How to catch walleye. The rip or snap jigging technique is a very under utilized technique for walleyes. I am on the water alot and I rarely see walleye fisherman use this rip jigging technique. Equipment for rip jigging include a graphite medium rod with a soft tip. For reel use an open
spincast. Line use flouro carbon or one of the other no streach lines in 15 to 20 pound test. Having a graphite rod with a soft tip and a super line that is no strech will make a big difference in your jig fishing success. It will allow you to feel the walleye bite which is sometimes very soft.
One of the most basic flys to tie is called the rabbit hare nymph. It is a nymph that will catch alot of fish. This nymph is my favorite nymph to fish and my favorite nymph to tie. The hare nymph simulates a may fly nymph. The steps needed to tie a hares ear nymph are below.
1) First put your hook in the vise and use your bobbin to start your thread around the shank of the hook.
As discussed on this website maybe one of the deadliest techniques for bass is using the Senko rigged wacky style worm (hooked in the middle) of the worm. Using a 4 or 7 inch senko
shaking the rod working the rod tip from the 10 oclock to the 12 oclock position gives the senko a very enticing wiggly motion that bass find hard to resist. Fishing the senko or other wacky syle worms work very well without weight or with a splitshot in weed pockets or the top of submerged weeds. Now lets talk about fishing the weedline out into deeper water.
The Senko is a great bait for catching bass. It is a very famous lure. You can rig a Senko Texas style or wacky style. I can tell that wacky style is the way to go. Wacky style is where you simply hook the Senko in the middle of the worm. Hooking the senko in the middle gives the bait much
irregular enticing action when you shake the rod (described below). What size , what color to use?, Here in Minnesota the 4 inch is probably the standard but get some 7 inch ones also. There will be days when the bass will prefer one size over the other. What color? The most popular color is the natural brown or cinnamon color, purple , white, and black are also good producers. Equipment use a 6.5 ft rod with a baitcaster or spincast reel with 15 to 20 pound flouro carbon line. How do fish the senko? Cast the senko and let it fall to the bottom. On the fall if you see the line move set the hook, you might have a fish. When fishing the Senko you will get most of your strikes when the Senko is on the fall. When the line stops you are on the bottom. Reel in the slack, then shake the rod moving the rod tip up approximately a foot from the 10 oclock position to the 12 oclock position. Also try small fast shakes twitching your rod (from the 10 oclock to 12 oclock position) tip. Let the fish tell you what action they want for the shaking action. Let the senko drop to the bottom. Reel in the slack slowly keeping the bait within a foot of the bottom. Then repeat the rod shaking described above. Work the bait back to you. Do not shake the rod and reel at the same time. That will move the bait to far off the bottom (where most of your fish are). Add the Senko to your how to catch fish methods if you have not done so. The Senko rigged and fished wacky style is the hot bass bait.
Many fly fisherman tie there own flys. It is an enjoyable hobby in itself and will save you a lot of money if you are a serious fly fisherman. To get started with fly tying equipment is really not that expensive.
To get started Tying flys you will need the following equipment:
1) A fly tying vise is the most needed tool for fly tying. The vise will hold the hook of the fly you are tying. 2) Bobbin (whip tool) will hold the thread you are tying flys with. it will wind the thread around the fly (applying tention). 3) Hackle pliers clamp around feathers and allow you to wrap a feather around the base of a hook. 4) Whip Finisher or Half Hitch tool is used to finish off the knot of your thread. 5) Small scissors. 6) Serrated scissors (good for cutting feathers).
Nice to have equipement once you get started
1) Half Stacker used to even up the feathers on a fly 2) Wire Cutters for cutting lead weight, wire etc. 3) All purpose scissors 4) Bobkin is used to apply cement on your threads after you finished tying 5) Hackle gad pliers holds back the feathers so you can finish tying the thread to hold the feathers. 6) Razor blades for cutting material. 7) Bench or table for your fly tying. 8) How to tie fly books 9) An led reading light works well for fly tying 10) Plastic Containers of different sizes for storing items such as feathers , hooks, thread yard etc. Fly boxes for storing finished flys.
How to catch bass. One of the favorite all time methods for rigging plastic baits (worms , lizards, crayfish, creature baits
etc.) is called the Texas rig. The Texas rig is a favorite for bass fisherman and tournament anglers.
Many bass fisherman would not think about being without this method. To rig a texas worm. Take an offset
worm hook and start threading the worm through the nose up to the bend in the hook, Then put the hook thru
the bottom of the worm and slide the worm up to the eye of the hook right thru the bend in the worm hook.
Then rotate the worm . You are now ready to embed the hook to make your Texas rig weedless. Let the worm lay straight.
At the bend of the hook is where you will insert the hook. Thread out the top of the worm. Now the hook
should be perpendicular to the back of the worm. You then pull slightly the plastic worm up and
bury the tip of the hook into the plastic. Your Texas rig is now almost weedless. You can use other plastic
baits (izards, crayfish, creature baits etc.)to do the same. Try the texas rig to help you catch more fish.
Flippin and Pitchin is a great way to fish bass. Wether you are fishing a weedline, docks, fallen trees, a wall or other. The Flippin and Pitchin allows
you to cover water fast and effeciently. Equipment for Flippin and Pitchin would include a 7 ft rod , a bait caster reel and 20 pound floro carbon line. Bait to include as top choice a tube jig or a lizard jig. How to pitch. Take the bait with your hand and let enough line out so the lure is even with the reel. Put the rod tip down and lift the rod tip up. The lure will cast and drop softly to the place you want. Watch the line as it hits the water. Many hits come soon after. Any movement in the line set the hook. Take an example of fishing a weed line. You are using a trolling motor effeciently hitting precise spots along the weed line , letting the jig drop vertically , shaking or jigging the lure, then retrieving the jig back to the boat. Lone targets along the shore are also good targets for bass. An example a stump. Pitch the jig to the stump. Let the jig hit the stump and work thru limbs down to the bottom. Shake the jig and let it hit the stump and give off vibrations. For a good looking lone target you may want to cast 5-10 times. For flippin the lure technique. You take your free hand and grab the lure and put your hand out to the side of your body pulling out as much line as you can. Then lower then lift the rod and release the line with your free hand. Then let the bait drop the short distance to the target. You do not reel. As your lure hits the brush you jig a few times working the cover and when free from the cover pull the line in with the free hand and repeat , flip to a slightly different spot. You are not reeling. You work vary fast and effeciently this way. Try flippin and pitching to help you catch more fish. It is a fun and different way to fish. There is a very good reason why most tournament bass fishermen use the pitchin and flippin technique. It is a very fast and effecient way to cover a great amount of water.
In using different methods in how to catch fish sometimes the simpler is better. One of my favorite fly fishing methods for stream trout is using a nightcrawler on a number 6 hook on a 6 to 7 foot leader. Use a split shot or two in front of the nightcrawler. Use enough split shot to get your nightcrawler down to the bottom where the fish are. Hook the night nightcrawler through the nose. In using your fly rod fish the deeper pools. Let the nightcrawler drift naturally under undercut banks , under fallen trees logs, in eddys, or in any other cover the trout may be in. Start at the bottom of the pool keeping a low profile so you do not spook the fish. Cover fishing the entire pool spending more time in the fishier looking spots (like a deep eddy). If you experience your nightcrawler is being bit off without getting hooked use a second hook. Tie a pice of line to the first hook with enough length to hook the second hook in the middle of the nightcrawler. (You can opt for a spinner in front of your night crawler such as the one pictured in the photo.)Think of a trout in a deep pool feeding on tiny nymphs. A big nightcrawler comes drifting through the pool very naturally. Do you think a trout might be tempted. In many cases the answer is yes and that is why this method is very successful. Some fly fishing purists may scoff at this live bait method but I am not one of them. Be sure and check your regulations for the stream you are fishing. Some streams ban the use of live bait. For how to fly fish methods add the nightcrawler technique to your arsenal. It will help you catch more fish.
How to fly fish. For the beginner or novice fly fishermen a good selection of flys is a key to success. The fly fisherman needs to be versatile and change flies to match the hatch that is happening on the day they are fishing. In selecting beginning choices of patterns there are 3 types of Flys
1) Wet Flys that sink . 2) Dry Flys that float 3) Streamers are big sinking flies in most cases. Starting with dry flys some choices are: Black Midges , Blue wing olive may flys, Black quill, Cahill quill, Black midges. For streamer and nymphs some good begining patterns are : The wolly bugger , the muddler minnow, code head rabbit streamer. Different nymph patterns include the rabbit hare nymph, stone hedge nymph, scuds (different varieties). The May fly hatch is a very important hatch for fly fishermen. When the May fly hatch is on like is here in Minnesota about early june it is probably the favorite time of year for trout fisherman. When The main May fly hatch happens roads are covered with May flys. In fact in Hastings Minnesota the bridge over the Mississpi became so slick and covered with May flies that it caused a serious accident. When the May fly hatch comes out the trout in the streams go on a feeding binge to take advantage of this high protien food. Main May fly patterns are pheasant tail patterns, blue wing olive green drakes, light cahill . May flies come in different colors such as white , green , brown , and gray. Have an assortment of colors and check what colors you need in your area for the streams you are fishing. For May fly nymphs you are simulating a May fly hatching in a nymph form at the bottom of the stream and floating to the surface. May fly nymph patterns would include copper johns, blue wing olive nymphs , and sulfer nymphs. In learning how to fly fish selecting the proper flies is basic in helping you become a more successfull fly fisherman.
