Tag Archives: Trout

Fishing the Great Lakes

Fishing the Great Lakes:

Together the Great Lakes contain the biggest mass amount of freshwater in the world. These lakes lie between the United States and Canada. They are home to many different fish species. Some of the most common inhabitants of the Great Lakes are the various species of Trout, Salmon, Perch, and Bass. However, each lake is known for its own popular fish species.

For over 100 years these lakes have housed the world’s largest freshwater fisheries, containing both native and introduced species. Commercial fishing has declined in the past 100 years, but still relies heavily of the fish of the Great Lakes. On each lake there are fishing charters that go out of the many ports each day.

Lake Michigan:

The waters of Lake Michigan vary according to the area. The northern part of the lake is colder and less developed than the other lakes. Around Chicago and Milwaukee, the lake temperatures are warmer and the area is heavily developed. Lake Michigan offers nearly 100 different species of fish, the most popular being Salmon and Steelhead. Other fish located here are Alewife, Bowfin, Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Bloater, White Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Chinook Salmon, Lake Herring, Coho Salmon, Northern Pike, and White and Yellow Perch. Some of the ports and marinas of Lake Michigan are; Port Sheldon, Benton Harbor, Chicago, Winthrop Harbor, Frankfurt, Aradia, and Grand Haven.

Lake Huron:

The second largest of the Great Lakes, Lake Huron is located on the US-Canada border. A popular port on Lake Huron is Port Austin, where the Trout fishing is said to be the best in the world. There are also many other freshwater fish such as; Bass, Whitefish, Salmon, Steelhead, Walleye, Perch and Brown Trout. Lake Huron also has underwater ledges and deep water reefs that are bursting with fish. Ports and marinas located on Lake Huron are; Port Elgin, Port Huron, Port Austin, Port Franks, Grand Bend, and Saginaw Bay.

Lake Superior:

Lake Superior is the largest of all of the Great Lakes, and has the most surface area of any lake in the world. This lake holds enough water to submerge both North and South America under 1 foot of water. It is the coldest and deepest, reaching over 1,300 ft in depth. With most of the land surrounding still left as forest, it is not heavily populated. There are more than 60 different fish species located in Lake Superior. Some of these species include; Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Bloater, Carp, Chinook Salmon, Lake Herring, Coho Salmon, Lake Sturgeon, Lake Trout, Lake Whitefish, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Rainbow Smelt, Ruffe, Round Whitefish, Smallmouth Bass, and White and Yellow Perch. Some of the marinas and ports located on Lake Superior are; Port Wing, Duluth Seaway Port, Twin Ports, St. Louis Bay, and Presque Isle Marina.

Lake Erie:

Lake Erie produces the most fish of all of the Great Lakes, and is the second smallest. The most prized game fish of this lake is the Chinook Salmon, also known as the “King Salmon”, recording up to 47” and 44lbs. Lake Erie also houses Yellow Perch, Coho Salmon, Brown Trout, Carp, Lake Herring, Lake Trout, Lake Whitefish, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass, White Bass, Walleye, and Yellow and White Perch. It is said that there are Jumbo Perch now in Lake Ontario. Some of the popular marinas and ports of Lake Erie are; Port Clinton, Port Stanley, Port of Monroe, and Port of Erie.

Lake Ontario:

Lake Ontario, best known for its salmon and trout fishing, is located between Upstate New York and Canada. There are several different species located in this lake; Atlantic Salmon, Carp, Brown Trout, Chinook Salmon, Coho Salmon, Lake Herring, Lake Trout, Lake Whitefish, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass, White Bass, and White and Yellow Perch. This lake holds many species that are unique to the area and not found in the other Great Lakes. These species include; Atlantic Salmon, American Eel, Bullheads, and Sunfish. The actual fishing season starts as soon as the ice melts. Most of the fishing in the spring takes place near the shore where the waters are warmer. The best trout fishing is in April, May and June. Once July hits, it is time to fish for Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, and steelhead. These are located farther into the lake. There are numerous fishing charters at the local Lake Ontario ports. Kingston, Little Sodus Bay, Niagara River, Oswego, Sackets Harbor and Port Dalhousie and a few of the ports surrounding Lake Ontario.

For the competitive angler; there are many fishing tournaments scheduled year round on the Great Lakes. Most occur during the spring, summer and fall months because of the ice on the lakes and the frigid temperatures in the winter. Once you have reeled in your prize winning fish, SellUrBoat.com offers helpful tips to clean and preserve your catch.

Kristy Bateman is the writer for Earl’s Blog on SellUrBoat.com.. These articles are unique and helpful to anyone interested in learning about boating and or fishing. Please visit SellUrBoat.com to view a variety of unique articles from Kristy. SellUrBoat.com is The Simplest Solution to Buying and Selling ‘Ur’ Boat.

Fly Fishing Tackle ? What is It?

Fly fishing is a specific type of fishing and therefore requires a specific type of tackle. But to those who are new to fishing may ask “what is it?” and what is the difference between them? The general idea of the difference is that different fish can be caught because of the different tools used. The most common associated fish caught with fly fishing tackles is trout and salmon, however pike, bass and carp are being caught as well. This article will help you understand what fly fishing is and the different attributes involved.

The basic apparatus in fly fishing is the fly rod, fly line and artificial fly line and fly reel. Each part of the tackle is vital in its own way in catching fish. The fly rod is used to cast the fly line. Depending on the type of fish caught and the environment being fished the lengths will vary between 7 to 10 feet. Normally the fly rod will be made from fibreglass and graphite and in some cases bamboo. By using different materials, the rods are lighter, heavier, stiff or bendy. Again fly rods are made from materials that suit the intended purpose.

The fly line part of the fly fishing tackle is a plastic coated line that can be found in many different floating and sinking styles in a variety of thicknesses. They range from colour to colour in many cases are bright in order to attract the prey intended to be caught.

A major part to fly fishing tackle is the artificial flies. They are made by tying hair, feathers, fur and other natural and synthetic materials onto a hook. In the past natural flies were used however, in today’s fishing tackle synthetics are proven to be much more popular. Depending on the type of fishing being caught and the environment in which you fish different flies are needed. Artificial flies range from bright vibrant colours in order to stand out, or darker colours to match the environment.

The fly reel is an important attribute when one looks at fly fishing tackle. The reel is used to hold the fly fishing line. The reel is the fundamental attribute when one considers fly fishing. Depending on the fish caught depends entirely on the reel used. For bigger fish the reel becomes more of a necessity where gears and thicker line is needed. Whist for smaller fish a manual reel can be used.

So far you can now see the apparatus needed to carry out and as you can see if will add up to a small investment. This is why shopping online for your fly fishing tackle will financially better. I have found many websites that offer a wider selection at a lower price when compared to high street stores.

From this short article it is clear to see that fly fishing tackle consists of a fly rod, fly line and artificial flies and finally a fly reel. They are all designed and work in cohesion to catch certain fish you will not be able to with a normal rod, which is why fly fishing has that edge you cannot get in normal fishing circumstances.

Find out more about Fly Fishing Tackle

Making Easy Carp and Catfish Baits – 16 Expert Tips for More Fish

Have you ever wondered why one ‘lucky guy’ seems to catch the biggest fish again and again, while the majority of other fishermen just seem to get the average catches? Why is that?

Many of us would love to catch those big catfish, carp, bass, trout etc, every time we go fishing. It may just be that the guy is a genius angler, but real fishing success is often simply about using bait that is more effective than most other anglers baits at getting round fishes natural fears and resistance to eating it!…

But how can we achieve this? Well here’s a few of some of the best most proven methods of increasing your catches, especially for carp and catfish, but can be applied very effectively to many other species:

1. Try taking a look at the most popular baits where you fish and eliminate any similarity your homemade bait has with them. This especially applies to your own unique fishing bait recipe or formulas. This removes the fishes ‘danger reference points’. This gives your bait a massive ‘edge’ because the fish will not associate your bait with danger, anything like as much as with the baits everyone else are using – after all , the whole point of a bait is simply to fool the fish into taking a hook into it’s mouth!

2. Make your bait different sizes, odd shapes, density, colors, flavors, with different attractors and additives, the more different to the usual bait the fish experience, the more effective your bait will be potentially be. Making your own bait puts the odds back in your favor and the power back into your hands – literally!

3. Absolutely pack your baits with “powerful ‘free amino acids’ (the type bodybuilders use as a liquid protein food supplement.) Even if you’re making a proprietary bait using a ‘commercial base mix’ that anyone can purchase, this will really set your bait apart and make it preferable to fish!

4. Pack bait with minerals, vitamins and trace elements – get a health tonic supplement from your local drug store. Very few people realize that these are in fact amazing attractors in their own right! An astounding edge is to massively increase the attractiveness and soluble nutritional message leaking from your bait, by soaking your hook bait in a mixture if fresh liquidized sweet corn, molasses and liquid protein food (so-called ‘free amino acids.)

5. It has been proven that when tested carp were provided with a number of complete foods providing all their nutritional requirements, preferred the food that had been sweetened. E.g., try sweetening honey and molasses, fruit sugar (fructose), or saccharin.

6. Add Sea salt to your bait – this is one of the most proven and unbelievable fish feeding triggers, and a great nutritional taste enhancer full of minerals. Nearly every animal and fish cannot live without salt!

7. For many fish including catfish and carp, pack your bait with fresh good quality digestible protein – it doesn’t need to be a large proportion, no more than a third of your bait. Ingredients such as trout pellet powder, meat and poultry meals, blood meal, fish meals and shellfish meals and liver powder are great.

Add energy rich carbohydrates to provide balanced nutrition and binding. For example, soya flour, semolina, or even ordinary white or brown wheat flour. For carp try adding some wheat germ it has excellent properties!

8. Add a small amount of oil to your bait for a balanced nutritional value. For catfish this could be you favorite fish oil. For carp the best is probably pure cold pressed hemp oil; it’s natures ‘super food’ and is one of the richest and most healthy and nutritional oils known to man and fish!

9. Give your bait some protein that’s been ‘pre-digested’ or ‘hydrolyzed.’ This is easily achieved by adding a small amount of proprietary powder, like pre-digested liver, fish meal or shellfish extracts to your bait; available from bait companies all across the worldwide web.

This method is incredibly effective, improving the fish attractive ‘amino acid profile of your bait. Fish are extremely efficient at detecting and utilizing amino acids, and you may well find that with the higher the rate of inclusion of these highly fish digestible ingredients, your catches and numbers of bigger fish soar too!

10. Allow your bait to ‘cure’ for 3-4 days prior to use; this allows your bait to start to ferment and lets bacterial enzymes release alcohols, sugars and increase the level of pre-digested proteins in your bait; all amazingly extremely good fish feeding triggers and attractors. See the difference this makes to your catches!

11. If you use ‘boilies’ rather than paste or dough baits, try chopping edges off your hook baits as if other fish have been ‘playing with your bait and taking small chunks out of it; this can really make the bigger fish ‘feel’ safer when they sample your hook baits – try piecing your hook baits right through to release the maximum attraction even from the center of your bait; it really works!

12. Try wrapping your bait and your hook (except the point) in a paste or dough. Try a mixture of ordinary flour, marmite, parmesan cheese, garlic granules, curry spices, sea salt, eggs and liquid amino acids – this mixture is pure ‘dynamite’ and really makes them bite!

13. One of the most successful paste / dough baits of recent times is made from a mixture of fish meal and a couple of pre-digested ingredients like pre-digested, liver powder, fish meals, pre-digested yeast powder or pre-digested shellfish extracts. Try binding them together with just ordinary flour and loads of liquid amino acids / protein food supplement.

The addition of corn steep liquor powder or liquid, and pure betaine is a massive boost to the power of attraction. (But use no eggs, or water in the mix; just ‘liquid protein’ amino acids. (A body building supplement.) This can be used as bait ‘soaks ‘and dips for pellets and boilies too. Experiment with different proportions to get your dough / pate to hold and last on your hook for different times. When you ‘bait up’ or ‘chum your swim with free baits like this, to attract the fish – hold on to your rods!!!

14. Add natural ingredients to your bait, for example, bird foods contain all kinds of fantastic foods fish love, like insects, seeds, grubs and worms. Many times, these encourage smaller fish to find your bait, and these can lead the bigger ones to your hook. Spirulina is a great attractor that attracts natural aquatic animals to your baits. These gather and form a brilliant natural ‘free bait’ so attracting fish ‘naturally!

15. Add a ‘crunch factor’ to your bait – many fish have food detectors inside their gills, and allowing fish to experience eating your bait like it was natural food, e.g., like shrimps or snails or mussels, is a great way to ‘turn them on’ and get more confident feeding and more bites!

The ‘chitin’ in this hard material is also a massive natural dietary requirement for carp, essential for healthy liver function, healthy blood, and repair and growth of skeletal structures. It is also high in nitrogen; an important building block of protein, also essential for repair, growth and other processes and functions in carp.

16. If you use ‘boilies’ for carp catfish, etc there is a simple method of improving them: If you buy your baits frozen in a bag, then open them up and let them defrost and ‘warm up for 3-4 days in advance of fishing. This gives bacterial enzymes the time to start breaking down your baits and releasing very attractive alcohols, sugars and amino acids for example. It really works well for better catches and can even promote quicker bites!

Making and adapting your own and readymade shop – bought baits to make them different to the rest, and far more effective than normal is a science, and a very satisfying ‘art’. When you have armed yourself with a range of great baits, the confidence you feel is awesome and especially satisfying when you’ve designed them made your own homemade baits yourself; and they catch your next ‘personal best!’

I could show you many real life examples of how using edges like these and others, have resulted in fantastic big fish catches.

I love researching and writing about fishing bait because it is one of the fastest short-cuts to success! I am into bait in a big way, having even researched the subject with a Ph.D biochemist to reveal the reasons why and how baits really work to catch fish. I’ve found that a little bait knowledge can catch you more fish, but the more you know – the more consistent your catches can become – and the more big fish you catch!

The truly amazing thing is, ANY angler can achieve truly amazing catches with just enough of the right bait knowledge! Then other anglers will wonder what his ‘secret to success’ is…

The author has many more fishing and bait ‘edges’ up his sleeve. Every single one can have a huge impact in improving your catches…

By Tim Richardson.

For the unique and acclaimed new massive expert bait making / enhancing ‘bibles’ ebooks / books:

“BIG CATFISH AND CARP BAIT SECRETS!”

And: “BIG CARP BAIT SECRETS!” (AND “FLAVOUR, FEEDING TRIGGERS AND CHEMORECEPTION SECRETS”) SEE:


http://www.baitbigfish.com


Tim Richardson is a homemade carp and catfish bait-maker, and proven big fish angler. His bait making and bait enhancing books / ebooks are even used by members of the “British Carp Study Group” for reference. View this dedicated bait secrets website now…

Fishing Holiday Destinations Around The World

Fishing has grown into an extremely popular sport around the world. It has to be one of the most relaxing and satisfying sporting holidays to go on. There can be very few things more satisfying than taking a relaxing fishing holiday break in a peaceful location staying in a holiday home and participating in the sport that you love.


Scotland has some of the best salmon fishing in the world and a top fishing holiday destination. Many Americans come on vacation to Scotland to catch a Scottish salmon. During the day they fish in beautiful surroundings and at night many stay in a holiday cottage of farmhouse. That way the fishermen can get a taste of the local culture and cuisine, with many taking their caught fish back to their holiday cottage and cooking it themselves.


Trout fishing is popular in England with fishermen trying their hand at fishing a local river and staying in a rental cottage. Sea fishing has also become extremely popular in the U.K and many people now take their holidays down in Devon to go sea fishing. While fishing in Devon many fishermen bring their families with them and rent a holiday home to stay in during their vacation.


France has always been a popular tourist destination for its beautiful beaches, countryside and food. It is now also a favourite destination for fishermen going on weekend break fishing trips. Carp fishing is a popular French fishing holiday and some fishermen now go fishing to France on long weekend breaks. They find it a whole different world from the hustle and bustle of their normal everyday lives and find that it makes a relaxing holiday.


Many fishermen stay in local holiday homes and gites that are available to rent direct from their owners. When staying in these gites, they use them as a base to explore the rest of the countryside in the location that they are staying. There is nothing better than catching a fish in France and eating it with local crispy baguettes and locally produced French wine.


Europe provides many different types of fishing holiday and whether it be fly fishing, sea fishing or course fishing you are able to find a fishing holiday to suite your requirements and budgets. The beauty about staying in a holiday cottage or holiday home when on a fishing holiday is that you can pay as much or little money as you wish to secure your accommodation.


The more experienced fisherman looks for a different kind of fishing holiday. A popular location for catching catfish, char and trout is the French Rhone-Alps region and it is considered the kingdom of lake fishing, with slow, quiet water as well as rushing torrents.


The Ebro is the longest river in Spain and runs from the Atlantic coast in the north, to Spain’s Mediterranean coast, 130 km south of Barcelona. Many fishermen come here for the legendary fishing. They stay in holiday cottages and farmhouses and many combine the fishing with trips to the beach or cultural touring.


Iceland is also an extremely popular destination for fishing holidays. For those fishermen with a bigger budget for their fishing holidays, they may go on a fishing and safari holiday in South Africa staying in one of the holiday lodges. Others prefer to go to Yellowstone National Park in the USA gives and combine fishing with white water rafting. The truly adventurous fisherman may go fishing in the remote wilderness of Australia’s Northern Territory might appeal.

Andrew Gibson is MD of Direct Holiday Bookings. It is one of the fastest growing on line holiday home rentals websites. To see an example of why Direct Holiday Bookings is growing so rapidly have a look at Fishing holiday accommodation