Saturday, April 28, 2012

Have A Great Time Fishing For Carp Fish


Carp Fishing
Carp is a common name given to a number of species of fish that vary widely in size and appearance. Most of the fishes belonging to this type are freshwater fishes, which means that they are found in lakes, rivers, ponds and other water bodies. A particular species of carp that we are all familiar with is the goldfish (Carassius auratus), an ornamental species found in aquariums. However, not all types of carps are that small and a big carp can weigh as much as 17 kg.

Did you know that the carp is not native to North America? This exotic species of fish, native to parts of Asia and Europe, was brought in from Europe during the late nineteenth century and released into several water bodies in North America to promote carp fishing as a sport. This endeavor was successful as today it has grown to be one of the most popular sports in the United States. Carp fishing is also popular in countries like Canada and Mexico and in other parts of Central America.

Carp Fishing Tips for Beginners
Research well to locate the water bodies where you are most likely to find a good catch. Before you visit a lake, river or any other water body, try to find as much information about it as possible.

Carp is a fish that is easily tempted by the bait and bites into it in no time but if it doesn't like what it bites into, chances are high that it would immediately spit it out. The trick to catch carp is to design the bait in such a way that once the fish bites into the bait, it is unable to free itself from it.

A great way to improve your chances of a catch is to pre-bait the area prior to fishing. Pre-baiting is nothing but introducing a few particles of the bait that you intend to use for fishing, in the area you want to fish. For example, if you are fishing using creamed corn as bait, then you can throw a few pieces of the corn on the water surface for a few days before the day you wish to go fishing. This technique helps because the fish begin to recognize the particular area where you spread the bait as a feeding area and so on the day you are fishing, they are less likely to think twice before biting into the bait that you have attached to the rig.

While fishing for carp, remember to use different types of baits such as corn, dough balls, worms, cheese, bread pieces or even homemade carp bait recipes can do the trick. You can even use bait flavors available in the market. A good idea is to dip the bait in orange juice because carps love the flavor. Also, using bright-colored baits can often help as it attracts the carp.

An important factor to consider while fishing for a big fish such as carp is the size and strength of the rod. Use a rigid rod that is made of a strong and durable material and is capable of supporting a minimum weight of 50 pounds.

Remember that carps are clever and so to outsmart them, you need to be clever too! Also, when it comes to rigs, using a hair rig is best recommended as it prevents the fish from spitting the bait, after it has been swallowed. Choose baits that are devoid of barbs to prevent the fish from spitting it out.

An interesting fact about carps is that unlike most other species of fish that are caught by a bait that is submerged in water, carps are caught by baits that float on the surface of water. This is because in nature, carps feed near the surface of water. Also, to make the bait appear as natural as possible, it is recommended that you use baits of different sizes. This way you can attract more fish.

Before you cast the hook for fishing, throw a few pieces of bait on the water surface to attract fish. Once the fish begin to show up and start feeding on the bait, it's time for you to cast the hook. However, remember not to cast the hook exactly at the spot where the fish are feeding as this might scare them. Instead, cast the hook a little distance away from the feeding area and then slowly bring it in place.

To know the exact spot where you have immersed the fishing line, attach a float to it. A float is made from a light material and floats on the water surface.

Once you have made a successful catch in a particular area, carefully make note of the exact spot so that you can come back for more fishing. This also applies if you have pre-baited an area.

If you land up with a big carp and find it difficult to handle, just use a dark-colored cloth to cover its eyes.

It is recommended that you wear gloves before removing the fish from the hook. Also, if you are fishing carp just for fun and do not intend to eat them, then release them carefully back into the water.

If you are truly serious about carp fishing, then it is best that you arrange for a boat and use it to try your luck on territories that others haven't been to before instead of fishing only from the banks of the river.

This was all about some carp fishing tactics and tricks for beginners. Hope you find them useful in landing a good catch on your next fishing trip. Good luck and have fun!

Monday, April 16, 2012

A New Type Of Fishing Tools

The rise of fishfinders chartplotters has definitely brought changes to the way people catch fish. Before, fishermen relied only on clues that the water and the world gave them in finding a good place where they could go fishing. But now, high tech fish-finders like e.g. the humminbird 798c or the raymarine a70d have brought more excitement and fun to fishing adventures, providing anglers with more information about what's beneath the water.

A kind of fathometer, a fishfinder is a specialized type of echo sounding system that makes use of active sonar to detect fish and the surface and displays them on a CRT or LCD screen. This technology, which can also measure the depth of the water, generally works by converting an electrical impulse coming from a transmitter into a sound waves and sending the waves into the water. Once the sound waves hit something, they are reflected back and show the size, shape and composition of the object. The power and frequency of the transmitted pulse determine the correct extent of what can be detected.

Fishfinders normally come with a "Fish Symbol" feature; this displays a FISH symbol for any echo not attached to the surface or bottom. More specialized fishfinders have the capability to detect living or even dead fish thanks to a detection of a special type of fingerprint in echosignals.

If the Fish Symbol feature is disabled, anglers can learn to differentiate fish, debris, schools of forage fish or baitfish, or vegetation, among other things. Fish normally appears on the screen as an arch due to the changes in the distance between the transducer (the device that changes electrical impulse into sound waves), as the fish swims underneath the boat or as the boat passes over them. A display pixel will be turned on once the fish goes through the sonar beam's leading edge. The pixels are turned on at shallower depths when the fish swims in the direction of the beam center. Deeper pixels will be shown if the distance between the fish and transducer increases, while thicker line will be displayed if the fish is closer to the boat.

With the displayed images on the screen, anglers can identify ideal targets and lower their lures or baits to the right depth. The display on the screen allows them to differentiate between the fish they are aiming at and the bait fish.

Fishfinders came to existence after the integration between fathometers and CRTs for commercial fishing. Nowadays, there are a few big players in the fishfinder manufacturing game, namely Humminbird, Raymarine, or Garmin (GPS). Fishfinding fathometers eventually hit the sporting market thanks to the high power requirements of CRT brought about by the advent of huge LCD arrays. Currently, sporting fishfinders do not yet have a permanent record of the large ship navigation fathometer, which is only available in high end units.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Best Pike Fishing Techniques Are Going To Come To A Naught

Want to get a spike in your pike fishing endeavor? Well, obviously you just cannot go there and expect to catch how much ever fish you want, right by just putting the bait! For getting a good catch, you need a lot of things going in for you. Along with correct fishing, you need good baits and lures and loads of patience. Pike fishing is nothing different. Pike, as most of you might be knowing is a brackish and freshwater fish from the northern hemisphere and it is carnivorous. Akin to let's say bass fishing or trout fishing, pike fishing or northern pike fishing too, needs specific pike fishing techniques. Chances of a good catch increase if special pike fishing tips and techniques are used.

Northern Pike Fishing Techniques

Fishing techniques for pikes vary according to the season and the area where they are found, which is mostly near weedy waters. So, there are different techniques used when fishing for pike in summer and different techniques used when fishing for pike in fall.

Early Bird Season Techniques
By early bird season, I mean that it is the time when winter has got over, but the water is still cold from winter. At this time, the pikes are not as active and aggressive as they are in warm water periods. So to take things slowly, rather than large crank baits or spoons, using a 1/8 oz or 1/4 oz jig tipped with a sucker minnow or twister tail will be a good idea. Moreover, fishing on drop offs close to weed beds will be perfect. You can also consider setting a large sucker minnow or two beneath the bobber.

Plugging the Pike
When it comes to pike fishing, all types of plugs are useful. Shallow plugs, surface plugs, medium to deep divers and shallow running plugs. Shallow running minnow style plugs for pike are good, but there are other options too, like larger minnow shaped plugs (which are used for striper and muskie trolling) are great for catching pike, when it comes to both casting and trolling applications.

You Fall or Pike Falls?
Fishing with jugs tipped with minnows reasonably deep is one of the useful late fall pike fishing techniques. This is because the fish have slowed down their activity. In addition to this, fishing about 3 feet or less from the bottom will do the trick and you will catch the bait! When it is just the onset of fall, the pike is at the peak of its activity. In such a season, as per the pike fishing techniques, you can use large crank baits, spinners and spinner baits. For casting the crank bait, slowly drift along the shoreline. Don't forget to cast as you drift!

Rod with the Pike
Talking of pike fishing tips and techniques, another effective technique for catching pike is to ensure that the fishing rod has medium to medium heavy action. In case you are casting or trolling, a rod that can handle a heavy lure will be required.

Pike Fishing Tips

Pike fishing techniques cannot be replete without some quick, 'alluring' fishing tips and tricks to ensure that the rod doesn't remain in the water sans any catch. Take a look at some tips.
  • The best time to catch pike is either early morning, early evening or just prior to a rain storm.
  • Just by varying your pike fishing technique and method, you can get a nice catch.
  • Avoid using the same bait and the same kind of lure.
  • If you get a pike on your bait and it goes off or fiddles with it, have patience, it will come back. They play with the bait.
Last, but not the least, when you go pike fishing, make sure you are fishing in the right area and that is where pike is! Otherwise, even the best pike fishing techniques are going to come to a naught! That was all about pike fishing tips and techniques! Have I 'lured' you enough into pike fishing! All the best!

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Tips And Techniques On How To Catch Largemouth Bass

Largemouth bass (scientific name Micropterus salmoides, belonging to the sunfish family, is an attractive freshwater fish that most of the anglers envy. It is a state fish of Georgia, Florida and Alabama. Largemouth bass is known by various names in different countries. As the name signifies, it has an exceptionally large mouth. Another characteristic feature for identifying largemouth bass is blackish blotches forming a stripe along the length of the flank on both sides. On an average, an adult largemouth bass grows to about 40 cm long and weighs about 8 kg. However, the largest recorded largemouth bass is about 75 cm long and weighs about 11.5 kg.

Largemouth bass fishing is a favorable pastime for many of the hobbyists. Be it a single or a group trip, catching largemouth bass always brings about excitement to many people who love fishing. You can even try catching this sport fish in any of your outing trips by planning a proper spot. Let's take a look on how to catch largemouth bass.

How to Catch Largemouth Bass?

If you understand the basic largemouth bass fishing techniques, then angling for this attractive bass can be quite a lot of fun and rewarding activity. Seeing flocks of birds in and around the fishing area is a good indication for the presence of largemouth bass. So you can set your fishing spot in the particular location where the birds are present.

Following are some of the basic largemouth bass fishing tips that you can practice when you set out your day for a fishing trip:

Fishing Gear
In order to catch largemouth bass, the most important trick is using the right fishing gear and worms. Largemouth bass inhabit in both shallow and deep waters, depending upon the prevailing weather conditions. Hence, be ready with surface lures and deep-diving lures for catching them.

Worms
According to anglers, largemouth bass like colored plastic worms, which you can purchase from your local plastic worm suppliers. Try fishing for largemouth bass with these varied color worms. If you are unsuccessful in catching any of them with a specific worm color, try fishing by changing another worm with lighter or darker color. By doing so, you will hook them for sure.

Fishing Spot
Largemouth fish survive in a wide variety of freshwater habitats such as lakes, rivers and streams. If available, it prefers to hide under logs, plants, vegetation, rocks and other hiding places. Hence, catching largemouth bass in your hook may be a difficult task, unless you decide the spot carefully. The ideal fishing spot for largemouth bass is a shaded area with a vegetation. Set your lure in areas where there are rock formations or tree falls.

Fishing Time
Largemouth bass tend to remain at the bottom of the water during bright hours of the day. In short, they are very sensitive to light and prefer spending their time in the dark, cool and quiet water. Considering this, you can plan your fishing trip in the early morning or after sunset during summer. They usually swim around for feeding in low light conditions. And which also means that on overcast days, you can fish largemouth bass at any time of the day.

Well! This is a brief overview on how to catch largemouth bass. Without proper knowledge, catching them is very tricky. You may spend a lot of time running after them. So the next time you plan your day out for fishing largemouth bass, prepare fully and enjoy catching them.