My Personal Fishing Tips
Make Yourself a Better Person and Much Better Trout Fisherman
Keep our streams and lakes clean
If you know me you know I take a garbage bag with me every time i go out on the river. Just to pick up anything I see. Stuff like bait containers, cigarette packs, food papers, and any other trash that most people just walk by. I just pick it up and you should too. EVEN IF ITS NOT YOURS!!! A beer can weighs 12 oz. full. It weighs a half oz. empty... Scrunch it up and stick it in your pocket. This is the main reason that so many POSTED signs are seen today. DO YOUR PART!!!
Be nice to other people
Help when you can. You never know when it will be you that needs a hand, and some day you will. Ive lived my life believing that what goes around comes around and believe me... it does.
Dont Be a Hog!!!
Now first and foremost... I don't slay trout. The trout slayer is just a funny nickname my son gave me. I rarely keep any trout and if I do it's because I'm going to eat it. Taking a beautiful picture of one and throwing it back to catch another day has always done more justice for me. One of the most important tips I give it.... don't be a hog. If you need 10 Bluegill for a meal, don't keep 20. If you dont eat trout, dont keep them to show off. Take a picture and throw them back. I once worked with a man who told me that he had over 100 trout in his freezer. He said that they were freezer burnt and he was putting them in his garden for fertilizer. What can I say?
Keep a camera in your vest all the times. Even if you catch a trophy, measure the length, measure around the body, TAKE A PICTURE, and you can have a beautiful mount made. You need not kill it. If you do catch and kill a real trophy fish, have you any idea how long it will take to replace that fish. I am 70 years old. If I kill a 20in smallmouth it probably will take 10-12 years to replace that fish. I may be dead by then. Put what you will not use back for others to enjoy. Enough preaching, on to the real trout fishing tips that work.
1. Find the Fish
I can hear someone say, "Is he serious?" as serious as a heart attack!! If you are going to fish, make sure there are fish to be caught. Find out if they are what you want to fish for. One day I was fishing a farm pond. On the way back to the car I came across a man with two little boy fishing this very small pond. I ask if he was enjoying himself. He said no, that he had been fishing for an hour with no success. Can you imagine the great time the little guys were having? This pond was way too small and shallow to hold fish. It would freeze solid in the winter. I told him about the bigger pond just around the hill. It's a simple thing. If you are going to fish, find where they are, and what kind they are. If you have a computer, bring up the State Fish Commissions website in Pennsylvania by clicking here. There is a lot of very good information to be had on these sights. Stocking schedules, special stream maps, and all commission lakes and streams, etc. No computer? Go to your local tackle shop. Most will be more that helpful, especially if you purchase a few items. See a nice farm pond. Stop and ask. BE POLITE. All they can say is no. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Take an afternoon drive and stop at your local stream or lake. Talk to the people that are fishing. Get a copy of your states angling magazine. Most states have them, and they are most helpful. See what I mean about finding the fish. If you want a catfish supper, you have to go where the catfish are. There is nothing harder than trying to get a youngster interested in fishing when he is just setting there looking at the water. An hour of your time can pay off, with big dividends for everyone involved. Another find the fish trick... DON'T BE AFRAID TO WALK Getting just a hundred yards away from the crowd can mean the difference between a great day and a bad day. Remember, fish move constantly in a stream or in a lake. If you are not doing well, try another spot. Find the fish...they're not gonna find you..!
2. Get the right tools for the job.
3. Go When the Time is Best
WHEN IS THE BEST TIME?? If I knew that for certain, 100% of the time I sure would not be setting here doing this. I would be in Alaska right this very minute on a $6,000 guided trip, or maybe in New Zealand. You can however... get some idea of when it's best to fish and I think I know the best ways. I know that for the working guys (most of us), it is go fishing when you can...! Great idea! Going when you can is far better that not going at all. Find a place close to home where you and the kids can get to for a few hours. Spending time on the water is the most important thing. If your line is not in the water somewhere you wont be catching many fish. Use Solar tables, you can get a solar table from most tackle shops, or in most fishing magazines. I can not say that they are 100%, but I do believe that they help and Ill use any edge I can legally. I do know for certain that the solar schedule affects the birds, deer, and other animals. I see it every day at my feeders. I reason, it will also affect the fish. I also know that the weather has an affect on the wildlife, thus the fish. Ever see how the deer come out to feed early when a storm is approaching? Its the exact same for the fish. I have found that my best days of fishing seem to be when the solar tables say that it should be good, and in conjunction with a up coming weather change. That change being that night or the next day. That day before just always seems to be the best. When that big storm front comes through, the sun is shining, the sky is crystal clear, you can see those big jet contrails in the sky, and its just one of those great to be alive days. Take Mom, the kids and dog and go for a hike, because rest assured.... you won't be catching many fish.
4. Picking the Right Bait
Something has to be on the end of the line to attract the fish. Bottom line...I think we all understand that. There isn't enough room or time to go into all the different things that you can use. The old tried and true is just a plain old worm. There just isnt anything that works much better for a greater variety of fish. Minnows are next. There are not many fish swimming that wont eat a worm or minnow. This does not mean that you can't catch fish on anything else. Just go to the fishing section of your local store. There are literally hundreds of different artificial baits to choose from. You make the choice. If I were to use an artificial lure, I would choose a small rappela, a banjo minnow in a smaller size, a Swiss swing type spinner, or little Cleo type spoon. Get these in several color combinations. The big thing is getting that bait in the water and learning how to use it. You just dont throw out a spinner and reel it in. You have to learn through experience how the lure acts in different water conditions and different retrieving methods. A lure will never look or act the same when it is thrown up stream and retrieved down, or thrown down or retrieved up. Most artificial lures work best when thrown across and slightly up stream of your position. Imparting a little action to it by twitching the rod tip while retrieving and letting it swing with the current will usually get some results. Learning to use the lure by time and observation of your lure and watching others is the key. Getting to where you are CONFIDENT is probably one of the biggest secret to catching fish and being a good fisherman, no matter where you fish, what you fish for, or what bait you use. I have a close friend that uses nothing but a lure called, ”little Cleo”. You should see the fish he catches, both trout in the streams and bass in the lakes. Do you think that I can do any good on this lure? Not on your life. Another friend who fly-fishes only uses one certain fly. He fishes different sizes and colors of this fly, but always the same fly….same results. It comes down to learning how to use your preferred bait and having the confidence that, THAT BAIT WILL CATCH FISH FOR YOU. I personally prefer to use minnows, both salted and live. Live minnows are best, but are a pain. They are hard to transport and keep alive in warm weather, but they sure catch fish. I use them for trout, bass in the lakes, with and without a bobber. I do well, but I know how to fish them and most of all, I have that CONFEDENCE in that bait.
Read the Water and Presenting the Bait
Reading the water... what does he mean? It's the ability to go to a lake or stream, look it over and determine where the most likely place for a fish to be so that you can present the bait in the best manner. In a lake this can be tough without knowing what the bottom of the lake looks like and what is there. You should look for points of land going out into the lake, treetops, stumps sticking out of the water, and any other structure. These always seem to attract fish, and usually are a good place to start. If you want to invest in a topographic map of a lake they are available. Again, talk to other fisherman while your there. That is where you get your best information. As you have probably figured out by now, I do most of my fishing on streams for trout and small mouth. When you are on a stream or river, look for eddies caused by bank erosion, rocks along the edge, and most important, large rocks in the stream. These rocks do not have to be actually visible. Even the visible swirl caused by large submerged rocks makes for a great place for a fish to hold. It is not often that you will find trout in the fastest current or the slowest current, especially the big trout. They are lazy and prefer the edges of eddies where they meet the faster water. Over time, and with experience, you will be able to just look at a section of stream and be able to say to yourself that if there is fish there, that's where they are. This is what I call, "reading the water". Presenting your bait, minnow, worm, or artificial! After deciding where your fish are on your section of stream, put your bait near those places nearest you first, and then work out in an arc. Is there a nice rock and swirl just a few feet in front of you? Throw above and slightly over the rock, bringing your bait down, around, and through that eddy section caused by the rock. Try to slow your retrieve down while your bait is in the eddy. Do this several times so that you cover each section of the eddy. If I am using a minnow I will actually stop my retrieve and let my bait set in this back wash. Do you see a water chute in casting distance? That is water rushing between two rocks. Throw your bait right into this shoot and keep your bail open until you see you bait being taken into the swirl at the end of the cute. Immediately take up the stack in your line and wait for a strike. When you are retrieving your bait, and at the end of the swing, when the bait is below you, stop your retrieve and let your bait just hang in the current for a 30 or 40 count. Because all streams and rivers are different there are hundred different ways to present your bait on any given section. On of my favorite ways to present my bait and how I catch the really big fish is the, "dead drift" method. Look for a likely looking spot above your position. Throw above the chosen spot and just let you bait drift down into it. Only retrieve enough to keep the slack out of your line. If your line stops, raise your rod tip to sense what is there. With experience you will know the difference between a snag and a fish. Another BIG point! Keep enough weight on you line to keep it deep. You will almost never catch a large fish if your bait is not near the bottom. If you are not getting a few snags, you will not be catching the nicer fish that that stream has to offer. I know, snagging is a pain, we all do it. TRUST ME, keep your bait or lure deep. This is the main reason that I fish bait. Lures are too expensive to loose. In fishing lures for big fish I snag and loose too many. If I snag while using minnows or worms I have just lost 1 hook, 1 swivel, and how many split shot I may have on the line at that time. Maybe 30 cents total, not $2.79 for a spinner or $4.49 for a plug. Be sure to fish the holes below riffles, no matter how small the riffle may be. On larger stream, with larger riffles, make sure you fish all eddies throughout the riffle. Make sure to try the area 15 to 30 ft ahead of where the riffle starts. These are all great spots for stream trout and smallmouth. DO NOT FISH TOO FAST Spend some time. On a large riffle area of a larger stream, I may spend 2 hours. Why... because these are the areas that attract and hold the most and larger fish. I hope that this was not to boring. I also hope this will help to get you started in a sport that everyone can enjoy, be it a day at a farm pond with wife and kids or a trip to one of our beautiful streams with your best fishing buddies. May your "EXPERIENCE" be something to talk about, remember, and bring you back for more!
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