by: Steve Sharpe

Besides the obvious supplies of rods and reels, there are really a lot of other supplies you should have in your fly fishing arsenal. It can make the difference between a great fishing trip and a so-so fishing trip when you have a variety of products at your disposal. So what types of supplies will you need to have on hand?

To begin with, you should have an ample supply of flies. When you are out on a river or stream, you will want to match the food source that is readily available to the fish. They are much more likely to bite when they recognize their normal food as opposed to anything else. When you have several flies available, you can adapt depending on what types of insects you see on your particular stretch of water.

You will also want to have a supply of different lines that you can use. Different lines are adaptable to different types of weather as well as different types of casting. If you have some particularly windy weather, you will want to change your line to adapt to the conditions and make your casting more productive.

Apparel is part of the fly fishing experience, and you’ll want to get the right supplies that will best match your situation. Vests, for example, are almost necessary for the avid fly fisherman. Fly fishing vests come with lots of pockets for you to hold your supplies in and have easy access to them at the same time.

Where can you get your fly fishing supplies? The outlets are everywhere. You can start with your local sporting goods store to find different brands and suggestions for various supplies. If you have a local specialty fishing store, these can be excellent places to get your fly fishing supplies. The people in these stores are also very knowledgeable in the sport and they can make suggestions as to what you should be carrying with you.

The Internet is probably the widest and most diverse place to shop for your fly fishing supplies. You have literally thousands of places that sell equipment for fly fishermen including fly tying supplies, various pre-made flies, lines, and apparel. Just do a quick search on your favorite search engine for fly fishing supplies and be amazed at the amount of resources that are at your fingertips!

Be creative when looking for fly fishing supplies. Ask other fly fishermen, talk online, and utilize the resources of fly fishing organizations. Once you begin amassing your supplies, you’ll be surprised at how addictive it can be!


About The Author
Steve Sharpe has been fishing for many years. There is nothing he likes better than spending a few hours on the side of a river or lake trying to catch the ultimate fish. To get your free 5 part ecourse on Fly Fishing please visit http://fishing.articleland.co.uk . He can also be reached for further information at his website http://www.articleland.co.uk

COMMON CARP FISHING BAIT – Powerful Bait Detection Secrets!
by: Tim Richardson

What about common carp? It does seem that if anyone had gotten their baits really right then many more of those ‘un-caught monsters’ in lakes etc would appear as if by magic instead of remaining un-caught for years. The full impact of DNA differences between many commons and mirror carp on catches are something that is mostly totally underestimated as well as the very subtle but potent effects of food item electrical fields which may or may not be present in fishing baits...

Apparently human adults can detect 30,000 smells and a child 10,000, which shows this chemoreception changes even with us. Some ‘natural feeding’ common carp may literally have no need to develop a capacity to detect other smells or tastes other than the natural. According to its DNA programming it may only need to detect perhaps 500 natural tastes or smells to fully exploit its natural food resources. It seems logical then that they will not be at all aware that our angling baits are food wherever natural live food is not used is bait. (In the past, silk weed has been known to catch fish, why should this be a surprise?) My personal results using live natural baits on a hook rig with conventional boilie baits gives a strong argument for using these natural baits as part of the approach to catch rarely caught fish.

The electromagnetic field given off by a bait may well cause response by changing the electromagnetic state of chemoreception and other cells which pass on this ‘signal’ directly to the brain possibly more by electromagnetism and not electrochemistry. I have personal experience of giving natural healing energy and studies have proven the ‘Reiki’ energy transfer actually changes DNA in positive ways, just as air pollution and water pollution does in negative ways in humans. This is fact.

Common carp having different DNA to mirror carp can easily have different requirements or parameters of electromagnetic radiation which they are evolved to detect emitted from their natural food. In fact it is very frequent that rarely caught natural feeding commons are hooked on a lobworm, bunch of red worms or on maggots such as the legendary ‘Herman’ of Warmwell UK fame. Why? Perhaps it's not just the amino acids given off or the movement of the bait which is detected with natural baits, but even more importantly, the living organism's electrical field emitted.

We are all 'batteries' as such, and have our own electromagnetic fields. Those closest to the physical body are the strongest, but there are other levels or layers like the layers of an onion which are far more subtle as we get further away from our bodies. One explanation of light, although it is far from being understood, is that it is electromagnetic radiation.

Now anyone who has had an 'aura photograph' taken will notice that the energy patterns surrounding you change colour, intensity and size according to your physical, mental and spiritual state at the moment the picture is taken. The Russians had for years been ahead of the rest of the world regarding this whole field and have extremely sensitive advanced technology for measuring these energies. Measurement is possible of mythical energies like ‘orgone’ ‘chi’ or ‘prana’ (life force or universal energy) as in those involved in 'natural healing' for example as in acupuncture, therapeutic touch technique, spiritual healing, Reiki etc.

Similar energy is also emitted very strongly when a talented person is attempting telepathy or influencing movement of objects using their minds. In this case the most ancient part of the brain are used which is the least understood, although many gifted psychics have developed their ability following head trauma involving the right frontal lobe of the brain. The amazing abilities of sharks use of electromagnetism and dolphins’ use of sonic pulses in food’s favourable detection demonstrate brains’ amazing evolution and even unknown potentials.

But why should fish’s attraction to electromagnetism in the form of luminescent coloured or light emitting boilies, pellets and plastic baits (and even lures) surprise us? Well perhaps there is much more than merely detection involving the ‘curiosity factor.’ What about the particular link to the fact that certain natural fish food items emit bioluminescence including bacteria in the case of shellfish for example and even certain types of algae.

In more physical terms, many known and unknown substances given off by anglers touching baits may well be significant. Due to our modern diets there is every chance that acids and such like are present in the skin in some individuals more than others as we excrete toxins and overloads of chemicals as our bodies are constantly trying to cleanse themselves. The skin itself is an organ interacting with our bodies and the environment after all. Is it possible that we can actually enhance bait attractiveness by boosting them with light emitting bacteria as well as butyric acid and yeast alcohols etc just by touching our baits? Does this mean certain individuals have more suitable diets or body chemistry for enhancing their baits more than other people as part of the complex equation in their success?

A major factor in fishing bait and fish farming food is its energy value after assimilation. (Remember that some food actually can generate stress, which is very energy draining.) Stress is indirectly one of the biggest killers of modern humans so diet and food purity and quality is very important to health and healthy energy levels.

Look what happens to fish which get hooked on particular compounds which affect their brain chemistry in negative ways for them. Both tiger nuts and peanuts can affect carp health and healthy nutrient intake, when eaten in virtual exclusion of other foods in certain fishing waters. These baits obviously make them feel good, but are bad for their health, much like the conventional human western diets which often are depleted and not high enough in essential minerals and amino acids for example, required to prevent many major diseases. Hemp affects the brain too but hemp is an amazingly nutritionally packed food ideal for both carp and humans. Many carp anglers will use hemp as a significant ground bait ingredient regardless of the water, conditions, natural food or anything else with good reason.

Like us humans, fish have evolved to be extremely efficient at extracting energy from the most available foods in our natural environment. The fish’s entire body, ability to move, the eyes, digestive system and chemoreception mechanisms etc have all been extremely highly evolved and tuned for this purpose. Attempting to replicate live natural food factors such as amino acid profiles, vitamin and mineral content, live enzymes, proteins and lipids etc, will still not deliver to fish the same energy values of natural food. The energy field of such a bait will be utterly different too. In some aspects of aquaculture, fish are not even fed artificially, but are left to feed on the natural algae and other beneficial factors as results of correct sediment preparation and water characteristics in a raising pond.

So many reactions involve using energy to digest and assimilate the food ingested, with boilies and pellets no matter how much they are ‘digestible’ and pre-treated with enzymes, they may still provide less energy than natural food after assimilation. No bait has been discovered that truly solves the limiting effects of bait ingredients; the nitrogen and amino acids requirements and limiting effects of these artificial foods.

But this is obviously just the tip of the iceberg of important factors in baits to be taken very consistently over time. For example, fish like humans are very much composed of water and minerals. Perhaps the impact of minerals in baits and live food (including plant material) are far more significant regarding biological energy supply and electrical field type food detection than we yet know. For example, demand for live enzymes to promote efficient food digestion and assimilation, or calcium needed for fish scales in common carp...

Perhaps certain ingredients that improve the fish’s ability to detect food item energy fields is more significant an edge than is currently realized. E.g. using astralagus root to boost the fishes’ immune system and general health will improve detection performance. There is also the effects of anti-microbial compounds found in all kinds of plant extracts for example, which are seriously effective ‘investigation triggers’ in baits. Garlic and onion oil are famous for their healing properties and fish-catching record. Eugenol from clove bud oil for example, is highly recommended to anesthetize fish in transport and is a very well proven bait additive. Menthol is a special case too. There is certainly potentially more to bait than meets the nose!

CARP AND CATFISH FISHING BAIT FLAVOURS – Natural and Synthetic Success For Big Fish!

Everyone seems fixated by fishing flavours. Commonly the question asked is “What flavour bait are you using?” For most fishermen, what matters is that they like their smell of their flavour, which is an interesting point for debate... The fact is among the diverse multitude of flavours used in fishing baits are some which stand out more than others, but few fishermen know how or why this is the case.

It is easy to buy a cheap flavour at Wal-Mart or Tescos and us it in your bait. However, what you are buying is very often inferior to more expensive flavours. For example, vanilla flavour has a myriad of grades or levels of purity, freshness and various solvents may be added (even water) and extraction methods will vary. Pure vanilla bean extract is extremely expensive. The genuine extract depends on very many volatile components which help explain part of its success. But natural extracts also contain other very stimulatory compounds which are vital to a top quality flavour and are easily detected by humans and fish!

It is common practice for flavour producers to ‘cut’ pure extracts and natural flavours, using a solvent or solvents like glycerol or ethanol alcohol for instance. Many things can happen to a flavour! Indeed the ‘aroma profile of a flavour, and its taste can be altered many times in many ways before it is bottled and consequently unleashed upon your fish as part of your bait. One aspect that might surprise you is just how bitter tasting many ‘sweet’ or ‘fruit’ flavours truly are. (Many flavours produced for fishing baits include an intense sweetener like Talin, or concentrated lactose or fructose.)

Flavours for the food industry are not all ideal for use in baits; their molecules often behave dramatically differently in water than in air so their effects on the fish will differ. Can you imagine sniffing in natural garlic extract in water? For a start you would not smell that distinctive garlic aroma as you would in air, as this is the result of a reaction with the air, not water. This also points to a deeper level of how many flavours or natural extracts work. They may also have hidden properties that you may not have realised. They sometimes have metabolism and circulatory stimulation properties, significant antimicrobial properties, preservative properties (low pH and alcohol for example), immunity stimulation, or even simulate or closely resemble nervous system or brain chemicals. (Even betaine HCL has antioxidant properties and citric acid has been used in many baits for years.

Yes, there’s so much more to flavours than meets the nose! Leading bait manufacturers have had to get increasingly innovative and technical to keep the effectiveness and standard of their products high against fast expanding competition for market share from smaller companies. Flavorists and food nutritionists, even marine biologists and fish scientists are employed for their skills. The use of fermenting sugars and esters is common.

The addition of amino acid products, palatants, and oils of savoury and fruit extraction in combination with natural fruit extracts, with new generation flavour enhancers and sweeteners in combination make many modern flavours a different class to most from the food industry. Combining different fruit esters to produce attractive flavours is a common practice, these days other solvents and substances are often added.

Among other ingredients, various acids, nature identical and synthetically produced flavour components identical to natural ones are combined with synthetic flavour components to produce a preferable profile and taste. The funny thing is that many flavours may be initially synthetically produced with synthetic and nature identical flavour components and then have the natural extract added to give it a more natural smell or taste. The cost of natural flavors can be extreme compared to synthetic and natural combinations. Volatiles like aldehydes and benzoates and hexanoates are included in many flavours. Some ‘volatiles’ you’d normally not dream of putting into foods of any kind except poisons! Many of the so-called ‘E-numbers’ are included and many are linked to mood changes in children with hyperactivity and so on.

Fishing flavours are all about your own personal confidence and real bait testing. If you think you have the very best of a type of flavour, you never know, there might be one that will catch you even more fish. Commercially available fishing flavours are evolving at an incredible rate. Even the ubiquitous “Tutti Fruitti” or “Scopex” or Strawberry variations are being challenged by cranberry and pineapple today with good reason. It is interesting to note that strawberry flavour ingredients can be reproduced synthetically using all the ‘volatile’ flavour components in natural strawberry, but which now can be synthetically reproduced. However, the additional aspects of natural strawberry such as its healing properties among others, will be absent.

The flavour possibilities in fishing are endless. For example, when you investigate flavours that are used in combination with ‘liquid food’ additives, to boost the nutritional value and ‘food’ signals of pellets, boilies, ground baits and even meats and live baits like maggots and worms... These days even sweetcorn, hemp, bread, worm and bloodworm flavours are available and used to even boost the taste and attraction of the real thing and may include real extracts of that food too!

The author has many more fishing and bait ‘edges’ up his sleeve. Every single one can have a huge impact on catches.



By Tim Richardson.
About The Author
Tim Richardson is a homemade carp and catfish bait-maker, and proven big fish angler. His bait making and bait enhancing books / ebooks are even used by members of the “British Carp Study Group” for reference. View this dedicated bait secrets website now...

Winter Carp Fishing Boilies Pellet and Paste Bait Tips
by: Tim Richardson

Many fishermen get an anxiety attack thinking about their baits in winter and rightly so! Most commercially produced baits are not made to be ideal winter baits but in part to fulfil typical customer expectations which lead to more buyer confidence in the bait. This produces quite a few baits having constant features which may not necessarily always lead to the best bait option.

For example, such a winter bait will last more than 12 hours in water as a functional durable hook bait. Or exude a smell which is recognisable to a buyer to fit a current fashion (like pineapple for example. Or have a fair degree of initial hardness when first immersed in water and even have a dry centre. Such baits require a period of soaking in order to allow the bait to open up its texture and structure enough to release good soluble attraction into the water. Often winter baits can be so over-flavoured that they repel fish. Over-flavouring of baits works but can be a disadvantage on many waters where the same bait and flavours have been used too much to keep a real edge.

Many effective winter baits having a more open texture, containing more coarse ingredients like bird foods, (egg biscuit, hempseed, wheat germ meal etc,) the levels are often in less than ideal proportions that could lead to a more attractive and digestible bait. A bait with an open soft structure and capable of leaching soluble attractors while retaining attractive nutritional signals and taste factors is often much better than a dense textured bait which inhibits the dispersal of its attractors even if its a high protein milk protein bait. Very important taste signals which are received by carps taste receptors can directly influence the longevity of feeding on your bait and even if it is eaten at all.

Many baits will have high proportions of finely milled flours. In some carp studies it was found that carp preferred to eat coarse food items such as cracked maize, as opposed to finely milled maize flour made into dough balls. (This has much to do with nutrition being lost during the milling process – taste the difference between milled oats and natural oats for example.) Cracking open a piece of natural maize releases more concentrated flavour than the dough balls made from maize flour.

There has been a long growing trend towards use of so-called ‘food baits’ by carp anglers in many countries. This in theory means that carp get used to eating such a bait feeling the nutritional benefits that it contains and keep coming back for more. Such baits retain higher levels of taste substances after long immersion in water, than say a cheap ‘crap bait’ made from soya, semolina, rice flour or maize meal.

The cheap low food value bait base mix has very little in regards to nutritional attraction which contribute to taste attraction. In the case of the average commercially produced bait, results are often very similar between them because the ingredients used are so often the same or very similar and are offering similar nutritional rewards. Having been fed on these baits constantly by numbers of anglers and being hooked on them often fish can reduce their feeding on this bait now they need this supplemental nutrition offered less.

Some anglers say that carp do not differentiate between different anglers’ balanced nutritional baits, arguing they will eat them all anyway once flavours and most taste factors have leached out; the real difference being an individual angler’s abilities. This is very true in that years ago a low nutrition bait with a flavour could not match the attraction profile and nutritional rewards of constantly eating a balanced nutritional bait. At that time such baits could really produce astounding results. But these days most busy carp waters are fed such a wide range of baits, (which now form much of the bulk of the fish stocks diet,) that differences in catch rates between the commercially produced baits are mostly very similar, with few really standing out for long.

Even the new baits with added enzymes claiming to contain ‘optimum levels of the right amino acids for the best concentration and release of the most stimulating amino acids to carp,’ do not seem to work everywhere to the same degree of success compared to average baits. It seems that every carp water is different in regards to the relative nutritional requirements and possible deficiencies or not that carp may have. Much depends upon exactly how carp respond to each type of bait as a direct consequence of the nutrition that can be detected in it and efficiently digested and assimilated from it. There is evidence that use of the new generation of more highly preserved quality food baits, when used together with low flavour fresh frozen type baits on the same base mix can offer special attraction advantageous.

It’s the bait which offers more stimulating taste or a different nutritional attraction profile or a more stimulatory physiological effect that can get around the natural and angler-conditioned defences of carp. Many anglers have missed the potent physiological effects of essential oil mixtures including improved digestion and changes metabolism stimulation. An energized cold water carp is going to move faster and further, be more generally active, eat more bait, give you more chances of more pick-ups and even more far enough fast enough to self-hook itself against your lead, when they might otherwise not do so. I am personally extremely interested in the physiological, physical, mental, mood altering, general health and energy promoting effects of carp bait additives and ingredients. We have been catching carp for years by ‘drugging them’ and fishing baits are now more scientifically complex now than ever before.

You don’t need the latest commercial bait to catch winter fish, but using a totally new bait against established ones is a very effective test. Simple baits like worms can produce carp which may have switch-off to boilies for example. Flavoured and dyed sweetcorn has certain mineral and taste benefits for example that make for a great natural bait. Being carbohydrate based it is very much more digestible than higher protein boilies and pellets, but again, using the right quantity for conditions matters. I can eat only so much sweetcorn in a short time and carp are just the same.

However, sometimes in winter you can find that using the quantity of bait you would normally consider using in the summer can really pay off. In this scenario your bait had better be digestible. For those so inclined treated tiger nuts skinned to remove the oily outer layer can work well in cold conditions. Using a boilie base mix made using a higher ratio of water to eggs or a modern binder gel to form baits in paste or un-boiled form minus the digestive inhibiting effect of eggs is very effective (originally milk protein baits were used in paste form to extremely good effect. In winter fishing, your ‘background free baits’ used are of supreme importance. Using this feed very creatively using various techniques can decide a blank or ‘red letter day.’ In winter the activity of so-called nuisance fish may be very much reduced due to the cold, so take advantage. Tiny paste baits or 5 millimetres regularly introduced into spots where carp feed comfortably can really attract and stimulate fish without over-feeding. Using matching bird food / milk protein pellets and paste baits with a paste bait on the hook is great too. Sometimes the presence of ‘nuisance fish’ like roach or small carp can be a good indication that your location is spot-on as such a spot is sure to be where your target larger carp will feed. Often very short hook links with a back-stop, light lead and slackened line will hook a fish when a heavy lead inline set-up might produce single bleeps (if that) where a hook is ejected by leveraging the lead on a tight line especially.

The commercial bait designers and manufacturers are really to be congratulated for their huge efforts to improve their products. Sure products have a life-cycle of varying durations and keeping new products coming and market share are important too. But it’s good to know that the research and long-term bait-testing has often been done by the reputable companies who really do care and want their customers to achieve their dreams and keep coming back for more bait because it consistently catches fish all year round.

The baits which stand out in winter are often far more digestible. It appears that the amino acids and great palatability of certain quality milk protein ingredients in correctly prepared milk protein baits really stimulate carp in the winter. It may be that the solubility of whey products and caseinates and enzyme treated caseins do something unique to carp. It does show that in winter, digestibility is only part of the equation. I’m sure that the relatively lower pH of high protein milk protein ingredients is one reason why they are effective apart from the obvious nutritional attraction.

However, high protein baits are far more difficult for carp to digest (if not actually possible with many ingredients) and there are many other ingredients that produce much more digestible winter baits. Bird foods are used in winter baits with good reason. being much lower in protein, but are packed with very attractive components which supply many of the oils, vitamins, minerals, protein and oils etc carp need. Bird foods contain many attractive flavours and additives naturally. There is evidence to suggest for example that the effects of powerful antioxidant substances in bird foods contribute to their attraction. Some of the elements of that very famous winter carp bait additive ‘Robin red’ phenols.

It’s also a bit like tasting fast grown glasshouse produced tomatoes. (Usually by hydroponics where the plant food components like many minerals are in a watery solution and are regulated and piped to the tomato plants.) The flavour of these is in part due to the variety, but mostly upon the levels of taste producing factors like minerals are part of the tomato. Your tomatoes which are grown outside in the garden soil will taste much richer and be more nutritionally better for you, being packed with natural minerals from the soil. Their flavour profile will be totally different.

Bearing in mind that we are very like carp in that we are composed mostly of water and minerals, you can understand perhaps a bit more why the baits with minerals are detected as they are essential in the fish’s diet as they are in ours too. Try doing a comparison with baits based on semolina and soya flour with and without an added mineral and vitamin complex as a bait soak and see the difference. Of course the minerals taste will influence more efficient bait detection too and over time, granular type minerals will slowly dissolve some at different rates.

Many baits ingredients are quoted as being included for nutritional balancing of the bait. The big point is not the nutrition in the abstract (as per aquaculture quoted optimums) but the two-fold advantage of an energetic reward for the fish’s activity in finding and eating your bait. And perhaps even more importantly, various nutritional ingredients produce more long-term and short-term immersion food signals. This leads to easier bait detection by carp chemoreception by both long range external food detection receptors, like those along the lateral line, right down to the excitation of the palatial gustatory taste receptors in the mouth leading to the positive swallowing of your bait and the greatest chance of hooking the fish with the hook deep inside the mouth.

I have used many milk protein based baits in the last 30 years and found they produce better over all and especially in the winter, when they have been ‘cured.’ By this I mean (at the minimum) they have partly been pre-digested by bacterial action by heating in a sealed container in a warm environment and removing water moisture as it builds-up. This process can be increased by using any of a range of enzymes now available, but even the addition of papain helps. Milk protein baits have not worked for everyone on every water, despite their awesome performance on others.

Apparently strange things can happen when using milk protein baits. They have for years now had to compete with the more suitable amino acid profiles of marine based boilies and are comparatively much more expensive. Again it’s about using the right bait in the right place at the right time and these baits certainly can out-fish those naturally oily fishmeal baits especially in winter. Using enzyme treated fishmeals and protein (with emulsifiers) to better the nutritional attraction profile and leak-off of a winter milk protein bait makes much more sense than using a bait that is a very dense bait with very little digestibility and limited attraction properties.

Many anglers favour bird food baits with a quarter or a third of the formula consisting of a mixture of high protein milk ingredients combined with open coarse textured bird foods. I have found wheat based baits lots of oat bran and wheatgerm with a little milk protein and bird food ingredients in a very open textured soft bait easy to make and work very instantly. Raising your intense sweetener level in such a winter bait is beneficial. Many lower pH flavours like the fruits, spices and savoury ones like butter, milk or cream have proven effective in winter baits, many for widely different reasons. (Not all flavours are even remotely similar and some are definitely in a class of their own.) Certain extracts have amazing immunity boosting and antimicrobial effects. Essential oils and their derivatives are excellent in the winter.

The taste of many successful flavours will be found to match the flavour of certain molecules in the bait ingredients and I’m sure this can contribute to the flavours effects. Some proven winter flavours attract fish from range such as the very popular ‘Robin red’ based liquids for instance. This can be a bonus if you cannot fish the exact spot or desired swim that puts you directly on tightly shoaled winter carp and you can draw fish into your area.

I have fished a top quality milk protein bait with no flavours against milk protein baits with added flavours (in summer) and been shocked to blank which those flavoured baits caught. Having cured the same baits I returned and banked much bigger fish than those flavoured baits caught. Winter baits are as much a question of personal confidence in your bait (and location) as anything else. Many winter bait combinations and mixtures have come I’m sure as a result of pure desperation and very persistent and confusing trials and often by accident as much as design over the decades if truth be told... The world of bait is pitted with real life fishing variables, but then if carp fishing was too easy, would we bother going carp fishing in the deepest coldest darkest most bone-chilling winter days and nights?

Winter fishing is becoming far more popular these days as our fishing banks become more crowded with warm weather carp anglers and cold weather clothing and equipment is so well designed now. For most carp anglers today, the thought of sitting all day under a 45 inch umbrella on a deck chair in chilling rubber Wellington boots with your feet literally freezing to the ground are long gone (Phew!) Some days our coffee was more whisky than coffee to stave off the cold and keep our spirits up! Attitude counts for so much in winter.

I remember having fished for 4 nights without a bite in freezing conditions, when that evening a new angler turned up and offered to share the curry he’d prepared at home. He even offered a can of beer which I very much appreciated (I normally avoid any alcohol on the bank) But its often fellow anglers camaraderie and creative ways of dealing with the elements that makes a session memorable rather than just the fish caught. Even the best anglers will admit that there are times when absolutely no-one is catching fish and even the thought of the remotest possibility of a take and a ‘good social’ on the bank keeps us going.

The sometimes drastic extremes of weathers now officially confirmed as being the result of global warming offer us new opportunities with milder winters and the timing of our fishing sessions really does count. Changing weather patterns and seasonal extensions mean carp can be feeding for longer and earlier than in the past – so go for it; those big winter carp are waiting for you and most of all, aim to have fun!

The author has many more fishing and bait ‘edges.’ Just one could impact on your catches.


By Tim Richardson.
About The Author
Tim Richardson is a homemade carp and catfish bait-maker, and proven big fish angler. His bait making and bait enhancing books / ebooks are even used by members of the “British Carp Study Group” for reference. View this dedicated bait secrets website now...

30 Carp Fishing Tips for Beginners and More Experienced Fishermen Pivotal for Success
by: Tim Richardson

If you want a simple short-cut to carp fishing success you’ve come to the right place. This advice applies to any form of fishing because it is so vitally important. Here is a list of simple details that I wish I’d discovered when I began carp fishing when information was in much shorter supply. Over the years I have been shocked by the number of newer carp anglers who over-look the ultimate importance of their hooks and their hooking efficiency. So many unnecessary blank sessions come from anglers not realising details they’re missing on the end of their line and more awareness of aspects of the part of their tackle that truly matters the most...

Sometimes it’s very easy for a carp angler to get fixated by new products; like bait flavours, new boilies and pellets etc and the constant stream of new bivvies and ‘camo’ gear that emblazon the advertisement pages of glossy fishing magazines meant to seduce us. These products are very well designed to meet new anglers’ fashions and needs and specific purposes. However, the ability of a hook to actually hook a fish is a pretty old basic need and deserves far more personal attention from many anglers to improve the results of their fishing time and efforts spent.

The basis of the information below arrived from my use of thin wired light-weight ‘Kamasan’ hooks 25 years ago or more, which were extremely effective but occasionally opened-up on hooking bigger carp. The answer came in the form of very precisely sharpening thicker wire hooks like the ‘Kamasan’ low water salmon hooks with the longer shank. I have used this types of hook and many similar designs for years and believe their point’s angle of penetration to be absolutely ideal for my purposes. It’s proven superior in sea fishing applications for me also. (Ask England international Dion McFadden – ha ha ha!)

(You might bear in mind fishing hooks do not ‘hook’ fish by themselves, but require force, from a particular angle of line attached to make the point penetrate effectively enough to do its required job.)

In the ‘British Carp Study Group’ magazine (Spring 2007,) famous angler and one of the group’s scientific advisers, George Sharman, proposes that an ideal hook point penetration angle / line angle of force of 26 degrees transferred into the hook point is about right, teamed with an in-turned eye. This has shown ideal initial ‘pricking of fish’ and secure hook hold properties with hooks of varied gap sizes. Now I’m not an engineer, but my practical trials and experiences with hooks and indication / conversion to hooked fish leads me to similar conclusions. It may be noted that I’ve fished for more than a couple of decades using bite indicators and various set-ups tuned to register the minimum of line movement since positive benefits of this were first discovered in my winter fishing especially.

I personally use a sharpened hook and I realise this sound ‘antiquated’ perhaps today. But I consider it is vital for many surprising reasons laid out below. Hooks catch fish but many benefit from a little help and close attention to maximise their effectiveness. It takes personal fishing trials and indication / catch rate comparisons over time to achieve true confidence in the hooks you choose to use. Why not use the best designed best quality hooks you can buy for your personal fishing styles and activities, which may be extremely varied indeed.

Sharpening hook has many hidden benefits on the whole of your fishing and confidence levels and even thinking and approach to everything you do to catch fish.

Fishing hooks are often an after-thought when compared to the attention brought to bear on expensive carp rods and reels for instance. By disciplining yourself into sharpening every hook you use you not only get a great feel for the action and success of any hook pattern compared over time, but ensures that no faulty eyed or blunt pointed hooks are used which definitely cost you fish.

The easiest way to lose a fish is to give it the chance to consume your bait and have a hook either inefficiently penetrate its skin, or that has the wrong design for your rig purposes or situation, size or shape of bait, hook link material action etc. Your rig is the converter of attempted bait consummation. If it is not maximised in every way possible to convert attentions to your bait into hooked fish you may as well fish with no hook or no bait for the majority of your time spent fishing.

Most fish are lost without an angler ever realising a fish was ‘on’ in the first place, which is a shame and is one area the best most detail oriented tuned-in anglers excel out. This may seem ‘over the top’ but then why should you not benefit from little differences that set the best apart from the rest? Rigs don’t need to be complicated just as with baits, but it’s the attention to details in getting the complete process refined so the right bait and rig for any given fishing situation are the right ones. This can produce above average catch consistency without an angler having the added advantage of access to better bait techniques and technology or more fishing time available.

Don’t forget many hooks bought in packets may not be as sharp as is truly needed. Mostly a carp will hook itself, but on pressured waters a hook any less that past needle sharp can well mean many lost fish you never ever imagined had taken your bait into their mouths. A diamond hook sharpener is essential to me – I’d not bother fishing without treating my hooks to a very precisely formed diameter point and length of point too. I find a hook with a longer point which is well sharpened and thinned along its length makes a massive difference to numbers of bigger fish hooked. This ‘point’ applies to chemically sharpened hooks also.

OK, I’ve over-done sharpening sometimes and lost 40 pound plus fish at the net as the point opens, but would such fish have ‘spit’ the hook anyway and not been hooked? It’s very likely. Most anglers use a heavy lead on any of a range of rigs styles and lengths. But most don’t consider the fact that we are really trying to get around how the fish are feeding in response to angling pressure and associated feeding behaviours in response to what the anglers themselves are doing. Sure a heavy lead and tight line hooks lots of fish, but very often a light lead even at range with a longer hair and hook link will produce more fish and, often more warier bigger fish too.

If you find you are ‘dropping fish’ or ‘pulling out’ of them during the fight, or even getting odd single bleeps on the bite indicators which don’t produce positive action afterwards, try sharpening your hook. I cover my freshly sharpened hook with paste and coat the hair and bait in paste. I often use 2 or 3 types of homemade paste on a rig beside other boilie or paste baits for example in order to vary the solubility and rate of breakdown of bait and give the fish more to ‘think about’. This covers the taste of a sharpened hook and glint of hook metal before it oxidises and fades. Plus paste melting produces unusual bait movement and added dimensions to a curious fish.

In fact using paste on the hook and similar paste in different states in a PVA bag can really trip up fish even better than common set-ups that just use paste on the bait on a hair alone. I like to actually draw attention to the hook itself which is unusual these days. By using fresh balls of paste, air-dried paste and scalded paste bits together with a diversity of strategically included items in the PVA bag many fish seem to lose the grip on their ‘danger reference points’ momentarily. This is after all the aim of all our rig and bait efforts right?

If you’re still not convinced, why not trial identical rigs with sharpened and unsharpened hooks and see the difference over a range of hook designs. The results will be clear; I actually refined my results using rigs and a range of hook patterns to hook very shy biting crucian carp. I could actually observe the fish taking each bait and I was shocked that many makes and designs straight from the packet rarely produced a hooked fish. Often a fish would get hooked and get off in a second, while others stayed in the mouth despite attempts to twist and shake the hook out. I do appreciate that the quality and technology and design involved in hooks has been raised over the years by manufacturers but a personally physically sharpened hook has enormous benefits.

The realities of simple peace of mind and improved confidence that you are fishing as efficiently as possible really counts especially on tougher waters and when fish are not ‘playing the game!’ Using the most important piece of your fishing tackle which you have intimately inspected and shaped yourself really does produce more fish; getting into the habit of being more detail oriented adds up and the extra effort even influences your effectiveness in fish location and swim choice, thinking and approach to bait and efforts to minimise lazy conventional fishing practices whose edge has already passed.

As its Christmas coming up why not invest in a hook sharpener and really experiment in achieving the longest sharpest hook points possible, perhaps while watching all that Christmas TV. (I have no connection with ‘Fox International’ except I used to fish alongside Cliff (ha ha ha!) But their bar shaped diamond sharpeners are the most effective tool I’ve used for many years now.) The effort of sharpening your hooks will really pay you back for sure. It did for carp fishing legend Richard Walker...

Best of all, doing this will raise your confidence when you cast your rig into those cold winter waters, where a fish may only be willing to move just a few inches to feed and an extremely sharp hook is all you may have to initially efficiently hook a winter fish. Especially at times such as this, just a few minutes in concentrated effort sharpening your hooks, could well produce for you a very memorable fish worthy of your efforts.


By Tim Richardson.

About The Author
Tim Richardson is a homemade carp and catfish bait-maker, and proven big fish angler. His bait making and bait enhancing books / ebooks are even used by members of the “British Carp Study Group” for reference. View this dedicated bait secrets website now...

MAKING CATFISH AND CARP GROUND BAITS – Fishing Secrets Of Nuts!
by: Tim Richardson

If you are looking for something different to boost your catches, you can never be stuck for choice and there are some very effective ones too. Nuts are one very special ingredient and bait that has caught fish reliably for ever. There are many reasons why such an often ‘foreign’ food item produces fish. But fish just love them!

One important mention is nut preparation. Unless nuts are used as finely crushed or flour form, they need correctly soaking for at least 12 to 24 hours to ensure they have fully absorbed water. Many fish have died as a result of fish eating nuts thrown in as ground bait or chum, and then had nuts swell up as they absorbed water, but inside the fishes’ own digestive tract! In the States nuts dumped directly into rivers do not seem to decimate carp however. Why I do not know especially as much of this waste is not ‘human grade’ and likely to have toxins as a result of fungi or bacterial activity. Perhaps resistance has been developed as a result of this seasonal activity of dumping?

Let’s focus on ground baits. Frequently anglers use loose nuts or seeds like sweetcorn, or maize, tiger nuts or peanuts, pellets or boilies for ground bait. Some use live baits like maggots or bloodworm. Nut oils like tiger nut oil and peanut oil and pellet type oils like marine halibut oil are being used with great effect to enhance baits. But one often overlooked method is using homemade ground baits and these can be so successful! They can incorporate the ingredients used in your pellets or boilie mix. They can contain the flavours and oils used in your hook baits among many other components.

You can even add live elements like bloodworm, maggots or worms to stimulate your fish and get them digging in the silt for far longer, giving your more time and chances of successful bait pick-ups. Besides this point, many fish love to feed on tiny particles of food and this is often more natural for them. Often this type of baiting will produce fish successfully whereas ground baiting with ‘whole baits’ like boilies, big pellets or cut meat or fish baits will not. Even the addition of cracked corn, soaked corn flakes or maize flakes can bring your swim alive, adding corn steep liquor is an obvious edge here.

Ground bait traditionally in the UK was made from bread crumbs. Bread crumb ground bait is very effective for carp and many other species even catfish, because it is a great carrier of liquids, for example liquid liver, blood, corn steep liquor, all manner of flavours, liquid fish protein, liquid amino acid and vitamin / mineral additives. I’ve caught many big carp and catfish using ground bait. How you use it and what you combine with it regarding your hook bait, and near hook proximity attraction all play a part in your individual success on a particular water and the way you need to fish there.

Making a boilie from various nut meals is not uncommon. Even a simple recipe like the following can be the basis of your ground bait and be ‘tweaked’ to attract all kinds of species if not carp or catfish:

Peanut meal (roasted is often higher in protein.)

Crushed tiger nuts.

Crushed almonds. (Especially high in vitamin E and very good on waters hard hit by high fish oil baits like pellets and fish meal boilies with bulk oils.

Crushed brazil nuts.

Tiger nut flour.

Brazil flour.

Eggs or gelling agent.

Sweetener. E.g. Molasses, fruit sugar, brown sugar, icing sugar, Talin, Betalin, Thaumatin B etc.

Ground nut or tiger nut oil.

Amino acid containing additive.

‘Super sweet’ taste enhancer or similar.

A teaspoon of nutmeg or cinnamon per pound of dry powders is optional. So many taste and smell options are available. Fenugreek is another good additive, especially if you use natural and synthetic maple syrup as the flavour.

Some may prefer using an essential oil component like geranium terpenes. If you add crushed hemp, then hemp oil with fennel essential oil is a good combination. (Including fennel seeds and black pepper add another dimension for example.) Aniseed is well proven for holding fish in a swim, but is used so much it can lose its edge, but with so many other choices who needs it?

A flavour is desired by many anglers. Well very many are good, but I’d go for Rod Hutchinson’s “Chocolate malt.” Dynamite bait’s “Fish Gutz” is another good one. This is the much whispered about coffee flavour of recent times, although Rod Hutchinson’s Coffee flavour from the past was brilliant.

Adding a small amount of chocolate powder or coffee powder adds a different dimension to this bait in certain stimulating ways. Fish detect certain compounds like caffeine, and stimulatory phenols in the case of peanuts and almonds especially, which create a ‘I want just one more’ effect. Carp have proven to possess dopamine neuronal systems. These can be very much linked to preferential behaviours and ‘the feel good factor’ in the brain. This doe not mean that this response is always good for you or for carp either!

Too much chocolate or crisps, biscuits, candies or cookies are not nutritionally good for you, but give you a temporary ‘lift.’ Sugar, fats, opiates in milk and wheat, salts etc are addictive to humans and carp love them too. But too much of these and it either means disrupted physical health and mood and even diet or behaviour-induced diseases like fatty liver, fatty heart, heart trouble, obesity etc. Activated dopamine neurons are powerful aids to learning and repeated behaviour. The ‘just one more’ syndrome is a great thing to exploit in your bait any way you ‘ethically’ can without harming fish health. You can see the links between our love of curry and the use of chilli powder in baits. Hemp and the abuse of cocaine and similar substances. Even tobacco and alcohol are fish stimulators at the correct level and in the right dose.

(Please note nicotine is fatally poisonous even more toxic than cyanide... Smoking this stuff is insane. We used to use it as a kill-all insecticide in glass house plant production using nicotine shreds. Even this has caused human fatalities. Funny that nicotine is a naturally produced insecticide and we should choose to smoke it. Incidentally Indigenous American Peoples use pure willow leaf tobacco in sacred ceremonies, but knew all about its power and how not to abuse it! Anyway, virtually all drugs of abuse use activation of dopamine neuronal systems.)

In the case of carp, in some fishing situations where anglers fish predominately with certain nuts introducing huge amounts, carp get hooked on these baits like peanuts and tiger nuts. They can eat them at the exclusion of anything else, resulting malnutrition and weight loss. Although nuts contain healthy omega oils, protein and vitamins, iron, they are not particularly digestible and not especially high in protein. (Some roasted peanut products excepted.)

Nuts are very attractive baits in their own right, but their attraction can be enhanced.

Now if you cannot get any of these ingredients you can replace them with many others. Even ground rice, corn flour, semolina or ordinary wheat flour can be used. Desiccated cocoanut is very good too. Many commercial ground baits contain this. The trick is to ensure your finished bait has added soluble attraction and feeding stimulation. For example, you could add a teaspoon of sea salt per pound of dry powders. Peanut butter is a great additive.

I read an amazing story as a kid once about a young boy who landed a stupendous uncaught giant carp from a nearby lake by using a homemade peanut butter sandwich. The irony was that it was laced with cocaine and the carp had a ‘fatal attraction!’ Fortunately the story was made-up, but it really got me thinking about making baits ‘addictive!’

Various seeds can be added to your nut baits too and roast sesame and pumpkin seeds are higher in protein being 30% protein or above. Hemp seed and crushed hemp seed or powder have always been good as is hemp oil. However, how many anglers have used hemp protein?

Nut milks instead of ‘conventional flavours’ are well proven, coconut milk combined with condensed milk is a tasty combination for example.... Milk powders can be very useful in ground baits improving solubility, nutritional attraction and even binding as with Vitamealo for example. ‘Tahini’ or creamed sesame seeds when sweetened make a brilliant base for an alternative paste or dough bait.

Malt extract is very useful proven additive too. Another water attracting or hygroscopic ingredient to attract catfish in particular, is LO30 fish protein. The spray-dried form can be incorporated into ground baits, pellets, boilies or dough or paste bait mixtures and is highly effective. The popular liver powder, green lip mussel extract and blood powders and green corn steep liquor and even Vegemite, Miso soup, are all proven nutritional ground bait additives to add. Betaine HCL is another and many betaine products are now available, and combined with added amino acid type products are excellent.

Making hook baits with crushed nuts and seeds impregnated into the surface provides a different texture and leak-off rate of attractors to your baits which can be more productive than ordinary round skinned boilies. I like to use a mix of crushed nuts and seeds in high levels in my paste baits and air-dried pastes and ‘just skinned’ boilies in a PVA bag along with fresh paste. The irresistible effect of this lot ‘melting’ around the hook bait is fantastic. I have often used a slower melting paste actually on the hook alongside pellet or boilie or nut bait or baits on a hair (or hairs) to trip-up those warier fish.

You can make a sweet nut bait with an added proportion of ‘creamy’ squid liver extract, and fully expect big catfish and carp with this unusual combination. Nut baits go far beyond a chopped or skinned or glugged tiger nut or flavoured humble peanut. Creative bait making, even simply mixing proprietary base mixes and ground baits together works wonders. The added bonus is you can make those more expensive products go much further by additional nut meals and bird seeds. So why not make some homemade baits, go nuts and land more crackers!

The author has many more fishing and bait ‘edges’ any of which can have a huge impact on your catches.

By Tim Richardson.


About The Author
Tim Richardson is a homemade carp and catfish bait-maker, and proven big fish angler. His bait making and bait enhancing books / ebooks are even used by members of the “British Carp Study Group” for reference. View this dedicated bait secrets website now...

While you can catch walleye at any time, day or night, walleye night fishing is by far going to be the most productive for any angler, especially during spring and summer months. What researchers have found is that walleye are seemingly nocturnal, seemingly simply because, on darker and cooler days, it is almost as easy to catch a walleye as it is at night time after a bright, sunny day. Why is this so?

Walleye night fishing targets a species that typically prefers to stay deeper in a body of water when it is warm or bright. In fact, the walleye is named such because of a special filter that grows behind the retina of its eye. This "film" is used to both reflect and attract light, allowing walleye to filter out light that would blind other fish by reflecting it, as well as to see in darker, murkier conditions than most other fish by utilizing what little light there is more efficiently. At the same time, the walleye also likes cool waters, meaning that summer surface waters are not as conducive to this species as they are with species like sunfish.

Therefore, after dark, when the light fades and the water begins to cool, walleye night fishing sees many more specimens rise toward the surface, looking for food, making your bait a prime target for the walleye. It could be that, in lower levels of light, the walleye have instinctually become more secure, experiencing an advantage in their ability to see the prey before the prey can see them because of their extraordinary eyesight. Keep in mind that walleye night fishing will be best in shallower waters, usually fifteen feet deep or less. This means that, prior to making your excursion, you should scout the areas in the daylight so that you don't place yourself or your boat in danger with submerged hazards. You may even want to leave yourself guides and markers in certain areas, such as glow in the dark buoys to mark such dangers.

You might also want to prepare by taking a sonar with you to help you find the walleye. Night fishing will be great around structures - the bigger, the better. These structures are the preferred holding grounds for walleye between feedings, where they will rest. You'll find a huge concentration of the species in shallow waters around sunken islands, stumps, and other underwater structures at night.

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How To Use The Most Popular Walleye Fishing Lures

Anglers are often overconfident and sure that they know everything there is to know about their particular fishing sport, but there are times when everyone needs to take a little advice. In choosing walleye lures, there are special circumstances to be considered that will help you choose the specific lure you need, as well as the best set up for that particular lure and your situation. If you follow some basic guidelines for walleye lures, you will be infinitely more successful in your attempts.

Using jigs is the most popular way to fish for walleye because you want to stay on the bottom of the lake or river you're fishing, since this is where walleye will spend the majority of their time. Of all walleye lures, jigs allow you to do this best, with crankbaits being the second choice. You'll want to size your jig to keep the bait trailing along the bottom. Of course, you'll want to find a happy medium because a smaller size will be easier for the walleye to catch (they eat by inhaling the water around the target), but choosing one too small also makes it too light. Therefore, small, weighty jigs achieve the best results of all walleye lures.

Next, you'll want to successfully choosing your lure by determine the amount of forage in the area; a lure that is light is often too small to achieve a large enough profile to attract walleye thickly before find one that works for you - fine tuning your fishing is all about trial and error.

Next, if you are using a jig, you'll need to target the right type because walleye jigs come in several shapes, and various shapes may work better in one environment, while others may do the trick in a different location. Ball style jigs are most commonly used because they are so versatile, working in cases of casting and vertical jigging. They are also choice walleye lures for any type of water, whether still or maintaining a heavy current. Larger sizes are popular for trolling or drifting, and casting into the weeds requires a swimming jig. The long, flat style of a swimming jig with the hook eye in the front keeps it from getting dangerously tangled. Current cutters and pancake jigs are more hydrodynamic, designed especially for swiftly moving water.

Walleye lures should be bright in color and should be varied to simulate different types of feed for the walleye. These fish have incredible eyesight, especially in dark and murky water, so the brighter the lure, the more likely you are to attract attention quickly. Jigs, crankbaits, and other lures come in hundreds of colors, and sometimes varying your color just slightly can enormously increase your take.

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The idea behind a walleye fishing report is to focus on "fishing news". Much like a newspaper focuses on daily events or periodicals like magazines detail entertainment news or other information in a specialty genre, a fishing report keeps anglers up to date on the latest occurrences in the walleye fishing world. What sort of information can actually be found in these reports, and who puts them together?

Because the Internet is the main source of all information in the world right now, it is simple to look for a walleye report online. By performing a simple search, you'll find dozens of dedicated websites to individual areas, lakes, and states regarding walleye. Some sites are maintained by experts and scientists in the field, listing statistics and making inferences and forecasts for the benefit of anglers. Others are kept by the state fishing and wildlife departments, detailing rules and regulations for walleye fishing in particular areas or statewide. Still more are published by experienced anglers themselves in an attempt to assist newcomers and visitors to their particular area. Some are even simple blog sites or forums where anyone can come in and post their two cents worth to hopefully aid in making others' fishing trips more successful.

The information found in a walleye fishing report covers a broad range, and it can vary greatly as to what you find from one report to another. In fact, if you are counting on the information in a walleye fishing report to give you an idea of how to prepare for your next outing, you should probably consult more than one, sort of like getting a second opinion from another doctor - the second one may have taken into account something that the first didn't think about.

A good fishing report will talk about what has happened in area lakes and rivers over the past few days, since walleye are constantly migrating based on temperature and season, meaning that fishing can be inconsistent from one day to the next. Water temperatures and variances will be discussed, and weather trends both over the past few days and for the following time period will be mentioned. The report will discuss the shift in good fishing spots, detailing where the best and worst locations for finding walleye are at any given point in time. Tips may be given regarding what bait to use, if the walleye are particularly attracted to a certain type of food at the time, as well as what fishing method seems to be working best (should you be trolling or jigging, bottom-bouncing or floating?).

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Because walleye have become such a sought-after catch for many anglers, there is a need for information on walleye fishing tackle, including which equipment to use based on the fish that you are targeting, as well as the location in which you are trying to find those fish. Here are some pointers regarding the best walleye fishing tackle you can opt for.

First of all, you should consider the rod and reel. These are going to make a huge difference in the ease with which you are able to bring in your catch. You'll want to use a spinning rod and reel so that you can work jigs and light cranks. These are the most important lures to have in your walleye fishing tackle box, and you'll need the correct equipment to make use of them. The best suggestion for rod selection is a piece of equipment made out of graphite that is rated for medium action. Choose a model that is somewhere between six and a half and seven feet long. It should have increased sensitivity in the upper third of the rod, while the lower half still has a fairly stiff spine. Your reel should have extremely smooth drag because you'll be doing battle with these fish (they don't come easy!). This spinning reel needs to be rated for 8-10 pound test line, and you should probably opt for monofilament line. These components together add up to a deadly combination for walleye.

Your walleye fishing tackle box can now be filled with the additional equipment that this baitcast rod/reel combo is able to handle, including heavier line and bigger lures (meaning that you can get bigger fish). The combination of these two products will actually allow you to use 12-14 pound test line and are great for all styles of fishing, including casting, bottom bouncing, and trolling.

Now, you need to be concerned as to what size and type of lures and bait you carry with your walleye fishing tackle. Jigs work wonders - they are some of the best lures for catching any kind of fish, and they almost always work. Therefore, you should always keep jigs around. There are three major things to consider when choosing a jig: style, weight, and hook composition. Since jigs are used in direct contact with the bottom of the body of water and need to remain steady on the floor, the weight is an important factor in setting up to make sure you are on the lake or river floor. For example, in water less that 10 feet deep, an eighth ounce model will do the trick, while up to 20 feet requires a quarter ounce jig. The style of jig in your walleye fishing tackle is going to be dictated based on your intent; round- or ball-headed jigs are the most popular.

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Getting The Most Out Of Walleye Fishing In Ohio

When you think about walleye fishing, Ohio may not be the first area of the country that comes to mind, even though Lake Erie is one of the largest producers of walleye in North America. However, it is not the only walleye fishing Ohio has to offer. There are several lakes throughout the Buckeye State where these phenomenally tasty, white flaky fish can be harvested in large quantities. Some areas have great shore fishing, while others are excellent for anglers who prefer boating.

For example, in regards to walleye fishing, Ohio's Mosquito Lake is now considered the top inland walleye lake in the state. Over 11 million fry were stocked in this lake in Trumbull County in 2003, and the population is thriving. Mosquito Lake covers over 6,000 acres and is a fairly shallow lake, meaning that it thaws quickly in the spring. What this means for walleye anglers is that they should get to the lake right after ice-out to fish the shallows while the walleye are spawning. While good walleye fishing can be had during the summer, these fish prefer cooler temperatures and will move into the deepest parts of the lake as the waters warm. In spring, shoot for shallow humps, flats covered in gravel, and points. Also, try fishing the pier on the causeway, as this is a magnet for the walleye due to food fish hanging around this area. Wading is also a popular way to fish at Mosquito Lake, especially in the evening or very early morning, when the feeding frenzy is in full swing for walleye.

In terms of walleye fishing, Ohio anglers also find great success at Pymatuning Lake in Ashtabula County. In the past, this massive lake was known for the sheer numbers of walleye that you could catch. Now, while your experience won't turn out the volume of fish that you would find on a day at Mosquito Lake, Pymatuning offers high quality fishing, with many specimen over the 15-inch mark. The reason this is so critical is that, with the explosion of the alewife shad population in the lake, it has been difficult to keep the stock of walleye consistent. Despite stocking the lake with 21 million fry, most of the fish taken in a study were in the 5-year age range or older. Of course, the good news is that this means the fish easily reached between 20-23 inches in length. However, it also means that there are new limitations being imposed on walleye fishing at this lake to help the population grow again.

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The Importance Of Finding The Right Fishing Gear
By: Paul Winter

As with most sports or activities, the right gear is always needed. An activity like fishing requires certain gear to get the job done successfully. The kind of fishing and how advanced the fisherman is determines the appropriate type of gear for the job. In a simple fishing situation such as freshwater fishing, there is a simple list of equipment that is required.

The basic fishing gear is a pole,rod,line, sinker, and a bobber, a hook and some bait. Almost any kind of poles can be used, for a specific kind of fishing it would be best to consult with a fishing gear retail store. For rods any type will work. The basic rod is 6 feet long and has medium weight, it is considered an all-purpose rod.

A rod is a long, straight, flexible pole that an angler uses to cast bait. They are usually made of bamboo, fiberglass or graphite. Fiberglass rods are the most popular with beginners. They are relatively inexpensive, not easily broken and don't require much maintenance.

Next is the fishing line. Which is usually made out of nylon. There are a wide range of fishing lines. A typical line will hold a fish up to four pounds without breaking. Choosing the appropriate fishing line will depend on your fishing situation. What type of fish are you looking to catch? What is the condition of the water?

The sinkers are weights that are used to cast lures and drop the bait to the bottom of the water where the fish swim the most. Sinkers are used together with bobbers to hold the line at a given point. Two things are important; the depth of the water and the speed of the current determine how much weight is needed to hold the bait in front of the hungry fish. Again a bobber and a sinker work like a team, a sinker takes the bait to the desired depth of water, while the bobber holds it there. The purpose is to allow the fisherman to adjust the depth of the water to anywhere he wants or needs it to be.

Finally, bobbers come in different sizes to accommodate the bait. The most important piece of fishing gear is the hook which is shaped like the letter J. They come in many sizes and almost any type of hook will work. The hook holds the bait, and is used to catch the fish. The bait attracts the fish to the hook making it possible for the angler to catch it.

The bait is the final piece of fishing gear needed to successfully catch fish. it needs to be something fish would love to eat. The best bait for fish are nightcrawlers or worms including earthworms.Earthworms are the most commonly used forms of bait.

Your basic fishing gear is important if you are to have a successful fishing experience. Without the above items, you may or may not catch the fish you want.

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Selecting The Right Fishing Boats For Your Needs
By: Paul Winter

Equipment is required for most sports or activities. In fishing, equipment such as a pole, rod, line, sinker, hook, and bait are needed. A fishing boat is also required for some types of fishing. Fishing boats come in a variety different types and sizes. The sizes range from eight foot long boats to sixty feet deep sea fishing boats.

How do you select fishing boats that are right for your situation? There are three styles of regular fishing boats; deep v, regular v or modified v. The v determines how well the boat cuts through the depth of the water. The deep v is better suited for large lakes because they can handle heavy waves better. Regular "v" is more appropriate for smaller lakes and a man made body of water. As the water is not as deep and the waves are not as heavy, this type of boat is able to handle the situation. The modified v is the most popular version. It is capable of handling speed best. Most fishing boats on the market today are made of fiberglass or aluminum. What is best for your fishing situation? Do you want to fish in large lakes or small lakes? The options are endless.

There are several classes of fishing boats for different situations. All purpose fishing boats are great for your basic fishing needs. This type of boat has space for some bench seats, fishing gear and a simple steering station. They are made of either fiberglass or aluminum and are between 15 and 20 feet long. Another type of fishing boat is a bass boat, which comes fully equipped with space for rods and fishing gear. The boat is fully built with electronics and livewells. This boat also is made out of fiberglass and aluminum. The advantage to this type of boat is it is made especially to catch bass, fast. The third type of fishing boat is the center-console. It allows a fisherman to angle from any place on the deck. The control center is located in the center. Depending on the size of the boat they can be used offshore as well as near. Flats boats are mostly made up of fiberglass. The advantage of these boats is they allow easier angling access to saltwater flat fish. Another advantage it has is a poling platform that allows for fish spotting. Finally, a casting deck allows the angler to keep control. This makes this ype of boat convenient for fishing. The final category of fishing boats is the fun boat because it combines the motor of a yacht and the functionality of large a cockpit to work trophy fish and bring them on board.

If ou are a fishing fanatic then it is important to have all the things that you need to make your fishing trip a success. Fishing boats are definitely the finishing touch to a nice fishing trip.

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Carp Fishing Equipment - Getting The Right Stuff
By: Paul Winter

Most fishermen think that any rod and reel will bring in the carp of their dreams. What they do not realize is that carp, though once considered the trash of the lake, are sneaky creatures. If you are planning on fishing you might as well spend a few dollars extra and get the appropriate equipment for carp fishing. While some think it does not make a difference, carp fishing equipment can be the difference between a batch of carp fingers or hunger pains.

The rod used for carp fishing can vary with the different sizes of carp. In smaller lakes you may be looking at carp up to 15 pounds or so. In larger lakes carp may be as large as 30 pounds. Not every rod will allow you to wrestle a 30-pound carp, so choosing the rod carp fishing equipment should be based on the size of the carp. A 1 to 2 pound test curve rod will handle carp up to about 15 pounds. Anything over the 15-pound mark should probably use a rod with a test curve of about 3. The fishing distance also makes a difference when considering carp fishing equipment. The longer fishing distance requires a longer rod with the ability to handle a heavier weight because of the distance.

The reel also depends on the type of rod and distance that you will be casting. The reel must be compatible with the rod of course. That is something that in most cases can be purchased together to alleviate confusion. Most professional fishermen recommend a baitrunner type reel. This will help you hold on and keep from getting drug into the lake!

Another part of the carp fishing equipment is the fishing line. The rod and reel should give you a clue as to what size fishing line that you will need. Make sure that the line that you purchase is rated for the size fish that you are looking to catch. In most cases you can count on a 2-pound test curve rod to handle about a 10 pound fishing line. That is a rough estimate and the best way to determine is by your rod.

As for hooks there are a number of different sizes, shapes, colors and other bells. Most fishermen will build up a collection of carp fishing equipment that has a variety of hooks, weights and tools. Most professionals recommend that you go ahead and purchase a carp hook. They may cost a little more than a regular hook, but it will work better. When you are purchasing hooks make sure that you abide by the fishery laws. In some counties using barbed hook is prohibited.

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By: Paul Winter

Fly-fishing is a form fishing that uses a different method of catching the species that live and breathe under water. The method is referred to as angling. This method is used to target mostly trout and salmon. Recently the target list has extended to fish like bass, pike and carp. Historically fly fishing an ancient method of catching fish that originated in Scotland and Northern Europe.

There are many and various types of flies being used in fly-fishing. In modern fishing methods there are various types of fish being used to catch the designated target. The following is a list of types of fish; dry flies and emergers (for example midges or stoneflies), nymphs (for example mayflies or eggs and worms), streamers wet flies (for example buggers and leeches), saltwater flies (for examples sailfish and marlin), bass and panfish flies (for example crawfish and eels), salmon and steelhead flies (for example Atlantic salmon flies).

Certain gear is needed when fly-fishing. The first item on the list is fly rods, in which size and usage is important. It is important to match the fly rod with the fly line according to weight. Matching the weight of the two items is important to have positive casting results. The size of the fly rods can be anywhere from #0, #1, #2 and are used for the lightest trout and panfish rods up to powerful and heavy #16 rods for the largest saltwater game fish.

Another item needed for fly-fishing is a bamboo split cane. This allows for a better performance in the freshwater trout fishing situations. Synthetic fly rods are usually used and offer a greater versatility, stiffness, power and performance than a bamboo split cane. The advantages are that they are less expensive and require less maintenance. Finally, fly reels are manually operated. Although in recent years, more advanced models have been developed to deal bigger fish and more demanding situations. These models increase the drag and retrieval performance.

Fly-fishing is an ancient method of catching fish. It is more demanding because you are limited to the types of fish you can catch. You need the appropriate gear to catch the trout or the salmon. Today's modern techniques used in fly-fishing have been developed to meet more challenging situations, such as bigger weight of the fish. These modern advancements prepare the fly fisherman to successfully meet his quota by using the methodology appropriately.

There are many popular locations for fly-fishing mostly in the Northern United States and Canada. Alaska is another popular place for the activity. Some places in the United States are Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Montana and California are just a few places.

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By: Paul Winter

Man has been fishing since he first set foot into water, however, the tools and methods used to catch the fish has evolved from a sharpened stick to a multitude of fishing equipment that, to the fresh angler, can be a bit overwhelming. No longer is the bamboo pole the weapon of choice, but rather closed and open spool rod and reels have become the standard as fishing equipment has evolved through time.

It used to be the bait and tackle shop next to your favorite fishing hole, selling only, sinkers, hooks, line and worms. In today's angling world, however, there are entire super stores dedicated to the great outdoors. These super stores, or online markets, carry an array of rods, reels, and lures, which makes finding the right fishing equipment a challenge.

The rod and reel you choose will be the most important variable in your fishing experience. The closed spool rod and reel is exactly as it sounds. The spool that holds the fishing line is covered entirely by a plastic or metal cover, giving the fishing line a little extra protection from weathering. The drawback to these sorts of reels has a habit of tangling and knotting, and getting the he problem can be just as trickery as solving it. An open spool reel seems to be the new standard among anglers. The open-faced reel has a very smooth touch to it when you reel in your game. Also, being open makes it easy to fix tangles in fishing line.

Another important decision to make when shopping for fishing equipment is what kind of fishing line you should use. Within the last ten years the technology behind fishing string has increased it's performance dramatically. Likewise, there is a myriad of different kinds of fishing line to choose from. The main concern when choosing fishing line is to find a string with a high enough weight test to pull in those big catches. Getting fishing line with insufficient test could make that big mouth bass the one that got away.

Lures and bait are also an important decision when shopping for items to fill your tackle box. One must learn what lure is effective for angling a certain fish. There are thousands of different lures, falling into two categories, hard lures and soft lures. Hard lures consist of shimmering spoon lures, to replica fish lures, to crappie jigs. Soft lures are mostly made up of latex scented replica worms or crawfish. Or, you can always go with the classic, worms or crickets. For every type of angling, there's a lure for it, and it never hurts to have a variety in your tackle box.
There's no shortage of diversity within the world of fishing. So, whether you're a beginner or advanced, there's a variety of fishing equipment suit your needs.

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By: Paul Winter

Fishing tackle is an important part of getting that badly desired fish. If you do not have the correct bait, equipment and conditions they may slip away into the depths of the water. With the fishing market booming there are many dealers that have a variety of products. Some are better than others are of course, but really you should just find what works best for you. The type of equipment and fishing tackle that you use; will mostly likely change with the different types of fish that you may be targeting.

There are however some very important tips that can help you have a successful fishing expedition. One of the first things to consider is the type of bait that you will use. This takes a bit of planning to get ready for your big day. The bait of course will depend on the type of fish that you are fishing for. Much bait can be purchased from the local market or can be brought from home. Baits range from salmon eggs, chicken livers to what is known as stink bait. Researching the biting habits of the intended fish can assist you in choosing the correct bait.

The next thing to consider with fishing tackle is the hook that holds the bait. There are several different sizes and again depends on the size of the fish. It is important to fish with the correct bait or you may not get a good hook. Hooks are numbered and the smaller the number the larger the hook. For example, you may want to use a size 8 for larger fish such as the big mouth bass. Smaller hooks should be used with fish such as catfish and bluegill.

Sinkers or weights are what allow your hook and line to sink into the water. If the hook stayed at the top of the water you would miss the bottom feeding fish. Many stay in the depths to avoid being your target! Sinkers also come in a variety of styles and weights and should be based on the type of rod and water conditions. It is a good idea to have a wide range of sinkers in the fishing tackle collection to ensure you always have what you need.

Visiting a local fishing or sporting good store can help you fill your fishing tackle box with all the equipment that you will need. Part of the skill of fishing is ensuring that you are prepared and have the right equipment. Fish will certainly not bite on an empty hook, so be prepared.

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By: Paul Winter

Deep-sea fishing is a wonderful way to spend the days of your vacation. All around the globe there are wide-open seas that house the most beautiful creatures in the world. For some relaxation is the excitement of water sports and for others it is a adrenal pumping scare of bringing that mammoth of a Marlin in. What ever you enjoy is what you will find when deep-sea fishing. There are many areas all over the world where a vacationer can find the joys of deep-sea fishing. From the beaches of Cancun to the oceanfront of Hawaii there is some place for everyone. Learning to fish can be fun and certainly an educational venture. Hiring a guide or setting out on a charter expedition can lead to one of the most memorable experiences ever.

Deep-sea fishing is an adventure that many do at least a couple of times per year. That is the best vacation to many fishermen! The anticipation of reeling in that prized fish is one of the most adrenaline pumping activities that you will experience. The water is a serene picture perfect place, but knowing that there is something underlying in the depths can certainly get your heart racing. Deep-sea fishing is almost like a game of hide and seek. They are hiding and you are certainly trying to lure them out of their best hiding spot!

Deep-sea fishing can be used as an adventurous sport or a relaxing day on the water. Many vacationers enjoy having something to take back home to remind them of their trip years down the road. What better way then taking back a trophy Marlin or sailfish to hang on the wall. Catch a few as souvenirs and the rest you can eat. Deep-sea fishing can provide some of the best meals you will ever have. The different varieties of fish provide a great and tasty experience. That is the reason the fishing industry is a multi-million dollar profit every year.

Some of the most popular fish that are targeted when deep-sea fishing are the Marlin, Sharks, Sailfish, Tuna and many more that anglers are trying for. In some cases a fisherman may end up with something other than what he was looking for. Many times some of the other less attractive sea creatures get hooked rather than that prized Tuna! The fish that are found in the ocean are absolutely amazing. They are colorful and vary in shape and size. Just being in the same water as they are is a pleasure. Deep-sea fishing is an experience that you will never forget!

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