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Posts Tagged ‘bait fishing’

bait fishing for catfish

No Exit Popup Old School Catfish Course Link

Channel Catfish in reservoirs is not a natural occurrence. Although bait fishing for catfish in reservoirs is booming today because of original stocking and migrations of native river catfish into the reservoirs. Reservoir building during the 1950’s, and 1960’s and still today, has opened up a vast water areas for catfisherman. The original habitat of channel catfish, blue catfish, flathead catfish, and white catfish have always been in the river systems of the United States and they still thrive there today.

Reservoirs are water impoundments that get their water supply from rivers that have been dammed. These new water impoundments vary in shape, size, depth, water color, productivity, and potentially many other characteristics. The blue catfish populations as well as other species come from the migration of the species from tributary feeds, you can bait fish for catfish such as channel catfish, flathead catfish, and blue catfish in some reservoirs, but just about all the reservoirs in the USA hold very good populations of channel catfish.

To catch catfish in reservoirs takes some practice because natural habitat and structure is abundant in reservoirs. To catch catfish you need to understand the reservoir you intend to fish. It important you get your self a Topographical maps of the reservoir. They can normally be obtained from The army core of engineers. Many times local bait shops also have maps. Also paying attention to the catfishes food chain is important. For example reservoirs almost always hold large populations of shad. If you can find the shad schools you will locate some blue catfish, and channel catfish. Normally flathead catfish don’t follow the shad schools. One key indicator there are shad near is multiple birds flying around. This a good way to locate shad schools for bait fishing for catfish. If you are looking for trophy catfish then reservoirs are where you need to fish. Blue catfish, channel catfish, and flathead catfish grow extremely large in reservoirs. Catching a blue catfish over 30lbs is not uncommon.

Another key factor to catch catfish in reservoirs in understanding where the original series of channels were located. Catfish will remain a river fish instinctively even in reservoirs even in reservoirs. There will be good populations of channel catfish, flathead catfish, and blue catfish living in structure that is close to the original creek and river channels.

To catch flatheads locate areas near the original river channel or original creek channels. Flathead catfish are not a roaming catfish like the blue catfish. If you intend to go bait fishing for flathead catfish you will need to find there location. These fish will not move far.

To catch blue catfish in reservoirs head to areas that have current flow, and to where the shad schools are located. Blue catfish do not hold as tight to the original channels as do flathead catfish, but the will still be located in these areas. If you are going bait fishing for blue catfish you can use live catfish bait or dead cut bait, the blues like either. Their favorite food sources are oily schooling fish such as threadfin shad, gizzard shad, and skipjack herring. If you can locate the shad schools in reservoirs you could have a outstanding day of fishing.

To catch channel catfish in reservoirs you can fish anywhere in the reservoir where there is adequate catfish habitat. If there is a better spot for channel catfish on a reservoir it would be far up small tributaries adjacent to the main reservoir. They are like the blue catfish and they will feed on live baits such as shad and crayfish, mussels or cut bait. If you plan to bait fish for channel catfish through line just outside the current in structure areas channel catfish are like flathead catfish and do not prefer to stay in current.

We hope the information here has bin helpful about about Bait Fishing. We wish you the best of luck on your next fishing trip!

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Old School Catfish Fishing Family Secrets

paper mouth

Old School Crappie Fishing Family Secrets

The crappie is sometimes a very underestimated game fish that has many names such as calico bass, speckled perch, speckled bass, white perch, pole crappie, strawberry bass, and papermouth.  Bait fishing for crappie in the fall can sometimes be very confusing. As the water starts to cool the crappies normal feeding and living patterns are unpredictable. Patterns you were anticipating and using in the late summer months may not work in the fall. The bait fish have stopped spawning so there is more competition for the remaining bait fish. The fact can actually work to your advantage, there are a few facts about bait fishing for crappie in the fall that you need to study on first.

It is true that the bait fish will be larger and you would think that you would need increase your crappie jig size in this fishing situation to match the size of the crappie’s food source and in many occasions you would be right. But what you need to understand in the late fall as the water temperature continues to drop, that the crappie’s metabolism will drop. and the calico bass will not chase your crappie jigs unless you use a very slow bait fishing presentation.

Now I am going to tell you something that goes against your logic and what you would normally do when the food source for the pole crappie is at a larger size. In the later fall and winter you can use smaller jig sizes or use some method to slow way down your larger crappie jigs. The reason many crappie anglers use a smaller bait fishing presentation such as small jigs is because they float downward through the water at much slower pace and perfect for the slow and sluggish speckled perch in the late fall and winter months.

OK I Mentioned above briefly that you can still use larger crappie jigs as your bait fishing method but they need to worked in the water very slowly. If you are going to fish for paper mouth with a larger crappie jig then you need to use a heavier line because heavy line sinks much slower in the water. Also you a slip bobber to fish in deeper water.

Also, When you catch your firstspeckled perch clean the fish and see what the crappie has been eating so you can get a good idea of what the size of the bait fish are they are eating.

We hope the information in this article about Paper Mouth. Have a great day and the the best of luck to you on your next fishing trip

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No Exit Popup Old School Crappie Fishing Course Link

small sunfish fry

No Exit Popup Old School Crappie Fishing Course Link

The crappie is one of the most sought after gamefish from both beginner and expert fisherman and goes by many aliases such as calico bass,speckled bass,white perch,pole crappie,strawberry bass, and papermouth. The pole crappie feed on a variety of different food sources but their primary food chain includes small crappie bait fish such as fathead minnows, small aquatic insects, such as damselfly larva,or dragon fly larva, and crustaceans such as small crayfish. The papermouth will be close by if you can locate one of these food choices they are feeding on and then imitate your bait fishing crappie bait to match as natural as possible. The closer you can match your crappie bait fishing selection to there natural food source the better luck you will have.

Crappie will feed on a variety of bait fish through out the year. The species of bait fish that the paper mouth feed on depends on a variety of different factors such as the season of the year and the area of the country you are fishing. For example if you are bait fishing for paper mouth in a farm pond in the spring and early summer you would probably use small sunfish fry to fish as a live bait or a artificial bait presentation. Small sunfish fry are typically abundant in farm ponds at the time of your and crappie love to feed on them when they are available. Or for example for example if you were fishing in southern waters and the area of water you are fishing on has large populations of threadfin or gizzard shad then you would locate the shad schools to go bait fishing for crappie.

Paper mouth are opportunists and will adapt to the food source that is available to them. For example if there is a new hatch of mayfly larva in the water that you are fishing a good bait fishing selection would be live mayflies or a mayfly larva imitation because chance are any crappie or other game fish in the area will feeding on the mayfly larva.

Know most fisherman think to use crustaceans for crappie bait but the truth be told small crustaceans such as small crayfish under 2″ in length make a large portion of the crappies daily diet. Another bait fish that is seldom used for strawberry bass are small goldfish and when traditional bait fish selection are not working sometimes fishing with small gold fish will be the answer. Unlike other non traditional crappie baits such as threadfin and gizzard shad that need to be caught in the wild, goldfish are sold at just about any bait shop throughout the united states.

Well that concludes my article about Bait Fishing. Have a great day!

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No Exit Popup Old School Crappie Fishing Course Link

bluegill

Old School Bass Fishing Family Secrets

To be a better bait fishing angler it is very important to understand what the ideal temperature for gamefish such as flathead catfish, channel catfish, bluegill, largemouth bass, striped bass, crappie, northern pike, smallmouth bass, walleye, yellow perch, muskellunge, brown trout, chinook salmon, cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, coho salmon, brook trout and lake trout. To go bait fishing for all of these game fish you need to know how water temperature effects each of these species of fish.

Typically if you are going to be bait fishing in warm water which would be a temperature range of 70 degrees Fahrenheit to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, you could target game fish such as flathead catfish, channel catfish, blue catfish, bluegill, crappie, largemouth bass and striped bass. For example the ideal temperature for crappie is 71 degrees Fahrenheit and if you are bait fishing for crappie and the water is at the crappie’s ideal temperature you can expect the crappie to be active if weather conditions are favorable. If you are a channel catfish angler you can expect the channel catfish to be feeding regularly at this temperature range so get all your bait fishing gear ready because these fish will be active. And if you bait fish at night your catch of channel catfish will be even better.

Now if you are going fishing on a regular basis when the water temperature ranges from 61 degrees Fahrenheit to 69 degrees Fahrenheit you could go bait fishing for fish species such as northern pike, smallmouth bass, walleye, yellow perch, and muskellunge. For example the bait fishing for walleye gets really hot when the water temperature reaches 69 degrees Fahrenheit. You most likely will find suspended walleye at the depth where the water temperature is in their ideal temperature of 69 degrees or at a temperature that is closest too it.

Now if you are targeting game fish such as brown trout, chinook salmon, cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, brook trout, or lake trout you will need to find very cold water ranging in temperature from 50 degree Fahrenheit to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. For example if you are going to be bait fishing for brook trout with nightcrawlers with no weights find a nice cold mountain stream and let your your nightcrawler drift along in the current.

Well that concludes my article about Crappie. We wish you the best of luck on your next fishing trip!

Check out Mark’s website to get some amazing fishing information and fishing articles loaded with fishing tips about Crappie

Old School Crappie Fishing Family Secrets

calico bass

Old School Crappie Fishing Family Secrets

The crappie has so many different names such calico bass, speckled perch, speckled bass, white perch, pole crappie, strawberry bass, and papermouth depending on what part of the country you live in. Going bait fishing for white perch during the fall can sometimes be a very frustrating time of the year if you do not understand the fall transition period in your area. During the period between late summer and the start of fall the water will start too cool and a common term called lake turnover will start to happen.

If you intend to get serious about fall crappie fishing and intend to be bait fishing for crappie in lakes or large reservoirs and you want to continue to catch crappie you need to know the basics of what is called lake turnover. During the summer months lakes with stratify into 3 distinct layers. The surface layer, which is the warmest layer and somewhat oxygenated water, next you ave what is called the thermocline layer which is cool and well oxygenated, and then you have the bottom layer which is the coldest and least oxygenated layer.

During the summer and late fall pole crappie generally are suspended in the thermocline layer relaxing in the cool well oxygenated water. The key to fall crappie fishing using your bait fishing techniques is to find where the speckled perch are located during and after the lake turn over. When the temperature starts to cool this layer in essence starts to sink. It has long been known the colder then after the heavier it gets. The layers below the surface water is warmer and will rise. The three layers of water will continue to mix, rise, and fall until the temperature of the water reaches approximately 39 degrees. When this temperature is reached it is harder to go fall crappie fishing using your bait fishing skills because the three layers and the calico bass could be located at any depth. After lake turn over , the water will stay this way until late spring when the water once again starts to warm.

One key factor I have found with crappie in the fall is they feel most comfortable when they are close to good food sources. If you can find what food sources they are feeding on you can make your fall crappie fishing using your excellent bait fishing skills for trip more successful.

I have had a great time writing this article we hope you enjoyed our information about Strawberry Bass. We wish you the best of luck on your next fishing trip!

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No Exit Popup Old School Crappie Fishing Course Link

crappie fishing rig

Click Here To See Old School Crappie Fishing Secrets From 12 Backcountry Crappie Masters!

The crappie is one of the most popular game fish in North America. and parts of Canada and understanding some basic crappie bait fishing information may help you to catch more crappie. The crappie is called many things and go by names such as calico bass, speckled perch, speckled bass, white perch, pole crappie, strawberry bass, and papermouth throughout the United States.

The main reason strawberry bass are so popular is their abundance. crappie are not one of the best fighting fish that are caught while fishing but they are very tasty. Another good reason is because the fishing rigs to catch crappie are reasonably inexpensive. In fact for about 20$ you could be ready to go crappie fishing. Even when you decide to get real serious about crappie fishing you can purchase a really good crappie bait fishing rig for under 200$. Actually the white perch species of fish is a excellent fish to target if you are just learning to fish. Once strawberry bass are located they can be caught using a simple crappie fishing rig that has a bobber, split shot, a sinker, a hook and a crappie minnow as bait.

There are two types of strawberry bass species that you can target when you go bait fishing and they are the white papermouth and the black calico bass. Both are found only in North America. Both white and black pole crappie are part of the sunfish family. Both white speckled perch and black strawberry bass can be caught using the same bait fishing methods. And both white and black white perch can be found in the same water locations.

White speckled perch prefer stained or muddy waters that have soft substitutes. The black speckled perch is a little bit more particular about the water they live in, and they prefer cool clearer water and they like to habitat close to aquatic vegetation with a firm bottom. Many crappie anglers who go bait fishing for crappie on a regular basis don’t care what species of they catch just so it’s a calico bass.

I want to thank you for reading my article about bait fishing. Have a great day!

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Click Here To See Old School Crappie Fishing Secrets From 12 Backcountry Crappie Masters!

gizzard shad cutbait

Old School Catfish Fishing Family Secrets

All Avid fisherman are always trying to figure out, or think they have a great system figured out that includes ways to go bait fishing when certain different weather and special fishing situation elements develop such as wind direction, cloud cover,water temperature, water PH, the moon phase or other factors. But the bottom line number one element factor you need to learn when you are bait fishing for any game fish species is what are the game fish you are targeting eating at the time you go fishing. If you can get a handle on a certain game fishes eating habits you can up your chances of a successful fishing trip ten fold.

Amazingly game fish will travel distances out of their comfort zone, and sometimes their normal habitat in pursuit of food. Game-fish are opportunists because they will adapt to to their environment if their favorite type of food is not available. If you can learn any species of fish eating patterns you can like I said before, be very successful when you go bait fishing. One of the main reasons game-fish eat different foods at different times of the year is because they can adapt to the food choices that are available at any particular season of the year. it is this reason that one type of bait fishing selection in one fishing location may not work in another location.

For example if you are fishing an area for walleye and you notice there are an abundance of shad schools in open water, chances are there are walleye and other game fish close by feeding on the schools. The wise choice for your bait fishing selection would be small live or dead thread fin or gizzard shad which ever one makes up the schools of shad. If you were fishing artificials then use some type of lure that mimics the size,color and movement of the shad that are located in the schools.

I have had a great time writing this article we hope you enjoyed our information about shad schools. Have a great day!

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Old School Catfish Fishing Family Secrets

crayfish

Old School Crappie Fishing Family Secrets

For anyone leaning about fishing, baiting a hook is a key part of that knowledge. For experienced fisherman there is a constant trial and error process that occurs, and what works is documented for future fishing trips. Seeking new bait fishing methods and techniques to improve your fish catch is very important. The real challenge to fishing with bait is keeping your baits looking natural to the area you are fishing. the closer you can match your bait fishing presentation to the natural food source of the fish you are targeting the more successful you will be.

We all love fishing with artificial lures, we check out all the latest artificial bait imitations, we purchase them just to say we have the latest and greatest in new artificial bait fishing lures or plastics. But when fishing gets really rough and artificials just are not getting it, Guess what ? we turn to the real thing live baits! Bait fishing naturals such as live baits which include crayfish, scuds,freshwater shrimp,saltwater shrimp,mud shrimp and ghost shrimp, also salamanders such as waterdogs,spring lizards, mudpuppies and leopard frogs. We also turn to fishing with live insects such as aquatic insects which include may flies, stone flies, caddis flies,crane flies, dragon flies. and dobson flies ( hellgrammites). And we cant forget terrestrial adult insect types such as crickets and grasshoppers as well as larva forms of catalpa worms, waxworms, goldenrod grubs, mousees, spikes, euro larvae, and meal worms. To be honest , it is estimated that 75 percent of all fish caught with a hook and a line are caught with live bait. We hope that our bait fishing information will help you when the fishing gets tough and you need to turn to natural baits.

There just hundreds of bait fish that work for freshwater fishing baits, and saltwater baits. You can use bait fish such as  bluegills or sunfish, golden shiners, spottail shiner minnows, redbelly dace or rainbow  minnows, fathead or tuffy or mudminnow, horney head or redtail chub, and freshwater shrimp baits. Some of the many saltwater bait fishing selections include herring, mackerel,smelt,mullet,mussels,saltwater shrimp, squid and tuna. All these bait fish both freshwater and saltwater are excellent selections for you bait fishing rigs.

Also we can’t for get the old reliable nightcrawlers as live bait. Nightcrawlers and other worm type such as the common nightcrawlers, european nightcrawlers, african Nightcrawlers, grunt worms, garden worms, red Wigglers,and leaf worms

Also There are just thousands of freshwater catfisherman so we thought we would mention a little bit about catfish baits. The catfish baits we have identified work for live bait presentations or dead cutbaits and prepared stink baits. These baits include nightcrawlers, suckers, chubs, shiners, goldfish, shad, skipjack herring, bluegills, catalpa worms, grasshoppers, leopard frogs, bullfrogs as cutbait, waterdogs, adult salamanders, crayfish, saltwater shrimp, clams, and blood baits. As you can see Catfish will will eat just about any natural bait presentation you put on your bait fishing rigs.

Most of the baits listed in our article can be caught or made by your self but sometimes these natural baits will be very hard to catch so finding reliable bait shop for for your bait fishing needs will be important. Also some of the baits listed are not normally sold in bait shops to learning to catch them yourself to use on your bait fishing rigs will be important.

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large mouth bass

No Exit Popup Old School Bass Fishing Secrets Course

Bait fishing for largemouth bass is the favorite pastime of a large group of fisherman. Largemouth bass are found in every state in the lower 48, Southern Canada and throughout Mexico and even into Cuba. There is a good reason this bait fishing favorite is popular. The will largemouth bass is a fantastic fighter and bait fishing for these exciting fish can be quite addicting.

Largemouth bass will eagerly attack both artificial and live baits with equal ferocity. Seeing these fish hit your bass lure or live bait rig is absolutely amazing. Once these fish are hooked there are few fish that match their fighting force.

If you plan plan on bait fishing for largemouth bass you need to learn the habitat locations that these fish live. In the spring time in natural lakes they like to frequent shallow mud bottom bays and channels and harbors that warm quickly. At spawning time in natural lakes they like protected bays and shorelines that have a solid bottom. If you plan to go bait fishing for largemouth bass in natural lakes in the summer and early fall, look fr weedy or rocky cover, bays where there is a dense overhead vegetation where they can stay cool.

If you plan on going bait fishing for large mouth bass in man made lakes in the spring head to the shallow brushy creek arms. To find largemouth in late spring and summer in mad made lakes look in bends and intersections of old river channels, or timbered flats. In early fall look at the far end of creek arms.

If you plan on going bait fishing for bass in rivers in the spring look in the backwater areas off the main river. In the late spring and summer head to deep backwater areas and channels that feed off the main river. You can also fish undercut banks and ledges. In the late fall and winter head to deep holes in backwater areas or near warm water discharges.

I have had a great time writing this article we hope you enjoyed our information about largemouth in late spring. We wish you the best of luck on your next fishing trip!

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Old School Bass Fishing Family Secrets

fathead minnows

Click Here To See Old School Crappie Fishing Secrets From 12 Backcountry Crappie Masters!

It is very important to understand a few simple pointers when you go to purchase your crappie minnow bait fish at your local bait shop or at any bait shop. Many times we do not have time to catch our own bait fish for our fishing trips so we go to our local bait shop to purchase some. In most case this works out just fine. Unfortunately there are so many bait fish that make great live fishing bait presentations that you cannot purchase in at at bait dealer, but for the basic bait fish types or worms bait shops work fine.

One thing you may not know, bait shops do not adhere to any set standards on naming the bait fish they sell many times they list their baits as they are called by the local fisherman in the area. For example they may be selling rosy red minnows but they advertise them as tuffies which in truth they are not. Rosy red minnows are actually a type of commercially raised fathead minnow used for crappie fishing that is sold throughout the United States and Canada to bait dealers. My point here is you need to be able to identify what type of bait fish you are wishing to purchase. It does make a difference depending on what type of gamefish you are targeting.

You also need to inspect the bait fish the bait shops have in their bait tanks to make sure they are healthy. Here’s a few tips to help with your inspection:

Number – 1

Look in the dealers bait tank to see if the bait fish are swimming in tight formation at the bottom of the tank. This is a clear sign of healthy bait fish.

Number – 2

Have the dealer pull a few bait fish up with a bait net so you can inspect them. If any of these fish have a red noses or missing scales, or have white fungus on their bodies, DO NOT BUY these fish are are sick and they probably have infected or weakened the rest of the bait fish in the tank. These fish will be dead before you can ever use them on the water. Go to another bait shop if you can.

Number – 3

If any of the fish pulled out to inspect are discolored or darker then the others do not buy these fish are probably sick also and have probably infected the other fish in the tank. Don’t get the the dis colored fish confused with breeding males. Breeding males will be darker then the other fish but will have tubercles on the top of their head. These fish are healthy but really not a preferred bait either over the lighter females.

Number – 4

As mentioned in tip number 3 breeding males do not work as well as live bait as do the lighter females so if you could have the bait dealer separate the dark males from the lighter females and purchase only the lighter females you will have better fishing luck.

You also need to keep your bait fish lively while you are transporting them and also while you are fishing heres a few tips to keep them lively:

Number – 1

We suggest you purchase at minimum a battery powered aerator they work on the same principle as aerators that you see on in door tropical fish tanks. You can purchase them at any department store that sells fishing supplies or you can purchase them on line at bass pro shop or cabala’s. As soon as you transfer the bait fish you have purchased install the aerator and turn it on. you will be surprised how many fish you can loose if you don’t do this little simple step.

Number – 2

Normally bait shops keep their water temperature in their tanks much cooler then the outside temperature. To make sure the water temperature in your bait bucket does not go up rapidly, drop a few ice cubes in every few minutes. this will keep the water cool for the duration of your fishing trip and save you some money.

Well that concludes my article about live bait. Have a great day!

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Click Here To See Old School Bass Fishing Secrets From 12 Backcountry Bass Masters!