Discover Fishing

Every once in awhile I like to feature another fishing website on my blog that deserves recognition.  The fishing website that I am featuring in this post (Discover Fishing) is a new site, less than a month old, but is still one of the better fishing sites I have come across in a long time. In fact I am really anxious to see this site a few months down the road. There is already so much good fishing information that its hard to believe this site is so young.

Discover Fishing is a freshwater fishing site that covers most species of freshwater fishing and also features some great fish recipes and boat fishing information.  Discover Fishing also has a very nice looking fishing forum that has yet to see any members though like I mentioned the site is very new.

If I had to speculate Discover Fishing is going to end up being an authority site on the topic of freshwater fishing.

Anyway kudos to you Discover Fishing, you’ve scored a loyal reader and forum member (hooked)!  Visit Discover Fishing yourself Im sure you will enjoy the site as much as I did. We could all only wish that everyone that launched a fishing website on the internet payed as much attention to detail and took as much pride in their site as Discover Fishing has.

2007 Top Water Run Down

While surfing around Netscape today a found a really good article titled Bass Fishing, 2007 Top Water Run Down,

Seeings that I am a huge fan of going top water for smallmouth bass and the season is upon us now, I figured Id take a minuet to share it with you all. The article is a very good run down of some of the more productive top water bass baits for 2007. Every bait mentioned is a must for any angler serious about going top water for bass this season!

Anyway, enjoy! Im off to fish the river for a few hours, I am hoping to find enough time to make a really decent post here soon.

Again you can find the article Bass Fishing, 2007 Top Water here.

Spinner Baits

Many fishermen choose their lures by trial and error. They keep changing their hooks until they find something that works. I’m hoping with some of the following articles I will be able to take a lot of the guessing out of choosing your lure.

It doesn’t matter if the water is clear or murky because the spinner works in different ways to attract fish and get them biting. In clear water fish see the flash of the blades while in murky water they feel the vibrations and come looking for the hook. The nice thing about spinners is that they are relatively easy to use. You cast them and retrieve them straight because the hook does the work. And quite often when a fish hits a spinner they will usually hook themselves.

Spinner baits are a great hook for pretty much any type of fresh water fish. They will also work at any time of the year but they are especially effective in cold or warm water. This water makes the fish slow and sleepy and they really don’t want to chase anything but you can even get the blades on a spinner moving slow with a slow retrieval.

Different blades on spinners have different amounts of water resistance. A broad blade rotates at a greater angle. A large blade has greater resistance than smaller ones of the same shape. Sensitive tackle will help you feel the beat of the spinner better. Now if you don’t feel the spinner than you may be retrieving the hook too slow.

When fishing a spinner bait you want to use a stiffer rod so you can set the hook better when you get a strike. Using spinner baits for small pan fish you should use 2 to 6 pound test. For walleye and small mouth you should use 6 to 10 pound test and for bigger fish 12 to 25 pound test would be recommended.

It’s important to keep your spinner baits separated in your tackle box or you can waste valuable fishing time trying to untangle hooks when you should be fishing. Some people might disagree but I personally don’t like spinners around weed beds because I find myself spending more time getting my hooks unstuck from the weeds.

Dale Mazurek is a self taught fisherman for 35 years. He has won many different small tournament awards. You can check out his blogs at http://fishingtutor.blogspot.com/

Tye Your Own Fly Fishing Leaders

A question many experienced and novice fly fisherman may ask themselves is Why tie my own leaders when I can by them at any sporting goods store or local fly shop? I am not sure if there is a right or wrong answer to that question, but for me it is a way to better appreciate, participate, and understand the sport of fly fishing.

I began hand tying my own leaders a few years ago for several reasons; the first reason was cost, commercially available leaders are just plain expensive, and when you consider the life expectancy of a leader, tying your own looks like an attractive alternative; the second reason was my inept ability at tying my own flies, perhaps my inadequacy in this aspect of fly fishing forced me to try another way to connect intimately with the sport; the third reason was that hand tying my own leaders was a way to provide my fellow fishing partners with personal gifts for each trip we take.

So why would you tie you own leaders? Consider the following:
Cost- Hand tied leaders cost very little, pennies in fact, compared to commercially available leaders.

It is easier and quicker to change and re-tie a hand tied leader when conditions change.

You can create leaders specific to the fishing conditions you fish in most often.

The personal satisfaction of catching a fish on a leader you created yourself.

Lets start with the basics, what is a leader and why is it important?

A leader connects your fly line to the fly.

A leader acts as the medium to transfer the energy of the fly line to the fly during the cast.

A leader relieves the energy from the fly line and sets up the proper presentation of the fly during a cast.

A leader helps presents your fly in a life like manner, dead drifts for nymphs or realistic floats for dry flies.

What are the components of a leader? In order to start tying your own leaders you must first understand the three basic sections of a leader: Butt, Body, and Tippet.

The Butt is a very important section of your leader. It is the section of your leader that begins the transfer of energy from the fly line to your leader. The size of this section of your leader is an important consideration, most recipes call for a butt section with a diameter between .020 to .026. A butt section that is too limp will cause the leader to not properly transfer the energy to the Body.

The Body is created with smaller diameter material and helps keep control of the fly for proper presentation.

The Tippet uses the smallest diameter material in your leader and are usually 16 inches to 24 inches long. Your fly will be tied directly to this section of your leader. Tippet material comes in many different styles and specialty material that will depend on your fishing circumstances.

What are the different types of leader material?
Monofilament – Mono line is the most common leader material to use. Mono comes in a variety of sizes, stiffness and diameters. Most leaders are tied using mono because of the variety, diameters, stiffness, and stretch and abrasion resistance. Fluorocarbon – A synthetic material that claims to be nearly invisible under water by having the same refracting index as water. The debate is still going on whether Fluorocarbon is better then mono. Fluorocarbon is good for the last section of tippet on a tapered leader. Braided Super Lines – A synthetic line made by weaving thin diameter man-made materials to form a no-stretch, low diameter and very strong line. Super lines are usually to limp for leaders, but I like to use short pieces of braided line with full sinking fly lines on short nymph leaders. Knots: What are the best Knots to use when tying different sections of leader material together?

The two knots I use most frequently when joining different sections of leaders are the blood knot and the surgeons knot. You should become proficient at how to tie both of these knots, with a little practice you will soon master these and be on your way to creating your own leaders.

How long should my leader be and other considerations: Leaders can come in all lengths with different diameters in the Butt, Body and Tippet. Your leaders should be built to suit the type of fishing you are planning. For example if you plan on fishing for toothy predators such as northern pike or its smaller cousin the pickerel you need to consider using a tippet with cut resistant material. If you are fishing delicate dry flies you should consider a long fine tapered leader. If your quarry is Salmon or Steelhead your leaders should be abrasion resistant and strong.

Tools: What can I use to help me start creating my own leaders?

I like the software program called LeaderCalc. LeaderCalc has a nice selection of leader recipes for most fishing situations. It also includes a nice feature that allows you to customize the label so you can quickly identify the type of leader, material used and purpose. As with most things in life the best way to become better at creating your own hand tied leaders is to start tying and then use them when fishing. You will quickly gain knowledge that only comes from experience and experimentation with different material, knots and lengths.

Rick Bernier writes on Fly Fishing related issues. You can learn more by visiting my blog, http://fly-fishing-basics.blogspot.com/2007/04/fly-fishing-basics.html Good Luck and Tight Lines!

What Is A Sauger

Some, perhaps many, anglers are not familiar with the Sauger. It is a walleye relative, and is also called a sand pike or pickerel. It has a slender body with a long cone-shaped head. The Sauger prefers water with little movement – a big slow moving lake or river suits it best. Even though it is related to the walleye, you can readily tell the difference. Walleyes have smooth cheeks. Sauger have rough scales on their cheeks.

Some like to catch Sauger in gill nets. Others like to treat the Sauger as a sport fish. They measure 10 to 15 inches and usually weigh about half a pound, although they can reach two pounds. Even though they are not large, they are tasty and make good eating. When commercially fished, they are mostly sold as fillets.

Fishing for Sauger is popular in Lake Guntersville in North Alabama, which meets their desire for a large slow moving lake. During fall and winter, the Sauger is in abundance just below Guntersville Dam. Throughout the year, it can also be found near bridge crossings on the lake.

For a fun experience, poke around your favorite search engine and see if you can find Sauger in your neck of the woods – or make the trip to Guntersville, Alabama but be ready for the urge to stay. There are lots of other species in this Lake of over 69,000 acres and 900 miles of shoreline – most well known for Bass, but also for Bluegill, Sunfish, Crappie, and several types of Catfish, including Bullhead, Channel, FlatHead, and Blue.

This article was originally featured at WebSaurus.com, a growing portal for boating and fishing enthusiasts.

Fishing With The Right Bass Fishing Gear

One of the most important aspects of bass fishing is obviously finding the right bass fishing gear for wherever you’ll be hunting those lunkers. Some bass fishing gear is necessary pretty much no matter where you’re fishing, while other bass fishing gear will depend on your specific situation, place, and preferred techniques.

No matter where you’re heading to, some bass fishing gear you’ll need includes a minimum of two identical rod and reel combos. This allows for easy replacement if something goes wrong with a rod or reel, and everything is interchangeable. There are two ways to go with the test line: one is to have all the bass fishing gear interchangeable, meaning both reels will have the same pound test line, and the other way is to have one reel with a heavier line to cast heavier lures, while another rod has a lighter test line for lighter lures. Don’t take the terms “lighter” and “heavier” too far. With most bass fishing gear 10# test line and 16# test line, for example, will do just fine. You don’t want really weak line, or bulky stuff meant for muskies.

The best tackle box is medium sized. Huge tackle boxes are too big and bulky and get in the way, while a small tackle box might not allow you to take all your lures. You never know when that odd spinner or chartreuse rapala will be the perfect bass fishing gear for any given day. Best to be prepared. This also allows you a wide array of baits, from large and small plastic worms and worm hooks (with appropriate sinkers) to rapalas, spinners, and anything else that works where you are. Obviously the best bass fishing gear differs for area. With tons of lily pads and shallow water, the rubber frogs and surface lures are the way to go, while in deeper lakes relative free of weeds you may choose an area to jig or choose to cast using rapalas. On larger lakes, trolling is another option.

Aside from tackle boxes, tackle bags are another option when searching for the right bass fishing gear. Tackle bags are basically similar, being a nylon bag that is set up for tackle boxes to slide in and out of. If you’re a fisherman who loves to bass fish, but also occasionally hears the call of bluegill or that trout that keeps mocking you, a tackle bag allows you to organize several tackle boxes, then change them up by sliding them easily in and out of the bag.

These are just a few of the options for good bass fishing gear, but having these in some combination is sure to increase your chances of success.

Johns website help beginners and advanced bass fishermen to catch a boat load of fish. Please visit the site for more info… Fishing Tactics

Some Of The More Popular Bass Fishing Baits

Every angler has his or her opinion about the best bass fishing lures for catching those trophy fish. While there is no definitive magic bass fishing lure that is guaranteed to work at all times. Different lures work for different places, but that being said there are some specific types of bass fishing lures that seem to be the most popular among the general bass fishing anglers, and with many of these lures there is even occasionally a general consensus on what works from best down to acceptable.

The best bass fishing lures will be ones that resemble food frogs like to eat. This means in a place with tons of lily pads you may want to try a rubber frog, while in areas with lots of minnows rapalas and other related crank baits may be the right choice. Here is an overview of some of the most popular bass fishing lures:

• Rapalas and crank baits. These mimic the movement of minnows both on the surface and under water, giving the bass a moving target that looks like lunch. Another advantage of rapalas is having multiple treble hooks, which increases your chance of hooking the fish after a good hit.

• Plastic worms. These generally find some degree of success almost anywhere since the worm is a major part of a bass fish’s diet. If the locals in an unfamiliar area swear by these, then heed the advice. Preferred over live worms by many since some degree of movement continues with the plastic.

• Jigs. There are several different types of jigs, some more specifically geared towards bass fishing than others. Some are made to look and move like specific types of bass food, such as crawfish, or other fish. Take a look at your specific fishing hole to figure out the best type of jig set up.

• Spinners. These are somewhat similar to rapalas, in that they are supposed to look like a bait fish and are especially popular for going after larger bass.

• Spoons. Spoons can also be used for bass fishing, and on certain lakes are killers, though they tend to be less popular than jigs, worms, and rapalas.

All of these lures in the right circumstances can be used to catch bass. The reason there are so many bass fishing lures is because different lures work in different locations. Bass fishing in Florida is different than bass fishing in Texas, which is different than bass fishing in Iowa. Each area will have its own popular bass fishing lures, and the key to success is matching the perfect bass fishing lure with location and weather conditions. Do that, and you’ll be hauling a healthy stringer in no time.

Johns website help beginners and advanced bass fishermen to catch a boat load of fish. Please visit the site for more info… Fishing Tactics

Florida Bass Fishing

Florida bass fishing has always offered anglers an excellent balance of challenge versus reward. As bass fishing becomes increasingly popular in general, Florida bass fishing in particular is growing in popularity, especially because as colder weather shuts down all but ice fishing in other parts of the country, Florida’s weather allows the fishing season to continue even into December and January. While the beautiful winter weather is a definite plus, Florida bass fishing is unlike fishing in many other parts of the country, so if you are going for the first time, even if you have an experienced guide lined up, there are several factors that you will want to be prepared for before your angling vacation.

If you’ve done any research at all on Florida bass fishing, then you’ve probably heard about a local favorite lure, referred to as “wild shiners” or sometimes as “Florida wild shiners.” The expert Florida anglers will tell you that because of the unique ecosystems of most of the top Florida lakes, that nearly 9 out of 10 big bass are caught off of these specific lures. Want to take a guess on which lures to use on your Florida bass fishing vacation.

If this is going to be your first trip to Florida for winter bass fishing, you should strongly consider booking a guide. An experienced guide will know how to fish their specific lakes, and will maximize your chances of success. This also allows you to learn the proper Florida bass fishing techniques from a pro until you can get the hang of it for yourself. Or if you’re grabbing several 10+ lb. bass every time you go out, maybe you keep the guide. Either way, it is often best to start with an experienced guide and go from there.

Shiner fishing will be the most popular form of fishing for bass in Florida because it’s so consistently effective. Other lures and techniques can be used to catch big bass, as well, but Florida pros will swear by the shiner, as the other baits and techniques tend to be sporadic in success by comparison. This also involves the use of large hooks, and heavier pound test line than you might use elsewhere because of the large amount of weeds in many Florida lakes.

Florida bass fishing can be challenging, especially to the newcomer not familiar with using shiners. With a little bit of experience and some practice, you can become an expert yourself at fishing these shallow and unique waters, and landing trophy after trophy through days of good drifting and fishing. Florida bass fishing is an endeavor really worth taking, especially in the winter months. Why put the fishing rod in the closet for five months, when you can be nailing the trophies even into the wee days of December.

John’s website help beginners and advanced bass fishermen to catch a boat load of fish.

Please visit the site for more info… Florida Bass Fishing

The Fly In Fly Fishing

By the name itself, fly fishing is one of the many ways of catching a fish; specifically trout, salmon and other types of marine species such as tarpon, bonefish, striped bass and among others; with the use of just a hook attached to a line by a fishing rod. Fly fishing is gaining fame among fishing buffs and there are ongoing interests of catching as many different types of fish as possible.

The method originated from an ancient fishing form called angling; the very reason why it’s called angling is because of the hook hanging at the end of the line of a fishing rod. Fly fishing has innovations of its own and the noticeable tool for this method is the use of artificial flies or the fly lures. Usually, artificial flies are tied with thread, feathers or fur but there are other options too which include ribbon, tinsel or beads and for extra weight, lead is used.

The reason why the artificial flies are “accessorized” is because specified species needs to be attracted. By using the right combination of the fly; which includes the size, weight and color, to the line, rod and reel, the chances of catching a desired species is high.

Color and size of the fly is mentioned because it adds to the fly’s camouflage effect, which is meant to imitate local insects, a main course for the fish (but this is done specifically to catch attention of aggressive, spawning species).

The size of the fly ranges from the largest (#2 ) to the smallest (very small at #22). The line to which the fly is hooked also plays an important relationship with the fly because primarily, it’s what casts the fly. It really depends on the purpose of the angler. There are heavy lines for sinking purposes and light ones as well to keep the fly afloat. In fact, a fly line can plainly be cast without a fly which makes it different from the basic fishing rod and reel method.

The significance of the fly is high in fly fishing since its main purpose is to act as a “food” for the species.

Get more information for free about fly fishing at http://fly-fishing-tips.com

Stimulating Ingredients For Catfish Baits

Do you have a problem with your present fishing bait or recipe? Some catfish and carp baits are very limited in their attraction and catch results, due to their high proportion of insoluble ingredients. It is in fact, the soluble proportion which truly stimulates the fish most effectively into eating your bait and getting hooked!

For example, you may have a very basic homemade bait which catches a few fish, perhaps a chicken meal based bait with added garlic and honey, bound together by semolina. So what parts of this bait are doing the real work of attracting the fish?

The chicken meal may be a course grade of unknown age and quality. Adding water to it shows it will not dissolve very well but gives off smells, oils and colours the water which also indicates the leaching of amino acids and protein bait particles suspended in the water.

The amount of water soluble amino acids are very important to the effectiveness of your bait. The freshness and quality and solubility of your protein ingredients such as chicken meal, are very important too. Your stimulating amino acid providing, bait protein content may be any of a variety of fish or shellfish meals, meat meals, etc.

The effects of your baits amino acid leak off and ability to pull fish into your swim and to your hook bait can be vastly improved as this effect is one of the central ones required to attract your fish quickly and effectively.

You might benefit by experimenting with dough and paste baits in contrast to using boilies for instance and experience the benefits of using more soluble baits and their advantages. The advantage of using pre-soaked pellet baits or soaking such pellet baits in amino acid based attractors need to be exploited and expanded upon too!

There are very effective natural flavours which are highly and actively stimulatory, as opposed to using esters and solvent type flavours. Even using predigested fish protein in solution with betaine hydrochloride and added salt, gives an interesting ‘alternative’ very effective flavour.

If your bait contains garlic, which is a very popular choice for catfish and carp, you have a bait which contains actually contains a stimulatory blood thinner with many other interesting qualities and many which are still unknown. The type of attraction or stimulation from the garlic can be enhanced and added to by using other extracts and additives also with such stimulatory properties. Even pineapple powder for instance.

Various mineral and vitamin supplements help here too and the salt form plant extract betaine hydrochloride is another example. You might wish to try celery extract alongside it with yeast extract too. Salts are highly stimulatory too and these have some involvement in to production and success of the popular ‘catfish soaps’ used in the States. (In fact fermentation of bait or bait ingredients is very effective.)

Your bait may contain honey, another very popular choice in homemade baits for catfish or carp. Refined sweeteners and energy sources such as honey, molasses and so on are very effective in baits, although some modern sweeteners and proprietary fishing bait sweeteners are extremely effective even in tiny doses in bait.

You bait may be based on desiccated ground chicken liver for instance. Chicken is a good protein for use in baits because its sustainable production for example, being fed on corn. This is in contrast to the use of fish and shellfish from the sea, or farmed fish fed on fishmeal and not vegetable sources.

In this case, the rate of demand is far outstripping the supply and using these ingredients for fishing bait may not seem that responsible when sustainable and very effective alternatives can be used as whole protein and amino acid sources in baits.

Many bait are severely limited in their fish attraction from range and immediate fish feed triggering capacity! Ideally you need that ‘extra something’ to get the carp and catfish etc far more stimulated into taking your bait and on a far more regular basis.

For example, all fish can actually sample and ‘feed’ on your bait before eating it by ‘filter’ feeding and sensing its water soluble elements in your bait. So in many ways they already ‘feel’ the effects of the bait before actually eating it. The more you can stimulate the fish like this using their own olfactory systems the better and especially at range too.

This way you are more likely to draw numbers of feeding stimulated fish into your swim. Ideally you will have the biggest fish competing between themselves for your bait. This feeding behaviour makes it far easier to hook them of course!

Therefore the real secret of a great bait is to give the fish amazing stimulation and benefits signals dissolved in the water even before the fish are even in your swim or near the bait.

For example: many powerful plant extracts and ingredients can be used, like betaine, chilli oil, salts, minerals, vitamins, liquid amino acids and predigested soluble meals as bait ingredients, all have this effect.

The author has many more fishing and bait ‘edges’ up his sleeve. Every single one can have a huge impact on catches. (Warning: This article is protected by copyright.)

By Tim Richardson.

For the unique and acclaimed new massive expert bait making ‘bible’ ebook / book:

“BIG CATFISH BAIT SECRETS!” SEE:

http://www.baitbigfish.com