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Fishing Strategies

How to Play and Land Your Fish (part Two – Setting the Hook)

Now, you really can’t hope to land any sort of decent fish unless you’ve set the hook properly. As a general rule, it’s better to wait a little rather than set the hook too soon.

When you are ready to set the hook, bring in all the slack line, bring the rod tip down and point towards the fish, or where you think it’s likely to be if you can’t actually see. Bring the rod up sharply, and the chances are that you’ve hooked your fish.

Of course, that’s neccesarily a very simple, basic description. Setting the hook consistently does require a certain knack, which comes only with experience and practice. Some species, those that grab your lure and run, are easy to hook, almost to the point of self-hooking. Others, which suck and nibble, can be a problem.

Catfish for example will have a few chews, then swallow your bait down. Carp, and other “sucking” species hold the bait gently between their lips, and they should be allowed plenty of time to suck it in before you tighten the line and bring in your fish. Perch, bluegills, sunfish, and other panfish will bite nervously at the bait. These nibblers require lots of patience and self-control.

Many anglers just can’t wait, and as soon as they feel a few light “pecks” or “knocks” strike back. This simply jerks the hook away from the fish, and loses your bait. It’s nuch better to wait till you feel a strong tug, or feel the fish move away with your bait. Then a sharp lift of the rod will often set the hook. You will learn from experience when the tugs are strong enough for you to strike.

The larger the fish, and the larger the hook, the stronger the yank needed. And to confuse matters slightly, speed in striking back can sometimes be essential. For example, if you’re fishing surface lures, you should strike as soon as the fish hits the lure. Waiting even a fraction of a second could lose you the fish. Often these fish will hook themselves, but the added pull from you will set the hook firmly. Even when trolling, when we are expecting the fish to hook itself, it’s wise to give the rod a good firm yank.

Water conditions can often determine the timing of setting a hook. For instance, in swiftly moving water, the trout doesn’t have much time to decide wether or not to take a dry fly. When he does decide to take it, he does it with a rush, often hooking himself in the process. In still water there is much more time for him to look at what you are offering and take it slow. In these conditions trout will rarely hook themdelves, and you must strike quickly to set the hook.

When small wet flies are used, the line friction alone is often enough to hook the fish. In nymph-fishing downstream, raising the rod tip smartly will generally be all that’s required at the moment the hit is felt.

Some fish are slow, deliberate hitters, so your strike should be delayed. For example, when an atlantic salmon takes a dry fly, let him turn after the rise, and he’ll hook himself when the line tightens.

Finally, to hook a fish, your barb must penetrate the fish’s mouth, and for this reason it must be sharp. A good angler will test his hooks for sharpness before use. He will keep a small whetstone in his tackle box to hone his hooks as needed. And if that’s too much trouble, hooks are cheap. Never use old, worn, blunt hooks. For the sake of a few cents you could lose “the big one.”

Chris Haycock is an information publisher. One of whose many hobbies is fishing, of all types. Also researching resources to help the angler. For details of one such amazing resource go to:
http://www.lostflyfishingsecrets.com

Fishing Tips

The Best Bass Fishing Lures to Use

Is there one lure that will work best for all type of bass fishing? Veterans of this sport fishing will be quick to tell you that it really depends on why the bass is striking the lure. It could be an instant reaction to a foreign object in the water, an attempt to defend their territory against what is seen as a predator or because the fish wants something to eat. It is highly unlikely that the bass would be trying to defend its territory unless you cast out your line near a nest. Therefore, a bright and shiny lure would grab attention, as would one containing food.

 

Most of the time the best type of lure to use for fishing bass is shad. However, most shad grow larger than bass, so you need to look for the threadfin shad, which are the main food of bass. Shad tend to be deep in the water during the summer months, which makes it harder for the bass to feed on. This is one time of the year when you are most likely to be really lucky in catching bass because of the scarcity of the food source. You also have to realize that bass are most active during the afternoon hours and do not actively hunt for food once the sun goes down.

 

Another good lure for catching bass is carp. During the spring, there are a lot of newly-hatched carp in the waters on which bass do feed. During this season, they would be easily attracted by a gold or bronze colored lure shaped like a carp. If there are a lot of carp in the water, though, for the bass to feed on, you will have a hard time getting one to nibble or bite on your lure.

 

During bass tournaments, you can choose to use a worm, spinnerbait or topbait. Each of these has its advantages and disadvantages. Most bass fishermen like to use crankbaits because of their versatility. You can fish them from anywhere, such as on top of the water, right down to the bottom or somewhere in between. If you want these lures to suspend, then you can add weights to them.

 

You should make sure your hook is sharp and don’t automatically assume that split rings will last forever. They will get rusty, which will weaken them and cause breakage. You should inspect them regularly and replace them with new ones as soon as you notice any damage. Think about the depth of water that you are fishing in when choosing crankbaits. In a river that is 10-12 feet deep, you should use a crankbait that runs at least 15 feet. Using a light line will also let your lure go deeper.

 

There are different materials in lures as well. Plastic lures are very light and are easier to throw, but wooden ones have more buoyancy in the water. If you are fishing in really cold water, then your best bet with a crankbait lure would be to use a flat sided one and if the water is not clear, use a lure that rattles to attract the attention of the bass.

For more information on bass techniques, bass fishing tricks and other bass fishing related topics visit http://www.BassFishingTechniques.net

Fishing Tips

The Best Bass Fishing Lures to Use

Is there one lure that will work best for all type of bass fishing? Veterans of this sport fishing will be quick to tell you that it really depends on why the bass is striking the lure. It could be an instant reaction to a foreign object in the water, an attempt to defend their territory against what is seen as a predator or because the fish wants something to eat. It is highly unlikely that the bass would be trying to defend its territory unless you cast out your line near a nest. Therefore, a bright and shiny lure would grab attention, as would one containing food.

 

Most of the time the best type of lure to use for fishing bass is shad. However, most shad grow larger than bass, so you need to look for the threadfin shad, which are the main food of bass. Shad tend to be deep in the water during the summer months, which makes it harder for the bass to feed on. This is one time of the year when you are most likely to be really lucky in catching bass because of the scarcity of the food source. You also have to realize that bass are most active during the afternoon hours and do not actively hunt for food once the sun goes down.

 

Another good lure for catching bass is carp. During the spring, there are a lot of newly-hatched carp in the waters on which bass do feed. During this season, they would be easily attracted by a gold or bronze colored lure shaped like a carp. If there are a lot of carp in the water, though, for the bass to feed on, you will have a hard time getting one to nibble or bite on your lure.

 

During bass tournaments, you can choose to use a worm, spinnerbait or topbait. Each of these has its advantages and disadvantages. Most bass fishermen like to use crankbaits because of their versatility. You can fish them from anywhere, such as on top of the water, right down to the bottom or somewhere in between. If you want these lures to suspend, then you can add weights to them.

 

You should make sure your hook is sharp and don’t automatically assume that split rings will last forever. They will get rusty, which will weaken them and cause breakage. You should inspect them regularly and replace them with new ones as soon as you notice any damage. Think about the depth of water that you are fishing in when choosing crankbaits. In a river that is 10-12 feet deep, you should use a crankbait that runs at least 15 feet. Using a light line will also let your lure go deeper.

 

There are different materials in lures as well. Plastic lures are very light and are easier to throw, but wooden ones have more buoyancy in the water. If you are fishing in really cold water, then your best bet with a crankbait lure would be to use a flat sided one and if the water is not clear, use a lure that rattles to attract the attention of the bass.

For more information on bass techniques, bass fishing tricks and other bass fishing related topics visit http://www.BassFishingTechniques.net

Carp Fishing Equipment

A Beginners Guide on Essential Carp Fishing Equipment

If you\’re a beginning carp angler, this guide is for you. Here, you\’ll see what carp fishing equipment you\’ll need before you get started. You can choose to start out with a single rod kit (using the stalking method) or you could use a 2-rod or 3- rod static system; the 2 or 3 static rod system is the more popular of the two, but the choice is yours to make.

Carp Rods Beginning carp anglers usually don\’t want to deal with carp rods which require making long-distance casts. You\’ll probably do better with one of the all-through action carp rods that you can buy. A 12\’ rod is a good choice for a beginner. It\’s easy to find a wide range of beginner rods online, but you can also find them in a lot of tackle shops.

Carp Reel For carp fishing, a baitrunner reel works best; these reels let the carp run out the line once they grab the bait, preventing your rod from being pulled into the water when the carp try taking off with the bait. These reels also have the advantage of being easy for beginning carp anglers to handle.

Audible Bite Alarm This handy piece of equipment lets you know when you\’ve got a bite with a visual signal and an audible alert. Look for one which offers adjustable volume.

Rod Banksticks Your carp rods will need support, so you\’ll need to find some rod banksticks. Look around for the stainless steel screw-in type, because they\’re easier to get into dry or hard ground. It\’s best to avoid using aluminum rod banksticks because they\’re nowhere near as strong, sometimes bending when you work them in.

Line and Carp Rigs A 12 lb-test fishing line is probably the best line for beginners to start with. A wide variety of different types of hooks exist, and which one will be best for you depends on your rig. You can choose from the prefabricated carp rigs that you can buy, or you can make your own fishing rig.

Landing Nets and Unhooking Mats Landing nets can help prevent damaging your fish as you haul it in. Use a net with a fine mesh because a coarser weave can damage your carp\’s scales. Removing the hooks from your catch sometimes also causes damage, but you can prevent or reduce this by using a quality unhooking mat.

Bite Indicators A bite indicator is a great addition to any carp fishing kit; these tools can help you figure out where the fish are going and what they\’re up to.

Carp Bait Of course, you\’ll also need some bait. Bait shops everywhere offer carp bait boilies, but you can also make your own carp bait. Just choose from one of the many successful recipes you can find online.

P J A Allan is a keen carp angler and is keen to help beginners and experienced carp anglers. He has created a web site dedicated to carp fishing tackle, carp bait and carp fishing tips. For more tips, reviews, bargain carp tackle visit his site.