This lure might scare you just by its size and PRICE alone (weighing in at a hefty $25 +/-), but trust me – this is what you want. So again, don’t be frightened by its size, its not like you’re going to have to impart much technique, its basically a cast out and steady retrieve type of lure. There are most likely other lures you could purchase, such as the Magnum Boo Tail or the Shumway Giant Flasher, but to avoid any confusion if you’re new to this, just pick up the Double Cowgirl and you’ll be satisfied if you follow these tactics and tips.

So no we have our lure, but we’re definitely going to want some rod and reel power. If you don’t own a heavy-action rod, now’s the time to invest in one if you plan on actually landing a muskie. Go with a long rod – 8- to 8 ½ feet – heavy-power, combine this with a reel with a low speed level-wind built for power. The Abu Garcia 7000 is great for this type of fishing; a very powerful bait casting reel with a great rate of retrieve that will definitely last you quite a few years. 80-pound test Spiderwire Stealth is a great choice of line; steel leader is optional, but not recommended.

Once you’re all set on gear and tackle, it’s time to get to work. As the title implies, the best time to make use of these tactics is at night. Check your local fishing reports at www.weather.com and look for the top menu bar that says “Outdoor Activities”, scroll over it, click on “Fishing”, type in your area code and you’re good to go. This will show you the best times that you’ll want to start fishing, but even without your local fishing report, if you head out at about 8:30-9:00pm you’ll be in good shape to get started regardless. Start by targeting an area about 5 to 10 feet deep, cast beyond your target and crawl your lure back to the boat (this can be done on shore as well but might not be as effective) slowly. You know you’re going the perfect speed when you’re reeling in your lure just fast enough to allow the blades to spin. When the blades start spinning, they create suction behind the lure which imparts a life-like action to the tail. Work the lure over submerged structures such as sand and rock bars. If you just so happen to excite a muskie and you see it follow your lure back to the boat, stay calm and do exactly as I say: when the lure is but a few feet away from the boat, plunge the tip of your rod into the water and start working it in a figure 8 motion. If the muskie didn’t strike before, he’s almost bound to after the figure 8. Work the figure 8 for as long as you can hold the muskie’s attention, and if nothing happens, then cast out and repeat.

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Because There’s A Difference Between Fishing And Just Standing On The Shore Like An Idiot.

It is difficult to choose which genre of fishing partner is best. There are plusses and minuses to each. Fishing with someone who is a better fisherman than you gives one the opportunity to learn more about the craft; to improve one’s own skills; become a better fisherman. It can also be a humbling experience. Not casting as well, not catching as many fish, becoming snagged more often, can be exasperating. When it becomes so, one must remember that the other guy is fishing with a lesser skilled fisherman and that too can have its ups and downs.

Fishing with those whose skills are not equal to your own can be very rewarding. Passing on your knowledge, the “tricks” that you’ve mastered and watching someone put them to use is most satisfying. It can be frustrating as well. Spending time getting unsnagged, dodging errant flies or lures, or removing them from oneself for lack of having dodged them can try the patience of any angler. Often the only solace can be found in the realization that you too have been on the other side of the equation. It should be noted here that teaching an absolute neophyte to fish may be the most enjoyable part of the sport. Watching someone get excited over a little fish that a more inured fisherman would disregard as a nuisance is an experience that is hard to rival.

Fishing with someone of relatively equal skill is perhaps the easiest way to pass the day. Catching similar size fish in similar numbers and having similar problems usually prevents either party from becoming upset with the other , or with himself. The only downside is that the element of “luck” sometimes throws a wrench into the works and one party fares much better than the other. It is, somehow, far more frustrating to be “out-fished” by someone whose skills you consider to be equal to your own than by “a master of the craft”.

The last category of fishing partners is made up of all of the previous categories, though mostly of those whose skills are regarded as well beyond those of the average fisherman. I’m talking about the fishermen of yore; the pioneers of a particular style or method; those whose words helped teach you how to read water, how to approach a stream stealthily; fishing partners who are with you even on those mornings of solitude that we all enjoy. Walton, Trueblood, Gordon, Lucas, Tappley, Williams the names are far too numerous to list and there are many others in each of our lives that other readers wouldn’t recognize, but who deserve equal billing. One may be miles from the nearest human, but one is never alone with a rod in his hand.

They can be called Smallies or Bronzebacks, these fish are a thrill to catch because of their tiring fights!

Habitat: Usually hiding in types of structure such as rocks, fallen trees, or anything that will act as shelter.

Diet: They eat crayfish, frogs, insects, and also fish eggs.

Bait: You should use Crank baits, worm harnesses and spinner baits for best results

Largemouth Bass:

These are similar cousins to the Smallmouth bass.

Habitat: These fish can be found in calm shallow areas of lakes and large river bays.

Diet: Largemouth Bass like to eat insects,minnows,leeches,frogs, and mice.

Bait: Soft Plastic worms and frogs,surface lures,crankbaits and jigs will serve as a very tasty meal.

Northern Pike:

Pike are solitary. Females grow larger, faster, and live longer than males do. These can live up to 26 years!

Habitat: Pike are found in lakes where the water is either still or in slow currents.

Diet: Pike will eat anything that swims because of their big size and teeth! Their favorites are other fish such as perch. Frogs and mice , muskrats and duckling provide meals as well!

Bait: Trolling spoons with the colors of white and red are most effective. You can also use large crank baits and surface lures.

Muskellunge:

Muskies are a favorite of many anglers because of their huge size and darting attack on baits!

Habitat:The Musky is found generally in the Great Lakes Basin, although some distribution occurs in other areas.

Diet: Other fish,frogs,small mammals and waterfowl.

Bait: Although you cannot use any small mammals as bait, you are still able to catch these thrills on large crank baits, large plugs, and large spoons.

Carp:

These fish are fun to catch for everyone! To catch this beauty, you must be patient!

Habitat: Lives in a wide variety of habitats, including ponds, lakes, streams, and large rivers.

Diet: Food diet includes macrophytes, detritus and algae, molluscs, aquatic insects and their larvae, minute crustaceans, and small fishes.

Bait: Carp like to eat corn, worms,prepared special baits, and dough.( I have another article that explains how to make carp bait! If you want, you can go to my page and make your own!)

Walleye:

Walleye are very tasty catches.Early morning and sunset are the ideal time to catch these delicacies.

Habitat: In clear lakes the walleye often lie in contact with the bottom, seemingly resting. In these lakes, they usually feed from top to bottom at night. In more turbid water they are more active during the day.

Diet: A wide variety of other fish, especially perch.

Bait: Jigs with grub tail or minnow and spinners.

Thats all the information!

Hope you have a good time fishing!

Solution

Fish are evolved to detect your bait components especially well when they are wet. This means that elements of your bait are able to become fully or at least semi-mixed or hydrated with water. Hydration of your bait is also very important because in order for many species fish to efficiently digest your free bait it needs to be hydrated. Most baits will finally fully absorb water over time depending on many factors regarding the bait and its ingredients and so on.

Hygroscopicity

This is an extremely productive property of your baits additives, liquids and ingredients to attract and absorb water. Think about it; these can ensure that your bait absorbs water even if it has been sealed pretty effectively by using proteinous eggs or similar binders in the mix to help bind it together as in boilies. Many types of pellets are heated as part of the shaping and extrusion process and depending upon the ingredients used, this can very much impact upon the bait performance in attracting and stimulating fish into feeding. Simple examples of hygroscopic substances are salt, yeast extract and glycerine as used in flavours.

Permeability

As with pellets, boilies are often made to make money as opposed to function as optimum fish stimulators. In fact it is obvious that some of the most effective baits are able to freely disperse their stimulators and attractors without limitation into the water column. However, such baits do not fit the criteria of many anglers who might prefer to have the same bait in a position in a swim for 48 hours or more for instance, before it becomes too soft to be practical as a hook bait. This does not stop permeability being a great fish-catching factor in both hook baits and ground baits of all kinds!

Density

Baits can differ in their productivity in part due to how much their ingredients have been compressed and this can seriously impact upon the rates of release of attractors, flavours, tastes etc into the water. Many machine-produced boilies and pellets actually have standard amounts of compression and density which I’m sure fish recognise in baits over time. I’ve certainly noticed that making free baits with extremely open texture and not using rolling in the bait making process results can be very much improved. Conversely, I do like to use hook baits that are bullet hard as I get the feeling that these are more difficult for fish to deal with for a range of reasons, not least because proportionately very few anglers fish with such hard baits these days.

Porosity:

This is a bait property which is again related to how effectively your bait ingredients and additives etc can escape from your bait in order to become part of the water so fish can detect them and follow the leaking trail back to its source. Also porosity is linked to many other important areas in bait. One for instance is the ability of your bait to hold liquids such as liquid amino acid mixtures or liquid fish protein or a concentrated flavour. Many bait ingredients can be used to make you bait hold more liquid and egg biscuit and even bread crumbs or ground-up pellets of many kinds can be exploited.

Solubility: This is related to the above and is one of the keys to a great fishing bait, but it is probably one of the least mentioned bait factors while the hot topics may be flavours or protein in baits. The fact is that although nitrogen and amino acids are essential to fish, as found in whole protein foods, it is the water soluble fraction of this protein that does the work of catching fish. If this was not so, then the top fish attractors would probably have zero solubility. Having looked into the solubilities of a huge range of bait ingredients and liquids and how they mix or do not mix together, it is still obvious that even those ingredients termed insoluble as with those stimulating fish oils or hemp oil for instance, these still do not have zero insolubility… The use of fish feed triggering liquid lecithins in baits helps with the semi-solubility of many substances and is especially effective in winter and low water temperatures.

Texture

Bait texture again can have a great bearing upon desired bait function in many ways. Many anglers get the impression that if a bait has some kind of crunch factor then it will be more acceptable than one without. While it is true that many baits have coarse ingredients within them naturally such as in many fish meals and bird foods, crunch factors has much more to it. These materials can aid in food gut transit and growth of fish intestinal villi which means more of your bait will get digested over time thus making it a more energy efficient and preferable food source. Fish are stimulated by sound and sound is very obvious in water! The coarse ingredients you use can obviously improve bait nutritional value too and use of hempseeds, and crushed cockle shell are both proven.

Buoyancy

Bait buoyancy can be the most important final deciding factor in catching any particular fish and is directly related to exactly how your fish feeding behaviour (in the presence of bait) deals specifically with your bait and rig. Even when baits with excellent nutritional stimulation in an innovative form having been pre-baited in a water for months, these may not produce the biggest possibly wisest fish in a water. It may be a surprise to find that after months of trying, using a critically balanced bait instead of a normal sinking bait, or even over-weighted or pop-up bait is the only change necessary to catch the wisest fish…

By Tim Richardson.

Choosing the right rod and reel is vital to catching fish! For beginning fishermen, I would suggest the Zebco 202 rod. This rod is small, light weight, and easy to cast. To cast, just hold down the button near the handle of the pole, put the pole behind your head, and throw the rod towards the water being sure to let go of the bottom while casting. (The type of reel connected to your pole varies the casting method.) Before fishing, I would suggest taking your new pole and practice casting in your local park, in a wide open field. (Your hook will not get snagged or stuck on anything here). When casting, make sure nobody is in front of you to prevent injury.

Reels

Reels are very vital to fishing, maybe even more so than your pole. The type of reel you choose will determine what type of fish you will be able to catch. Each reel has its own advantages, and disadvantages. For example, a closed bail reel is great for learning the basics of casting, but is not good for an experienced angler due to all of the tangling. The three different types of reels in the fishing world include open bail, closed bail, and casting bait. (I would recommend starting with a closed bail as a beginner!) Closed bail is great for learning, but becomes a hassle because of tangling. When you get more experienced, you will want an open bail. An open bail is more difficult to cast, yet it gets tangled far less frequently. (A good rod to use with this reel would be the Zebco 404.) A casting bait reel is most useful for casting under trees and between rocks. This reel is extremely accurate if used properly. As with any other reel, I would recommend taking it out to a park and giving your new reel some casting practice. Failing to do so, could end you up with a wasted day of untangling line! You can buy fishing reels at any fishing store, or stores such as Wal-Mart.

Fishing is fun

As with sports such as gulf, bowling or other casual sports, fishing is just for fun. Some days the fish bite and sometimes they don’t. It’s all just for fun. Fishing is sometimes a profession that can be used to make a lot of money, but this is only for experienced anglers. Otherwise, fishing is just for fun.

When to Fish

Fishing at different times, different light conditions, and different temperatures affects whether or not you will catch fish. The best times to fish are usually on cloudy, cold, and possibly rainy days when fish are near the surface. (On cloudy days it is best to use a noisy, floating bait. The fish cannot see well due to the lack of light, so they rely on hearing.) On very sunny, hot, muggy days I would advise not fishing. The water at the surface of the water will be too warm for the fish, so they will go to the bottom of the lake or river you’re fishing. The fish will not be hungry towards the middle of the day, so the best times to fish are late at night and early in the morning. (Some fish will only bite at night or in the morning. Walleyes only bight at night because their eyes are light sensitive.) Before fishing, always check the weather to see if that day would be good for fishing!

Types of Fish

There are many different types of fish in the known world. Some are very small and some get bigger than elephants! (Whales.) The types of fish you will catch depend on the area you live in, what equipment you use, and what lake, river, or ocean you fish.

Sunfish

Sunfish are perhaps one of the most commonly fished types of fish in the country. They are in almost every lake or pond. You can fish them almost anywhere. Almost every city in the country has a park with a pond in it. This is where to fish for sunfish. Sunfish are fairly easy to catch and I recommend catching them if you’re a beginner. Sunfish will eat almost anything from a hotdog, to marshmallows. Sunfish will even bite a hook without any bait on it! The favorite food of the sunfish though, is a tomato worm. They are found on tomato plants and look like bristly worms with a yellow circle on their head. If this is too gross for you to touch one of these, then just use something else because sunfish will eat anything.

Closing

As you can see, fishing is a very fun and interactive sport that anyone of any age can enjoy. It is a fun recreation activity that can bring a family together, but most of all it is fun. Follow this short book and you will be fishing in no time. Soon enough, with a little practice, you could become a pro fisherman.

1. Trip Tracks

   I just started using this site myself and I love it! The software this site uses, along with showing you regional fishing information on what is being caught (very generally) offers you the opportunity to track and record every fishing trip you take, the date, time and log every fish you caught, length, girth and weight, species, time of day,etc. It even keeps pie charts for you so that you can see how many fish you have caught, etc. You can also load photographs of your catches which rotate on the front page of the state in which you lives page. It is important to note that they do not show your information to other fishermen, so your favorite fishing hole will stay protected. This is an outstanding site and I recommend it to any freshwater fisherman.

2. Go Fishin

   This is a discount tackle site. They routinely offer the best deals on the internet. Sometimes I am just blown away at the prices. Without them my wife would probably not tolerate my fishing gear shopping habits. Really, the prices are that good.

3. Fishing Talks

   An interesting fishing community, many members european, full of articles, forums, recipes, video and information! The site could be a little bit more appealing to the eyes, but the quality of the members makes up for it.

4. Land Big Fish

   One of the most comprehensive fishing sites on the net, with chats, information, fishing trip logs, find a fishing partner features, regional lake reports, etc. Land Big Fish is loaded to the proverbial gills with information. Check it out!

5. Bass Pro
   

   Bass Pro Shops website is a treasure trove of information, gear, photos and other useful items, but perhaps the most interesting and/or exciting thing they have going on is the “Live Exhibits” program, in which, if you catch a trophy size fish, keep it alive and call them to retrieve it, they will give you, free of charge, a lifelike fiberglass replica of the fish. They do this to stock fish for their Live Exhibits aquariums in stores. Don’t worry, the fish get pampered and never have to work for food again.

6. Bass Resource 
   

   A great site for bass fishermen. Full of information, etc. If you fish smallies or largemouth, check this out.

7. Fin Talk
   

   This is a saltwater fishing community. Tournament and surf information, tons of photographs and forums. If you fish saltwater, you’ll love fintalk.com

There it is. Eight sites that you may not be able to live without. Check them out and let me know what you think! Do you have a site to add? There is a place for comments below!