Trout Fishing Techniques
March 11, 2008
One of the most popular trout fishing techniques is called trolling. Trolling is popular as far as trout fishing techniques go because on still bodies of fresh water like lakes and ponds, the act of fishing for trout is meant to be as relaxing and enjoyable as the act of catching trout is exhilarating.
Of all the trout fishing techniques available, trolling is one of the easiest to perform. It can be done by all experience levels from beginner to expert and by all ages from six to sixty. But don’t let this fool you. Although trolling is one of the easiest trout fishing techniques, it is also one of the most effective. A well-executed troll in a stocked lake will give you very satisfying results.
What you’ll need for trolling is a fishing boat equipped with oars or a motor for propulsion, your rod and reel, your troll (blade string) and a lure. You will let your troll and lure out behind your moving boat, using both the length of your line and the speed of your boat to determine how deep you’ll be fishing. When fishing anytime between spring and fall, in most lakes, you should aim for about 15 to 50 feet down from the surface.
Back To Fish School….Baitfish 101
March 10, 2008
Class Is In Session…. Baitfish 101
Okay.
So you would think that in this information age we fishermen and fisherwomen would have all the knowledge of baitfishing at our fingertips.
Evidently, some of us have been slow to enter this information age, so as a public service I am going to pass along some rather “common sense” information that apparently isn’t being absorbed by the fishing world.
This information is being sent, with the hope that if 200 people read this article and then they tell 200 people and so on and so forth,maybe, just maybe enough people will get the message.
I have enlisted Professor R. O. Tenone, the famous expert on natural fish carnage, to explain the use of “live baitfish” and it’s effect on lakes and rivers. We join the professor midstream on his lecture…..
…….”Zo class, as you can zee ze Goldfish, why making a very nice pet for ze vindowzil and bringing zmiles to zee faces of zee many kids, makes a very poor choice when uzing it azz bait for catching zee big one!”
“Vy you ask?”
Update Alaska: News From The Front
March 8, 2008
Stopped into The Fishin’ Hole the other day, which happens to be one of my favorite fishing tackle/outfitter/sandwich shops. (Talk about your one stop shopping!!)
I was looking for a good 8 weight line to take to Alaska.
What I came away with was an update from about four different people who had just returned from Alaska.
Now, for those of you that have been following my upcoming maiden trip to The Last Frontier -you know that I am headed up there in a week from now. So it was nice to hear some first hand reports on what is going on, and how the fishing is doing.
Of course I am a little concerned that right there in the tiny town of Shady Cove, Oregon–there were four people who have recently been to Alaska right there at that given moment in that fishing tackle/outfitter/sandwich shop! If you take the ratio of those four people at that given time and the odds that they had been to Alaska and multply that out over the entire nation…. well….. you come up with a pretty dang high number!
And to think I was worried about the mosquitoes.
Fishing The Henrys Fork….Bobs Secret Hole…
March 5, 2008
Meanwhile back at the Yurt…
Having been humbled by “Hank’s” famous trout, it was time for a little change of scenery.
My little girl, and kids in general, don’t seem to understand catch and release. Granted, I really hadn’t caught anything to release,(except that seven.. err.. “FIFTEEN INCHER”) it was still hard to return to the yurt and explain my lack of fishing success. She would greet me with her big “daddy can do no wrong” eyes, and expect me to tell her of the “whopper” that got away.Especially since she is used to fishing success, since most of her fish are caught in Grandpa’s Pond, where it is basically a “live well” ready to pull out the catch of the day on a moments notice. So, when daddy comes home with no fish or no fish story, you can see the “daddy just dropped a peg” look on her face. BUT-kids being kids, she is ready to go on to the next thing, and that meant a bike ride through the state park to the old Harriman Ranch.
There Is Bass In The Grass
March 4, 2008
Did you ever plan that fishing trip to the big lake, then when you got there you realized you had no idea where to start fishing? Too much ground to cover, right? Let’s break it down a bit to simplify it.
The first thing you want to look for is cover; something that ‘looks’ like a good place for a bass to hide. Depending on the time of day, they will probably be there.
Quite often, you will see stumps and reeds sticking up out of the water. These are easy and obvious spots to fish, and you should definitely fish them. But you also want to look for something that is not always so obvious: grass.
Sometimes you will see grass sticking up near the shore line, and it may extend out from the bank several feet, maybe even many yards. You want to fish these areas very thoroughly early in the morning and in the evening. Also, fish these areas as well on cloud covered days and cooler days when the bass may stay shallow.
We Can Put A Fish On The Moon
March 2, 2008
This aint exactly rocket scientry boys…
I picked up a copy of The Oregonian this morning and read a story about how the ocean conditions this year are killing off seabirds in record numbers. Murres and cormorants are washing up on shore like pieces of Northwestern forest driftwood, mainly due to starvation.
Most biologists are blaming a lack of cooling ocean winds which are causing warmer Pacific ocean temperatures, which are causing a lack of phytoplankton production, (which then need to stirred up from the ocean bottom by the wind),which are causing Anchovys and Sardines to die, which are causing the birds to go without food…….which is causing the birds to die!
Whew.
Scientists seem to have a pretty good grasp on this theory, and even though solution wise,they are pretty much held at the mercy of Mother Nature, the explanation still makes perfect sense.
Of course, any discussion of warming of anything on this planet wouldn’t be complete–without the blaming of global warming. Which of course has been blamed for everything short of the scalding temperatures of McDonalds coffee.
Fishing The Henrys Fork - Box Canyon
February 29, 2008
It is easy to get intimidated by world class rivers.
I guess the Henry’s Fork was a little intimidating to me.
With the old rule of thumb being that “eighty percent of the fish are caught by twenty percent of the fishermen”, I was pretty much convinced that at least for this trip I might fall into the “eighty percent” of fishless fellas category.
Nonetheless– being the supreme optimist that I am– I was up at 4:30 a.m. and heading upstream to Box Canyon. This is a stretch below Island Lake Reservoir, that is classic “tailwater” and a good place to fish with nymphs.
Now for those of you not familiar with the term “nymph fishing”, I don’t want you to race to the Henry’s Fork with your Armani waders and Italian leather fishing vests–because you might be a tad disappointed to find mainly a bunch of fish crazed males when you get there. Nymph fishing is the term used for the stage of life, when an aquatic bug is residing beneath the surface of water, usually on the bottom.
If that gets you excited–then you have potential to be a fly fisherman. But leave the Gucci duds at home!!
Fishing The Henrys Fork…. First Test
February 28, 2008
All the books written on fly fishing all mention the Henry’s Fork.
They say you owe it to yourself to fish the Henry’s Fork, at least once in your life.
As far as scenery goes–they are right. The river around Last Chance is a high mountain meadow meandering stream. The backdrop of the Tetons to the east, and the lodgepole pine covered hills, make you feel like like you are standing in a Trout Unlimited calendar. July looks good!! It is quite wadable and fisherman friendly. It is all “catch and release”-so I guess it makes it quite fish friendly also. The guidebooks also say that when a hatch comes off–you better match it exactly, otherwise these fish will ignore your bugs and turn your evening into a casting session.
My evening was a nice little casting session.
At least I had the calendar backdrop to look at.
None of the bugs I tied on worked, and when I cast right in front of the “fish rings” and drifted over them, it was like a game of find the trout.
Ring here–cast, ring over there. Ring there–cast, ring over here.
Fishing The Henrys Fork….With Jack Karpawack
February 26, 2008
Jack Karpawack here.
Well, as I suspected, there was no high speed internet available from my “YURT” on the Henry’s Fork. So, I am back in the friendly confines of Southern Oregon ready to give you some recent fishing reports from the famed Henry’s Fork of the Snake River…
…Pulled into Last Chance, Idaho on Monday afternoon.A hot and dry July 18th.
An extensive search of the “nine or so” existing businesses in Last Chance, left me in quite a quandry.Or was it a quagmire?? I’m not sure.
Anyway.
Which of the four fly fishing/ outfitter shops should I go into first for information, a license, and a lightening of my wallet. Actually, it was five choices if you count the general store==or six if you count the “Angler’s Lodge- which also has a fly shop.Heck, who knows the restaurant and the remaining businesses may have carried fiahing gear also!!
At least my keen sense of business tells me that a fish or two must have been caught in this area.Either that, or the largest black market fly tying operation is run out of this “bump in the road” here in Idaho.
The Fishing Mark of Mablethorpe on the East Coast of England
February 24, 2008
MABLETHORPE, is a beach resort on the East coast of England. The beach is a long stretch of clean sands with some great fishing. The clean and flat ground is excellent for Flounder and the catch here is often flatfish. However, Smoothounds are also a regular visitor to the beach and offer great sport and exciting fishing. Both the Smoothounds and the summer Bass can be found at a distance of only 30 - 40 metres or so and a cast of this length can bring you some large fish.
Other species to be found here are Eels, Dabs, Sole (late summer and mainly at night) and both Codling and Whiting come close in at the end of the year (October onwards).
Best baits would be crab without a doubt! Crab is the best for Smoothounds and Flounder although Lugworm and Ragworm are also good especially for Bass and for enhancing the appeal of a spoon rig for the Flatties.
