Catfishing the Right But Simple Way There are a few basic methods that are effective in catching catfish. Bear in mind that specific methods are applicable to specific kinds of waters. That is because techniques and baiting mixtures are formulated for specific targets. The following methods are simple, yet proven successful when used: 1) Rigging method - Depending on the bait used,...

A few years back, I spent a year living in Siberia and had a chance to head out to a town called Tinda. Much to my surprise, a couple of the locals had fly fishing on the menu. The Siberian Surprise Mention the word "Siberia" and most people think of bleak, frozen tundra stretching for hundreds of miles. Well, this is more or less true in the winter. In the summer, however, much of Siberia...

Colorado Fly Fishing - Bait Huckin' vs. Fly Fishin'

Rick Chapo

It was one of those fishing trips. You know, everyone catches fish but you, you loose six or eight of your most expensive streamers, it rains buckets, and you sink the boat. That’s right; I got skunked at Steamboat Lake over Memorial weekend.
I was determined to show those meat huckers (worms and power bait) that a well chosen and strategically placed fly was as effective as anything a conventional fisherman could load on a hook and hang under a bobber. Well, no such luck, I got stomped.
The fish were rising like mad on a midge hatch, and I threw everything in the box at them. I could swear I saw a hefty rainbow nudge my fly to the side to eat the natural laying only centimeters from my damn near perfect replica. As we watched the group of 12 year olds add another 18” fish to their stringer (full loaded, I might add) I decided it must be a lake thing. I don’t fish lakes often.
I usually have good luck with a streamer in faster moving water, so I head for one on the several tributaries hoping to get the boat up far enough to make a make a few good casts. No such luck, here comes the wind. Determined and frustrated, I proceed to lose several of my best streamers in the dense shrubbery surrounding the mouth of the creek (can’t retrieve them since the current is too strong to get the boat any further up the creek).
On the way back to camp we are passed by a couple of boats with stringers of fish crashing off the bows of their boats (hmmm, are they just rubbing it my face, or are they tenderizing the meat?)Questioning my decision to become a fly fisherman, I head over to the dock to pick up my 5 year-old son and a fresh styro of night crawlers. I'll let my son fish the meat before I crumble and load one up on the spinner myself. Surprising, no luck with the meat either, and hear comes the rain. I throw my arms up and ponder my karma activity of the past year.
We charge for shore as the lake turns to white caps. The rain and lightning moves in fast. Did I mention that we got the boat for free and have no clue what to do in the rain? We pull the boat up close to shore near our camp, outside of the no-wake zone. We leave all of our gear and head for the soggy camp.
Well, apparently it’s best to leave your boat in protected cove in the no wake zone. From what we could tell, our boat was hammered with 300 to 400 gallons of water from the waves and boat wakes from boaters rushing back to the dock. Yes, it sank in 18 inches of water. I didn’t realize a boat could sink in 18” of water! All of our gear is floating around the shore. The gas tank and gear which included an Orvis waste pack with hmmmm, some 500 plus flies. Every box any fly had to be opened and dried on the dashboards of our trucks.
We bail the boat, load the truck and haul our soggy gear and crippled egos back home.
Next memorial day, it’s back to the river!!!
About the author: Rick Chapo is with Nomad Journals - makers of writing journals for fly fishing anglers. See Fly Fishing Journals on our site.

Like everything else in this world, quality matters when trout fishing. If all you will ever do is fish for small trout and pan fish, virtually any cheap fly reel will work just fine. In these situations, all a reel really does is to serve as a place to hold fly line. And even a cheap reel does this task ok. Unfortunately, this all changes once you get a large fish on the other end of your fly line. If the fly reel you are using is not well made with precision parts, the line will come out with uneven tension or the fly reel may seize up altogether. The reason cheap fly reels are inexpensive...

The latest information and news on Fishing:

Is Ice Fishing in Montana on Your Bucket List?
An ice fishing trip to Montana is on the bucket list of many an angler, and who could blame them? The wide open skies and abundance of glacial and non-glacial waters is as attractive to an outdoorsman as a glow hook is to certain species of fish.
Minnesota Ice Fishing Shanty Rentals that Won?t Leave You Cold
Headed to Minnesota for an ice fishing excursion and wondering where you can rent a lake-front cabin and an ice shanty? Well, I have you covered. Here are a few suggestions: Lake Winnibigoshish Looking for copious amounts of perch?
AP Interview: Maine fishing chief aims for growth
Maine's new top fisheries official is vowing to grow the economic value of the state's oldest industry, commercial fishing, and the coastal communities that rely on the ocean.
Fishing the rivers will be different in 2012 than last year
Pursuing finned creatures in the sweetwater and brine for better than 50 years has made certain facts inevitable. One of the most important of these facts is that fish, no matter where they live, being creatures of habit and their environment, thrive on stability.
Film series captures thrills, moods of fly fishing
Montana fishing guide Mark Raisler prepares to release a brown trout in the Missouri River during filming of "Missouri Trout: Sipping Dry," one of the films featured in the 2012 Fly Fishing Film Tour. The filmmaker, Simon Perkins, is a fly-fishing guide based near Craig, Mont.
What You Need to Know About Winter Fishing in Virginia
Contemplating a winter fishing trip to Virginia? Before you pack up the car and go, there are a few things you should know. Here's a quick look at licensing issues and a suggestion on where to set up your lines: Licensing Issues When it comes to fishing regulations, Virginia...
Winter Fishing in Kentucky: A Trip Planning Guide
When you think of Kentucky, you are more apt to think of aged bourbon, horse racing, and the distinctive sound of bluegrass music. Well, my friend, it is time that you expanded your view of the unbridled state to include trophy bass and the unparalleled thrill of fishing in the...
Fishing outing turns tragic for two siblings
SIBU: A fishing outing turned tragic for two brothers when they were found drowned in Sungai Antu by their mother at about 8.30pm last Saturday.
Fishing Line: 02/02/12
AMERICAN RIVER - Nimbus Hatchery is loaded with steelhead, so there is no question that there are plenty of fish in the river. Even so, getting them to bite is never a sure thing and so it was last week.
Very good ice fishing in northeast Washington
Here is the latest fishing report from Dave Graybill, longtime Eastern Washington outdoor radio host and angler:

In British Columbia, Canada, salmon purse seiners line up at fishing access points, forming well defined queues. These queues were measured over time, using a one-dimensional recording scale. Sixty-one overflights of Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte Strait were attempted; 51 flights were completed. Two models were presented for exploitation rates in relation to queuing patterns. The overflight model was fit to the line-up distributions. One underlying assumption was that the skippers possessed fairly accurate information regarding the distribution of catches (analysis of variance...