorly Tied knots will mean lost fish and aggravation. Here are a few basic steps to follow when tying all knots for fly fishing.

Lubricate knots: Before you tighten a knot, lubricate it with saliva or by dipping it in the water. This will help the knot slide and seat properly. Lubrication also decreases excessive heat which dramatically weakens monofilament. Heat is generated by the friction created when knots are drawn up tight.

Seat the knot: Tighten knots with a steady, continuous pull. Make sure the knot is tight and secure. After it is tied, pull on the line and leader to make sure it holds. It is better to test it now than when a fish is on.

Trim neatly: Use nippers to trim the material as close as possible without nicking or damaging the knot.

Also, some knots such as the Duncan Loop or Uni-Knot, after repeated use, weaken the line after repeated use due to friction and can weaken the line up to 50%. Be sure to check your line and re-tie when neccessary.

Topics: Fly, Fishing, Knots
20
Vote

Switch it up New rods, lures, baits, and Fishing

Keep the fishing interesting, exciting and unexpected. You never know what you may find. I've made a goal for myself to try and catch and take a picture of every species of fish in the State of Idaho. Not only does this create a challenge for myself, but it forces me to get out of the old habit of using the same lure or bait on the same old stretch of river. You really have to get out there to the high mountain lakes with a new fly fishing rod, or into some of the more famous rivers for a nice Brown or Golden Trout or even Steelhead or Chinook Salmon. I'll also be heading to Hells Canyon and get me a huge Cat and farther north to get my Pike, Musky and Walleye. This Challenge will force me to find new amazing waters and help me to explore the great state of Idaho.

Topics: Fishing, Idaho, Challenge