Saturday, May 26, 2012

It Is A Pleasure To Make The Homemade Fish Bait

The most popular homemade fish bait are probably "Doughballs." They're easy and inexpensive to make, and easy to put on your hook. Doughballs are probably my favorite homemade fish bait. You can simply mix together pieces of old white bread and tuna juice to make tasty doughballs the fish will snap your hook after. Or, buy some cheap, premade dough at your local grocery store. Make up one-inch round balls out of the dough. Then, place them in a sealable container and pour tuna juice over them.

Homemade Fish Bait
Allow them to soak until you're ready to use them. To make a tastier treat for the fish, mix in some cheap shredded cheese. It also gives the doughballs a nice, bright orange color that will help attract the fish by sight.
  
You can make and experiment with many different ingredients for doughballs. I've used flour, cereals, peanut butter, hamburger, ground sausage, bacon bits, bologna, cheap canned cat food, and a variety of other ingredients to make my homemade doughballs. Just make sure that, whatever recipe you come up with, the dough is firm enough to shape into balls.
  
Then, to use doughballs as a homemade fish bait, simply mold one around your hook and cast it into the water. If you don't get a hit within several minutes, the doughball will become soggy and fall off your hook. But, that's usually not the case. Usually, some hungry fish will come along and devour the entire doughball while it's still on your hook.
  
How To Make Catfish Bait - Homemade Recipes
  
The simplest of all cat fish bait recipes is the age-old hot dog. Simply cut up the hot dogs into one inch slices and push them up into a treble hook. Now you can stop there, but one of my favorite additions to the old hot dog catfish bait is to get a mason jar several days before going fishing and putting the cut up (one inch slices) hot dogs into the mason jar. Then thoroughly cover the hot dogs with garlic salt. Put on the lid, shake the jar ever so often and keep in the fridge until ready to go fishing. Cats love 'em and I'm sure you will too.
  
Next on the list of catfish bait recipes is the grand-daddy of all catfish baits, and that is the time-tested chicken liver. People have been catching catfish on chicken livers since the beginning of time. The only problem with using them is that they are slimy and fall off the hook easily when casting out into the rivers and lakes. So here's a simple 20th century fix that will keep those chicken livers on the hook.

If you own a dehydrator, you just cut out some wax paper to fit your dehydrator trays and then lay out the chicken livers flat onto the wax paper on the trays. The chicken livers will take about three days total to dry out. You want them to dry to the consistency of beef jerky, pliable yet dried. For an added plus, sprinkle some garlic salt over the chicken livers as they are drying. Another great catfish bait recipe that will have you cleaning catfish for supper.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Is Your Fishing Rod The Right Kind To Land The Big One


If you are contemplating the purchase of a new fly fishing rod, you may think you already know exactly what it is that you want to purchase. However, if you are unsure as to what is the best way to go about deciding on your investment, consider the information below before making your purchase.

The 4WD is packed, the family is ready to go, and the fish are biting along the coast. What a dream! But is your fishing rod and tackle the right kind to land the big one? We offer advice on choosing the right surf fishing rod.

There are numerous considerations when buying the right gear for surf fishing including – wait for it - your age. That’s great isn’t it – even fishing can make you feel older.

Basically, you have three categories of surf fishing rods from which to choose: lure rod, bait rod, and a combination of the two.

Bait rods can be used for casting lures, but they are primarily designed for fishing with bait.

Rods with medium actions and fairly stiff tips make good tools for casting the heavy sinkers and large baits used in surf fishing.

Avoid using fishing rods with soft bendy tips because they tend to over bend on the cast. This diffuses the power from the cast, decreasing the speed of the bait as it leaves the rod tip. The end result is a shorter cast, which is not what you are after. The aim is to fish with a rod that will help you achieve your best possible casting distance.

Are you looking for new fishing rod? Do you need a high end fishing rod model or a budget fishing rod to start with? With many models to choose from, the guide below will help you research for the best fishing rod to fit your needs.

Fishing Rod Reviews is a great place to start your search. They provide detailed reviews of many different products. In their review of fishing rods they have chosen the Shakespeare Ugly Stik as the best inexpensive fishing rod , the Okuma Guide Select as best overall value, and the Shimano Cumara as the best Luxury fishing rod. Additional reviews can also be found at Epinions.com Fishing Rod Reviews and Outdoorlife.com Fishing Rod Reviews.   
Fishing Rods is a great source to do further research on the models you are interested in. Users of the products provide their personal experiences with the fishing rod models.

CHOOSING YOUR FISHING ROD:

Now that you have researched the review sites and user reviews, choose the top 3 – 5 you are interest in. This will be helpful as you now look for the best price.

LOOKING FOR THE BEST PRICED FISHING ROD:

You now have the top 3 – 5 fishing rod models that will fit your needs. Next we will find the best price for the models you liked. Amazon.com often has the best price on many items, since they also offer products through other companies. ConsumerSearch.com is another good resource for best prices when you click on their “Where to Buy” section.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Lure Fishing Is A Great Way Of Catching Fish Species

Lure Fishing
Catching fish depends on many factors – where and when you're fishing, the time of day, the season and weather, your experience level and your equipment. While anyone can wet a line and eventually get a bite, learning some basics about fishing technique will greatly increase your chances. You can have the best fishing rod and reel in your hands, but unless you know how to rig your tackle, how to cast, and work your lure or bait in the specific waters your fishing, at the end of the day, you'll just have a nice rod and reel in your hands.

Lure Fishing/Spinning
  
Lure fishing is a great way of catching a whole range of fish species from trout to tuna and bream to barramundi, although there are any different styles of lures available they are all designed for a different use.
  
Minnow Style Lures
  
These are the lures that look like a small fish with a metal or plastic bib that protrudes from the bottom jaw of the lure, this is what gives the lure its action. Minnow lures come in a huge range of shapes and sizes aimed at catching a wide range of fish, they are ideal for nearly all trolling and casting purposes. eg; Barramundi, tuna, mackeral, flathead, bream, cod, trout, tailor and salmon.
  
Soft Plastic Lures
  
These lures catch a wide range of fish in fact almost every fish that will eat a hard lure will eat a soft plastic, this is especially so with species such as flathead. Soft plastic lures have several great features that make them stand out from other lures. The main ones being that with the lures being soft when a fish grabs the lure it feel natural so if it misses the hook on the first attempt it is more likely to try and eat the lure again.
  
Other great features of soft plastic lures include that when they are fished slowly the rubber tail/s will still have an enticing swimming action. The main advantage of being able to fish these lures slowly is that it means that you keep your lure in the strike zone for longer Fishing with these lures requires the angler to work the lure slowly back towards them with short sharp twitches of the rod tip allowing the lure to settle each time before another twitch of the rod tip is made. Soft plastics are also great for fishing around snags as their single hook doesnÕt become snagged in the timber as often as lures with trebles.
  
Metal Lures
  
Designed to imitate baitfish these lures are ideal for fishing off the rocks and beaches as they are usually quite aerodynamic and heavy for their size which makes them ideal for casting long distances.
  
Swimming actions on metal lures vary from strong swaying actions through to little or no action at all. They are ideal for many species especially fast moving pelagic fish such as tailor, salmon, queenfish, mackeral and all tuna species just to name a few.
  
When using metal lures different retrieve speeds will appeal to different fish for example a slow to medium retrieve speed is very effective on tailor, trevally and salmon while a very fast retrieve is better for catching tuna, mackeral and queenfish.
  
Australia has great beaches offering anglers a huge range of species to catch. Beach fishing can be a daunting affair when deciding where to fish, as a lot of areas donÕt hold or attract fish. What you need to look for is commonly known as a gutter. These run along various parts of the beach and are best distinguished by darker deep looking water, where the waves break on the ocean side of the gutter and usually don't break again until they are across the gutter and closer to shore.
  
Gutters vary in size, shape and the distance that they are offshore, the best possible way of finding one is from a high vantage point such as a sand dune, from here the gutters will stand out clearly. These gutters are where the fish will move into to feed and seek shelter. The best times to fish these areas is around dawn and dusk and or a run in tide, once again berley will improve your results
An excellent collection of fishing tricks, fishing tactics, and fishing tips for bass, and much, much more! Catch more bass with these fishing tips.
  
As you clock more and more bass fishing hours you will acquire a knack for choosing the right lure and technique for the right situation. The best advice is to examine the fishing conditions, ask for guidance from anglers familiar with the waters you are fishing, and, finally, to try many different lures and bass fishing techniques until you discover what works most effectively.
  
Of course the real reason why we all enjoy fishing is the fun and camaraderie we experience with our friends and family. Some of the best fishing stories have nothing to do with how many fish were caught or what bait or technique was used. Use these fishing tips for bass to make those times more enjoyable.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Some Exciting And Helpful Ice Fishing Tips For Perch


Ice Fishing
Blatantly starting off with the first fact of freshwater perch fish, these species are abundantly found in the North American region and have 165 sub-species in its category. They are freshwater fish found in rivers, streams and also in some Canadian lakes. Yellow perches are usually the ones that are spotted in the NA lakes and thus are called lake perches. It is mostly during the winter season when the activity of ice fishing for yellow or white perches gets exciting. Sometimes many anglers manage to catch jumbo perches as well. You too, should definitely go for ice fishing and fetch a few perches for yourself! Moreover these species aren't very big in size and they tend to team up in winter seasons. So that is the best time you can try your luck on the ice and gear and fetch a school of them for a good meal! To become a successful angler all you need to have is some handy tips and along with that some know-how on the gear techniques to get a fish bite your bait!

Perch Ice Fishing Techniques and Tips
  • Perch fish generally swim at the bottom of a freshwater body. Hence bottom of a river can be a great spot to fish for them if you really have excellent angling skills to go about doing this task.
  • If you can prepare the perch baits in minnows, cut the heads and tails of the minnows and feed them to the perch. They will dole out to be a great bite for them.
  • Big size perch fish swim in dense waters, whereas ones which are small-sized swim in shallow waters. So once you have prepared the bait, depending on the location you are situated at, dip your bait deep down into the bottom of the water or let it remain floating on the surface.
  • Today many anglers have advanced equipment and make use of electronics like GPS systems and sonar systems to check the spots for perch fish beneath the thick ice layers. Some people have even come up with their own techniques of using underwater cameras for perch fishing.
  • Perch fish are very aggressive and finicky when it comes to eating habits and hence they take a while to adjust towards eating the bait that has been offered. The best way to know when they calm down is to be patient and observant till you are rewarded with a big meal on your hook for which you will feel happy about.
  • Another tip to share regarding perch fishing is to at least carry more than 2 sets of fishing rods equipped with different lures. Make sure one of the rod is a plain hook and has some weight attached to it. This method is called jigging, wherein, one of the rod is used to bring the perch close to the bait and the other rod attached with minnow as a bait is used to distract the fussy and picky fish around.
  • Under the subject of yellow perch ice fishing tips, make sure you utilize hooks which have a sharp needle-like appearance. It is important because when the perches bite the bait they can easily get nicked to the hooks only because they are sharp and pointed.
  • Another technique you can implement is to drill holes in the layer of ice but in a zig-zag pattern. This will give you more space and time to fish for the school of perches instead of sitting around one drilled hole and waiting for those shy creatures to angle your lure.
Some Other Ways to Ice Fish Perch

Although fishing for a perch with the right line and gear sounds very pleasing, remember when it comes to ice fishing no fish literally comes to the hook all by themselves. To be smart and find your catch right beneath that thick layer of ice, you surely will need some real tips and some crucial techniques too. So have a look at them below.

Locate their Move!
Finding the location of perch fish is the biggest task. For that you need to study their environmental behavior. Like for instance, with the changing weather, perch changes it's location from one place to another. So if you fish for them in the shallow weeds where the ice isn't too much, you will not have to spend a lot of time looking out for them. In such a case, going in an early winter season is a good idea.

Perches tend to move to deep waters in mid-winters and again in late winter and spring times; all the shoals move to dark bottom bays and spawning areas. So these are the perfect places you can drill perch holes in the ice and sit around fishing for a good lot!

Jigging for a Catch
Well when it comes to perch fish, the two most important things to note is the location for fishing and the presentation needed while you drop the lure. Jigging happens to be the best presentation for a school of perches that too during an ice fishing season. Are you wondering what jigging is? In simple words, it's a way to make your fishing rod dance. When you drop your lure in the water, raise it after every 5 to 10 seconds which will stimulate the moves of a bait fish. This is a very common presentation and works quite often while ice-fishing for perch.

Just one last quickie I wish to add to the list of perch fishing tips; always remember that perch are a good catch during daylight hours and are rarely found during the night. But the best way to capture them is to have a good presentation, an excellent location and last but not the least, great equipment and delicious-luring bait! Enjoy Fishing!!