Tips To Catch Fish

Go where the fish are. Pick a place you'll enjoy spending several hours outdoors and a place you'll have a high probability of catching fish. Public lakes, rivers, and ponds are usually your best bet. Talk to other fishermen at your local sporting goods store to get some tips on locations for fishing. Many local municipal parks stock fish in ponds that are available for anyone to fish, and the fishing is usually pretty easy and quick for the beginner, though these are often crowded and somewhat dirty. Never crowd other fishermen and encroach on "their spot. Secluded spots around ponds or levees outside of town are good bets. If you're wandering in the woods looking for a place to fish privately, make sure you're not tramping onto someone's private property, or that you're fishing in a place that doesn't allow it. If you live on the coast, ocean fishing is an available option. You'll need a separate license for ocean fishing, and gear specific to the kinds of fish you'll be catching in the ocean. The techniques are largely the same. Find a place where deep water meets shallow water. Most fish big enough to catch will spend most of the day in deeper water and come into the shallows to feed. They won't spend much time swimming around shallow water, however, so you'll want to find the places they'll come up for quick food sorties before darting away. Look for reedy and log-filled beds in lakes that are close to sudden drop offs. Bugs generally congregate in cutbanks and tiny inlets, as well, making them popular feeding grounds for fish. Mussel beds are popular catfish hangouts. Fish at the right time of day. Most freshwater fish are crepuscular feeders, which means they come out to eat at dawn and at dusk, making sunrise and sunset the most effective fishing hours. If you're an early riser, get out there before the sun's up to enjoy a morning fishing session. If the thought of setting your alarm clock for 4:30 gives you the willies, aim for an early evening fishing plan. Choose the right bait. Synthetic baits like Power Bait are made to resemble and smell like live bait, and pro shops are filled with all manner of elaborate and iridescent plastic lures. But because fish eat insects and aquatic life, there are also lots of effective live baits to choose from if you want a more authentic fishing experience. You can either purchase live bait at the local angling shop, or you can gather your own. Many anglers gather worms in a lawn after a rain or late at night with a flashlight. You can find grasshoppers along the banks of a stream, or try catching minnows with a net and bread crumbs or a minnow trap. Keep them in a bucket full of water and keep them alive for as long as possible.Each fisherman has a favorite bait, but the old standard are tough to beat. Consider using: Worms, Salmon eggs, Grasshoppers, Shrimp, Liver, Bacon, Cheese.