Archive for the 'fishing' Category


Arkansas White River Fly Fishing

The Arkansas White River starts as tailwater from Bull Shoals Dam between the towns of Lakeview and Bull Shoals, Arkansas. It is a cold-water river that is an excellent fishery for both rainbow and brown trout. It is heavy stocked with 9″ rainbows that will take anything on a hook. The task for a fly fisherman is to get past these stocked fish and find the true trophy fish that live in these waters. The stocked fish seem to like the current best and thrive in the ripples. The larger fish hide just off the current in pocket water. Your best bet at a trophy fish is to aim for the brown trout that live under cover in still water, although a 20″ rainbow is not uncommon the farther you are from the dam.

The water in the river is easy to wade until the dam turns on the turbines. There is an alert siren that sounds before the water rises. If you are wading exit the water until the new level is established. You should find that the water is still easy wading in spots. Such spot is at the end of the road that runs along what is now the north side of the river. The river widens out here and there is some good pocket water on both banks. When last there were some tree stumps on the north side or left side when facing downstream. On the south or right side there were some gently flowing flats. Both sides yield big trout as I can attest.

Casting a muddler minnow close to the tree stumps and stripping it back medium-fast produced a two-pound brownie that gave a good fight for a brown trout. I released him and he might still be there just larger. In the flats there is over hanging grass. I tried a black PT for a while with no results. So when in doubt go to the hare’s ear. I cast a couple of times but didn’t get the nymph under the over hanging grass. The fourth cast I made was perfect and I watched my indicator for a strike. It came and after a good fight I landed a 18″ rainbow. After releasing the rainbow, I looked at the area I had fished and thought the only thing missing was a “Please Fish Here” sign. There are many places like that on the White River.

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Posted on 26th November 2008
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Fishing Canyon Lake Texas

Canyon Lake is great for the whole family. There are 15 RV Parks, Campgrounds with 30 amp and 50 amp hookups.

Canyon Lake camping rates are from $15 to $30 per night with the off season being somewhat less. It is recommended that you reserve your camping space well in advance as it is a popular campgrounds during the peak season.

Renting a cabin on Canyon Lake for you and your family for a fishing trip can be an exciting adventure. Enjoying the rustic atmosphere of a cabin versus staying in a motel can make your fishing trip all the more memorable.

Rental cabins that are appealing to most families are the ones with a lake view, somewhat secluded in that you are not sharing your vacation with a host of neighbors, or listing to someone’s favorite loud music.

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Posted on 22nd November 2008
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How to Rig Live Worms to Catch More Trout

If you spend any time fishing for trout with live worms, this article is for you. More than 25 years ago I was introduced to the most effective live bait rig that I’ve since come in contact with, and in this article I’m going to introduce you to that trout fishing rig. The rig is called a “gang hook rig”, and when it comes to fishing with live worms, there is nothing more effective.

The bottom line is that after reading this article, you are going to know exactly how to rig live worms to catch more trout (and any other species of fish for that matter). Let’s begin with your live worms themselves. We want to keep them as lively as possible whenever we’re on the water fishing. This is where a bait bag becomes such a godsend to the trout angler. A bait bag is simply a small bag that hangs from your fishing vest and not only keeps your worms at your fingertips at all times, it also gives you the ability to easily dip your worms into the water to cool them of and keep them lively. A bait bag is a must have for any angler who wades or spends time moving from fishing spot to fishing spot (which are both something that most trout anglers spend a lot of time doing).

Now for the hooks that you employ while trout fishing. When trout fishing it’s incredibly important that you use small hooks, and when I say small hooks I mean no hooks larger than a size 6. As a matter of fact I personally use size 10 hooks for almost all of my trout fishing. The point is that small hooks should be employed when trout fishing. And whatever you do, don’t think that large trout can’t be landed on small hooks. I’ve personally landed many trout over twenty inches while using size 10 hooks.

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Posted on 21st November 2008
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What You Should Know About Trout Fishing in Canada

Trout fishing is very popular in Canada. In fact, a lot of fishing spots are dedicated to these fish alone. And if you are going to enjoy a trout fishing weekend sometime soon, these are the things you need to know:

1. Choose the best trout fishing site in Canada.

The best trout fishing spots would be Quebec, Newfoundland, Ontario, and British Columbia. Select the destination that perfectly fits your interest and budget. Rates are higher during the peak season. You might want to fish during the off-season because there will be fewer anglers during that time, although your catch in a day may be affected as well.

2. Use light gear and bait.

When trout fishing, the size of your bait and gear matters a lot. A five-foot ultra light rod is ideal for trout fishing in Canada. And they go well with smaller lures. Ideally, they shouldn’t be any bigger than a quarter of an ounce.

3. Be patient and don’t make any noise when trout fishing.

The trout in Canada can perceive any kind of noise and disturbances over the water’s surface. And if that happens, they won’t be surfacing any more enough. Instead, they will go deeper into the water and you won’t be catching any of them at all.

4. Use clothes with drab colors.

Trout are sensitive fish. They will be able to see you if you are wearing a bright colored shirt. They can also distinguish plain whites. As much as possible, use clothes that blend well with your background. Use gray or brown shirts instead of bright white or red.

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Posted on 20th November 2008
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Care And Repair Of Fishing Lures

Making fishing lures may be easy for the seasoned do-it-yourself
angler. But the maintenance of these lures is just as important to
ensure a tip-top condition.

After buying or making the fishing
lures there is still the responsibility of taking care of and repairing
them so that they are always in good condition. This requires some
effort and time but is usually easy for the angler who makes his own
fishing lures.

Since he makes them and puts them together, he
also knows how to take them apart and repair them. He also has the
tools and fishing lure parts necessary for such work. All the tools
required to assemble the parts and make the lures are explained on this
page at http://www.make-your-own-fishing-lures.com/hand-tools.html .

Fishing
lures in general do not require much care when storing them in a home
or shop. The best idea is to put them into cabinet drawers or
individual boxes so that they can be found easily and can be kept dry.
In humid climates or near the seashore it is important not to expose
the metal parts to the air; otherwise, hooks will rust and other metals
will corrode.

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Posted on 4th November 2008
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Big Opt-In Lists, Trade Secrets & Fishing Trips

Last weekend, on a beautiful Saturday morning, I went fishing

with a friend on the Pecos River here in New Mexico. We had been
fishing for a couple of hours when my friend decided he would carefully
approach the subject of getting more opt-in subscribers for his
newsletter. He knew I had over 400,000 opt-in subscribers for T-Shirt
King?s newsletter and he wanted to know how I did it. He was afraid
that it was a trade secret and I would brush him off and continue to
fish. That was my reaction initially.

You see, I get this type of question all the time. When it
comes at a time when I?m fishing, a simple answer like that is the
easiest, and it keeps us fishing instead of talking. However, this
morning I was a softy and, after some prodding, I gave in.

To begin with, let me quickly explain that there are two
sales tools that all online retailers should use regardless of what you
sell. You should have a newsletter and an affiliate program. My friend
already had a newsletter and an affiliate program and I?m going to
assume you do too.

We put our poles down and sat on the edge of the river to
discuss how my friend could build an opt-in list of over 100,000 this
year. He had a lot bigger expectations for his opt-in list than he did
for this fishing trip. He never did get back to fishing.

His first question was about getting people on his site to
opt-in. He had an opt-in subscription box on his site already and it
was prominently placed. But, with over 5,000 daily visitors, he was
only getting about twenty subscribers. It was a real disappointment.

So, my first suggestion was to set up a contest. He could
give away just about anything he wanted to from a free t-shirt to a
free fishing trip. I use a free t-shirt a day on T-Shirt King. To join
the contest, you just have to join the newsletter (opt-in). Check it
out ?

The next suggestion was to use a pop-up to promote the contest
and the subscription offer. Of course, my friend immediately groaned at
the thought of adding a pop-up to his site (for a minute there, I
thought we might get back to fishing). However, I told him about using
a cookied pop-up that occurs only once a day for each user. This way it
minimizes the annoyance of pop-ups. Plus, anyone that really hates
pop-ups already has pop-up blocker software. But the proof is in the
results. When I added our contest and a pop-up, we did better than
quadrupling our subscriber rate. For my fishing buddy, it would take
him from 20 opt-in?s a day to over 80.

The investment for a contest can be minimal when compared to

the cost of gaining subscribers any other way. You know that you can
find companies that will sell you subscribers for fifteen cents a piece
or more ? right? Why pay such a high price for poor quality subscribers
when you can make a smaller investment and get more subscribers of much
higher quality?

At $.15 per subscriber, that?s $15,000 for 100,000
subscribers of questionable quality. Using these methods can cost you
less than a hundred bucks for 100,000 high quality, targeted
subscribers!

Alright ? now for the big guns. Uh, er, the ?heavy tackle? -
since we?re fishing. Let?s take your list building operation and put it
on hundreds, or even thousands, of other websites. There are two
methods. Building a newsletter co-op and arming your affiliates with a
secret weapon.

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Posted on 3rd November 2008
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Night Fishing For Catfish

Night fishing for catfish can be a very rewarding fishing trip .Trust me If you do it Correctly you will catch fish, not only will you catch fish but some will be lunkers!
Catfish feed at night and are very active, and when they get into a feeding frenzy the fishing action can be incredible! Catfish are attracted to submerged lighting And have a very keen sense of smell. So If you can locate their nightly haunts you can entice them on to your hook with some simple methods I will explain here. But first you must be setup and prepared for night fishing it is totally different at night then in the day. Things you take for granted during the day, don?t apply at night.
Equipment you will need :
Boat
Boat Anchors
Separate 12v Battery To run lights
Night Lights
Submerged Lighting
Live Bait Keeper
Chum bag
Rod Holders
Heavy Bait Casting Or Spinning Rig
Insect Repellent
Boat Setup for night fishing
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Posted on 2nd November 2008
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Fly Fishing For Carp

With gas nearing $4.50 these days, its time to look at your fishing options. Lets see, your first option is to drive 2 1/2 hours to the nearest trout river and spend $70 on gas. What you’ll get is a great day pursing the fish we all love. Trout are great, I would be crazy to argue that. The problem here is affordability. You might be able to afford one, maybe two trips a month at these gas prices. Okay but lets be serious here. Is fly fishing once a month really going to cut it? For me the answer is a resounding “No Way!” I’m completely addicted to this sport, and because of this, I need to get as much time on the water as possible! So, unless you are independently wealthy or live on the river you’re feeling the pinch, I know I am.

Your second option is one I’m really excited about. You see, I pass this pond on the way home everyday. It just so happens this pond is full of fish. By fish I mean carp, yes, I said, “carp.” So for last couple weeks I have been stopping by the pond with my 6 weight rod and testing the water. What I found was a real eye opener! Now I have been hearing the carp buzz for the last couple years. Numerous articles have recently defended, and even elevated its reputation as a sport fish. I had become more and more intrigued by the stories I was hearing. I’m here to tell you all this hype is justified! In the last couple weeks I have been challenged like no trout I’ve known. I have been rejected so many times this week I don’t even want to admit it. It’s been awesome! I love the challenge; it makes it so much sweeter when you actually hook one. A carp will challenge you like no other fish I know in freshwater. Carp have even been dubbed “Rocky Mountain Bonefish,” and “Golden Bonefish,” because of the way they tail the flats, just like their saltwater comparison. They have incredible strength and stamina as well. All you need is some medium to larger size trout nymphs, a floating line, and a strike indicator. You can go without the indicator but I’ve found carp take the fly subtly when tailing and rooting around. Once I added an indicator my hook ups improved noticeably.

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Posted on 21st September 2008
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Is it Worth Learning How to Make Bamboo Fishing Rod?

The varieties of fishing rods and the materials from which they are made are many. Choosing the right type of fishing rod is in large part dictated by the fisherman’s preference of material, and many swear that a rod constructed of bamboo is far superior to other types of materials. In days past, bamboo rods were hand-made, a skill many people today are trying to replicate. But is it really worth learning how to make a bamboo fishing rod?

Bamboo is itself an extremely versatile material. When used as a type of wood, the bamboo harvested must already be several years old so that it possesses the strength needed for its new purpose. When used in making fishing rods, the bamboo needs this strength as well as flexibility to become the tool favored by many fishermen for its excellent performance. Being durable and lightweight, it was the primary material used for many years in fly fishing, and continues to be a popular choice in fly fishing rods and also casting rods. Many rods fashioned years ago remain in good shape and continue to be enjoyed at favorite fishing holes, proving their durable nature.

That being said, learning how to make a bamboo fishing rod can be quite a daunting task, and definitely not one to be undertaken by a complete amateur. The process sounds simple enough, but the time and labor involved in accomplishing the steps is what will make or break the resolve of the craftsman. In brief, the steps are as follow: A quality piece of bamboo first needs to be found. The bamboo must be cut into strips that will compose the rod sections, bound together to retain their shape, and then dried to remove any excess moisture present. This is done the long way by air drying, or more quickly by using large ovens. After completely dried, the strips must be glued together to form the tubular shape of a rod, then dried again. Sanding and planing of the rod surface brings the rod to its final stages Sounds easy enough, right? Consider that one rod can take between 60-80 hours to complete, not to mention the expense of procuring the right tools and equipment for making the rod.

Still want to try your hand at creating your own bamboo rod? There are sources that offer bamboo rod kits. With much of the difficult and time consuming work already done for you, you will be able to finish off the rod with step by step directions and be casting off with your “original” bamboo rod in about one week’s time.

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Posted on 17th September 2008
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Cowlitz River Steelhead Fishing

In the State of Washington rivers run big. I guess with all that rain the water has to go somewhere. The Cowlitz River is no exception. At places in the river the Cowlitz is a 100 yards wide. It can be waded in places but a boat is needed to get to the prime gravel bars. Steelhead school up behind these gravel bars waiting for the random salmon roe that float off the redds. Cowlitz River steelhead fishing can be successful with a variety of techniques. With a spinning reel and rod, you can bounce roe or use a lure like a Jackall Aragon in green or red. The Sunfish green is my favorite because it most closely represents the salmon parr. Holding the lure in the feeding area while giving it some back and forth action is the most successful. When fishing from gravel bars be careful not to disturb any redds. If you don’t know what a redd looks like have someone point one out to you. After that they become quite easy to recognize.

For fly fisherman there are many techniques that can be employed. Swinging streamers through the feeding area is both effective and you get the hardest strikes. Let the streamer dangle a while at the end of the swing. Casting from a boat with a weighed line through the gravel bar and into the pool at the tail with a nymph or Glo bug will give you subtle strikes but big steelhead. Nymphs I would recommend are the Polar Shrimp, the Hare’s Ear and the Golden PT. There is a third method that I would like to tell you about taught to me by the best nymph fisherman I have ever seen.

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Posted on 16th September 2008
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