Scary Fishing Tales That Just Might Keep You Off the Water?
It’s about time to plan the perfect fishing trip with your family or your buddies to a well deserved and peaceful fishing lake, stream or river. Or maybe not.
Fly Fishing in a Pandemic
The world is changing all around us. March Madness was cancelled. The NBA season was suspended. So was the remainder of spring training and the beginning of the Major League Baseball season. Schools are closed.
Just Like Water: The Case for Bad Beer
One of my most beloved angling traditions is the lunchtime beer. The midpoint of a float trip is largely an excuse to open a can of Miller Lite. If the morning has been a good one, then it’s a well-earned celebration. If the fishing has been off, then it’s a commiseration with your own bad luck–and just as well-deserved.
Top Ice Fishing Lures You Need
In last year’s Ice Fishing Guide, In-Fisherman Editor In Chief Doug Stange picked his Top 10 Ice Lures of All Time. He focused on lures for larger predatory fish: walleyes, pike, bass, lake trout. His choices were (in no particular order of preference) the Acme Kastmaster,
How to Buy a New Fly Rod on Any Budget
Walk into any fly shop from the Rockies to the Catskills and you’ll see a wall or two full of trout rods. Most shops carry a half-dozen brands at least, and the prices range from the bare-bones value of rods like the ECHO Base, all the way to the pricey G. Loomis Asquith. I’ve spent my entire life chasing trout in the American West, and I’d like to think I know a thing or two about “good” trout rods.
Vertical Fishing for Walleyes
Walleyes seem genetically programmed to react to rising and falling prey. One of the easiest meals for any predatory fish is crippled or dying baitfish. They often dart upward erratically, only to lose momentum and drift downward. This up-and-down movement draws attention. For this reason, vertical lure motion is fundamental to walleye fishing.
Finding Walleyes
If there’s one thing you learn in over 30 years of walleye fishing, it’s that good spots are good spots, sometimes even independent of the season. Along the location trail, it’s common to uncover spots that look appealing on a lake map, but don’t attract walleyes because they lack baitfish, vegetation, or other critical habitat; or sometimes it’s as simple as the structure is in the wrong part of the lake; or it’s not exposed to the right current or wind.
Drop Shot Smallmouth
Drop-shotting smallmouth bass has come of age, no longer a niche finesse fad, but a mainstream tactic as critical as crankbait mastery or flippin’ in many situations. Even dedicated power fishermen acknowledge the facts and always have a spinning rod or two on board.