Fly Fishing in California

The beautiful state of California has so many amazing streams, rivers, and lakes that are great for fly fishing. There are so many mountain rivers that have been deemed for hydro-electric power that in turn create marvelous tail waters for fly fishing. Here are a few great places and some helpful hints for California fly fishing.

Most of the lakes can be fly fished close to the shore. It is possible to stand on the bank and cast out or use a pair of chest waders and wade into the lake a few yards and cast out further. Using a belly boat is another great way to fly fish the lakes. The great thing about belly boats is they are easy to put into the lake and easy to take out. All that is required is a fairly shallow or gently sloping bank. You can step into a belly boat and simply walk into the lake. When it is deep enough your feet don’t touch the bottom, you float and cast for trout. If you’re interested in reading more about fishing for trout click here.

In most of the lake a five weight fishing rod works perfectly. They also work perfectly in a belly boat. To read more about fly fishing rods click here.

The tail waters below the large California dams make some great waters to catch fish. The water brings in food and other items that have been sucked out of the lake and pushed through the turbines. When it exits and the water settles down it is perfect for fish. Tail waters usually fish best with wet flies like midges. Click here to read more about fly fishing in California and other parts of the country.

Top five Best Fishing Spots in Alaska

Alaska is home to some of the best fishing in the world. There are so many species and so much water it’s hard to decide where the best places are to go fishing. However, after careful consideration, here are five of the top fishing spots Alaska has to offer. Before you go you should check the local fishing regulations to make sure of the limits. Click here to see the importance.

One of the great places is Old Harbor Alaska, on Kodiak Island. All round Kodiak Island the water is teeming with fish. Between May 15^th and June 15^th the King Salmon is excellent. Fishing along the shoreline using herring, either whole fish or cut bait will cut many kings that are in the 40lb to 50lb range. After catching your share of kings you can go out off of the coast and catch black bass. These are best caught using jigs while deep sea fishing. If you’re interested in finding out more about deep sea fishing, click here.

Another great spot is in the heart of downtown Anchorage, on Ship Creek. This great river is full of salmon, mainly silvers. This piece of water is great because you can wade and catch fish without having to worry too much about bears. Because it is in the city it has a different flavor of Alaska fishing, but has benefits such as hotels and fine restaurants.

Skagway is a great spot to go fishing. The ocean in front of the town, as well as the stream running through the town, provides some great salmon fishing.

Juno, the state capital, is an island surrounded by great fishing waters. Here there are many charters waiting to take you out to catch any of the salmon species, depending on the month.

Ketchikan is also an excellent place to fish. Click here to read more about fishing on WFN.

Best Rigs for Deep Sea Fishing in spring

Some of the best fishing is springtime deep sea fishing. This is when the big fish are beginning to get active because the water is getting warmer. Here are few of the best rigs to troll for big fish.

One of the best rigs to troll with is a soft plastic squid. Squid is a favorite food of most large fish so they will key in on the shape as its being trolled. The key with trolling soft plastic squid baits it to troll at speed that will imitate the speed that squid swim. In calm seas this is between 6 and 9 knots.

Another great rig is hard plastic tuna imitation bait. Large fish love to eat tuna and the bigger the bait the larger the fish that will try to eat it. A 14 inch hard plastic bait with a 12/0 fish hooks are just perfect. It is also advisable to use a good strong leader. A 12 foot leader of 500lb monofilament line will do the job. The shock and abrasion will be absorbed by the leader without damaging the main line.

The umbrella rig is another great rig to use in the springtime. The umbrella lure is designed to simulate a school of bait fish. Some use hook less blades that look like the flash of a fish, but others use full-fledged hard plastic swim baits. Umbrella rigs come in many styles from a simple 4 prong rig to a complex 12 prong rigs. Imagine how a 12 prong rig would look with each prong holding a 14 inch tuna lure. It is almost impossible for a large game fish to pass up a school of 12 fish. It is a perfect rig to use on a Florida fishing trip.

Will Fish Farming Harm Natural Habitats

During the last couple of years there has been a lot of discussion regarding fish farming and how much damage they do to the eco system of the ocean. Some studies indicate that they do a great deal of harm, while others show that the harm, if any, is minimal. Reports that contradict each other make it difficult for the average angler to make useful conclusions; however, here are some of the issues and what has been discussed.

Fish farms are designed to raise the largest number of fish in the smallest area of water. The purpose of farming fish is to reduce the fishing pressure on the most popular species of fish. When the numbers of fish drop during the excessive pressure, fishing regulations respond by lowering the limits. This makes the prices rise and overall the consumer is unhappy. The problem with fish farming is the uneaten food and feces drop out of the pens and collect at the bottom of the ocean. Because the fish farms are located in coastal waters this pollutes beaches or shores. The waste even travels out into the ocean and effects deep sea fishing. It appears that the waste particles stay together in large plumes instead of dissipating throughout the ocean.

The ocean has its own natural way of handling waste that accumulates on the bottom. Certain species of fish and bacteria will eat the naturally occurring waste and recycle it into the ecosystem. However, these organisms aren’t able to keep up with the volume of waste created by the fish farms.

It has been suggested, after consulting pie charts and fishing maps, that if the number of fish in the farms was reduced and there was a resting period between crops, that the ocean could accommodate fish farms, in other words, moderation in all things.

How to Catch a Trout: fly fishing

Fishing for trout using a fly is one of the most fun, relaxing and enjoyable sports in the world. However, both sports, fly fishing and trout fishing, can be challenging for the novice. Here are some strategies to help you catch a trout on a fly.

First lesson is to find the right places to look for the trout. In almost every stream trout will be in the slower water. They like to conserve energy whenever possible. One of their favorite places is along the seam where fast water meets slow water. The trout will sit on the slow water side and watch the food float by in the fast water. When they spy an inviting morsel they’ll dash into the fast water, biting quickly, and get back into the slower water. This makes for some great hard bites on a nymph or midge.

When the fly is drifting on the bottom the floating fly line will be drifting fast on the top of the water, which pulls the fly unnaturally. By mending the line, flipping it upstream from the fly, you’ll get a natural drift.

When the trout bites small fish hooks they have to be set carefully. It is very easy to pull the fly out of the fish’s mouth. Trout also have soft mouths so if you set the hook too hard all you’ll reel in are lips. The best way to set the fly is to let the fish set it. When the fish bites, pull back an inch or two, just enough so the fish thinks the fly is getting away. The fish will then hit it hard and run. You simply jerk back smoothly about five inches. This sets the little hook usually right in the lip.

Fly Fishing in Montana

Montana has been blessed with stunningly beautiful landscape that has been seasoned with trout filled water. These alluring waters are irresistible to anglers, especially those who are addicted to fly fishing. There are so many great places to wet a fly that it is hard to decide on just one. Here are a few of the best places to go trout fishing in Montana.

Going out of Yellowstone national park, the Yellowstone River boasts of beautiful trout. These big fish are almost always hungry which makes fly fishing incredible. Depending on the season and time of day nymph fishing or streamer fishing techniques are very effective. This stretch of river from the state line north through Livingstone generally fishes very well. In addition to good fishing, this part of the river flows through charming country.

Madison River is known as an amazing fly fishing river. The entire river is just absolutely remarkable. However, the tail waters of Earthquake Lake flowing down to the inlet of Ennis Lake seems to have been made with fly fishing in mind. This is midge country. The tiny little flies tied onto tiny #20 or #22 fish hooks seem to be fish magnets.

Madison River ends by merging in with Jefferson River and the Gallatin River. The largest of these three rivers forms the head waters of the Missouri river. At the contours of these rivers there is some very impressive habitat created that is home to many fish and some spectacular fly fishing , the combination of fast water and slow water along with the changing depths of water and even and island or two makes this entire area an anglers paradise. All of the different types of fly fishing may be used in this one area with great success.

Five Best Grouper Lures

Deep sea fishing for grouper is an exciting adventure. The best place to find groupers is to go Florida fishing out in the deep water. There are many different kinds of lures that can be used for grouper. Here are five of the best.

The Williamson Live Squid lure is a great way to attract their attention. This nine inch squid imitator uses either 8/0 or 10/0 fish hooks. The rigged model is set up with 8/0 fish hook and 6 feet of 200# test line. It has life like swimming action as it’s pulled through the water.

Mold Craft makes a lure called CastaHoo that is set up with a 1 ½ oz. 9/0 jig head and a soft plastic body that have great swimming action. This lure can be fished deep with a large sinker to get it down to the depths where the grouper are. It is made from several bright colors to attract their attention.
The new Whirligig by Shimano is a great lure to use for grouper fishing. It is designed to swim in a circular motion like a wounded bait fish. It comes in several colors and sizes so it can imitate many species of bait fish.
The Wobble Deal lure by Atom is a great grouper lure that can be fished in many different ways. It can be trolled or jigged, but fishing at 600 feet depths you will most likely jig it. It has a great wobble action that attracts the groupers attention.

Atom also makes the Vi-Ke jig. This is a great all around lure that works well with grouper as well as many other species. It has a highly polished nickel finish that creates a flash in the water that makes fish want to strike it. It is made with a red tail that helps it attract fish. It comes in many sizes from 8 oz. to 24 oz. The big 24 oz. model will sink down to the baited depths.

Best Rigs for Walleye in Spring

When the winter weather finally leaves and spring moves in to warm up the water, walleye begin to wander away from their deep winter retreats and move into spawning mode. As the water temperature approaches 42° to 52° the spawning season begins. Here are some of the better rigs to try during this difficult season.

Walleye spawn where there is some form of structure or gravel to protect the eggs. This could be along a dam, a stone reef, rubble piles, gravel bars, or even in an area of flooded vegetation. These are the areas where you want to be fishing during the spring spawn.

For the most part, walleye are not interested in eating during the 2 or 3 weeks during the spawn or the 2 or 3 weeks after the spawn, however, a few males will occasionally nibble on a few things here and there. With this behavior in mind, the best tackle to use is ultra-light fishing gear. Load up your fishing reels with 2lb. test monofilament line. Attach the reels to graphite fishing rods. Thiswill help you feel exceptionally light nibbles. Care must be taken when setting the hook during these gentle strikes or you will pull the hook out of their mouths and far enough they won’t go after it again. When you feel alight nibble pull the line about an inch and wait. When you feel it bite again, pull it another inch or inch and a half and wait. The third time you should feel a good strong strike and you can set the hook.

A good bait to use are live minnows on #2 long shank fish hooks. They seem to like live baits during spawn. If they are slow biting try adding a couple of bright red beads and if they still won’t work, try chartreuse beads. If they’re being stubborn ultimately try a jig.

Spring Goliath Grouper Fishing

One of the most fun fishing trips a person can have is deep sea fishing for the goliath grouper. These big fish offer an endurance test and a technical challenge to catch them and get them into the boat. Here’s some of the best ways to go after these great fish.

The goliath grouper like nice warm deep water to live in. The deep water off of the Florida coast is home to many of these fish because of the great water, structure, and temperature. If you choose to go Florida fishing for grouper you’ll be in good company with many guides and boats for hire.

It’s best to begin the day early by going to oil rigs. The oils rigs are home to many bait fish like blue runners and hard tails. These fish are easy and fun to catch on light weight tackle like spinners and spoons. You want to fill a live well with a couple dozen of these bait fish that are between 10 and 13 inches long.

After you’ve caught your bait, which is almost as much fun as bass fishing back home, you’re ready to go out to the deep water where the big grouper like to hang out. The fish like some of the deep water areas around 650 feet. They like to hang out on a shelf and eat the bait fish that swim below them. The best way to find these areas and the fish is to use a fish finder. A good fish finder, like a Garmin, will allow you to clearly, with sharp accurate detail, see into the depths and find both the structure and the fish.

Essentials for Lure Creation

Fishing has always been both art and science. One of the best demonstrations of this is creating your own fishing lures. To conceive, design, and fabricate effective fishing lure requires knowledge of both the art and science. Here are some of the essentials for constructing your own lures.

It doesn’t matter if you’re deep-sea fishing or bass fishing; the first thing you must know is what attracts a fish. Science shows that fish are attracted by sight, sound, smell, and vibrations. The most common lures try to attract fish by appealing to their sense of sight. There are several ways to visually stimulate a fish. These include shape, color, and texture.

It seems every type of fish has certain colors that will attract its attention. Some fish like yellow, other fish, like trout, like florescent orange and bright red. Bass seem to like bright colors like the bright colors of yellow, green and chartreuse. All fish seem to be attracted to a shiny flash of light no matter if it’s silver, gold, or brass.

Once the science part of the fish has been thought through, then the art portion of the lure becomes critical. The art segment includes materials and design. Should the lure be plastic, wood, or metal? There is nothing more impressive than a handcrafted basal wood lure shaped like a shad or minnow and then perfectly painted. Metal lures can be cut, filed, and polished before they are painted. The design of the metal lures can vary from fish-like to spoon-like to just a piece of metal like the Kastmaster.

Other important part of designing a lure is the type and placement of the fish hooks. Some designs use single hooks, others prefer treble hooks. Generally, lures incorporate one to three treble hooks for a great hook-up.