Learning how to fish a lake after heavy rain is less about picking a lucky lure and more about reading water that just changed. Runoff pushes stained water into the lake, forms a mud line, floods the grass and shifts where baitfish and bass are holding. Fish the edge where things meet, match your lure … Read more
The safest way to release a fish without hurting it is to keep it in the water as long as you can, wet your hands before you touch it, support its whole body with both hands, and let it go only when it swims away strongly. Most damage happens in the ten seconds between the … Read more
To keep fish fresh after catching, kill and bleed it right away, bury it in crushed ice or an ice slurry inside an insulated cooler, and keep the cooler drain plug open so meltwater drains away. Gut it as soon as you are back, dry the flesh thoroughly, then refrigerate for two to five days … Read more
Learning how to clean and fillet a fish step by step takes about 20 minutes for a first-timer and gets faster fast. You scale it, cut out the guts, run a sharp knife down along the backbone, and end up with boneless fillets that taste better than anything out of a foam box. A fillet … Read more
To catch trout in a mountain lake, find the cold, oxygen-rich water first, then match your bait to the depth where trout are holding. Small spoons, spinners and worms work for most beginners, and a light spinning rod lets you feel the soft take that high-elevation trout give. A first trip takes about an hour … Read more
To catch catfish in a lake at night, you do three things well: pick a spot where deep water meets a depth change, use a strong-smelling bait like chicken liver or cut shad, and set a rod in a holder with a clicker so you notice a bite without watching the line. Most of the … Read more
You can catch walleye from shore. They feed in water as shallow as 3 feet along a bank in low light, and on a good evening a jig-and-soft-plastic or a slip-bobbered leech will produce fish you never had a boat to reach. Learning how to catch walleye from shore is mostly about picking the right … Read more
Learning how to fish with live worms for panfish is mostly about three things: a small hook, a bait that matches what panfish actually eat, and the patience to wait for the bobber instead of striking at the first twitch. Thread a whole red worm or a nightcrawler chunk onto a size 3/0 long-shank hook, … Read more
A bobber does two jobs for you: it holds your bait at the depth you choose, and it tells you the moment a fish takes it by moving. Get those two things right and you can fish a dock, a weed line or a deep channel with the precision most people never get from hand-feeling … Read more
The fastest way to learn how to tie a fishing knot that holds is to master one dependable knot and use it every single time. For beginners, that knot is the Palomar: make a loop in the line, tie an overhand knot inside the loop, feed the whole standing end through it, wet it, cinch … Read more