Trout Fishing Tips

Those of us that grew up fishing have childhood memories of favorite fishing excursions with loved ones. While both of my parents fished, it was my grandpa who taught me the most about fishing and many of my memories are of our excursions together.

I remember many evenings spent preparing the fishing gear and boat for those early 4 a.m. departures. I remember how patient he was while untangling my lines (over and over again). And I remember catching him a time or two putting a fish he hooked on the end of my line while I was distracted so that I would think I caught the fish.

It's because of these memories that many of us continue to fish and teach the young anglers in our life today. But despite more fishing opportunities today, fewer people are buying licenses and going fishing. Why?

Life today is different.

People spend more time indoors today watching TV or playing video games. More and more people don't seem to make the weekend excursions to nearby lakes and rivers like they used to (no doubt rising costs play a role). This all means that many kids today will never experience the joy of catching their first fish. They'll miss out on the same special memories that so many of us share.

But with your help, this can change. TakeMeFishing.org has started a website for anglers to help share the fishing legacy with others. This is an opportunity to help somebody else experience the joy of fishing.

Simply put, Angler's Legacy is a national mission created to help anglers give something back to others, and make a difference. All they want is for you to make a pledge to take somebody fishing – a family member, co-worker, neighbor, acquaintance at church or, perhaps, the mechanic who works on your car.

Take the pledge - I did! It's free and easy!

Then come back and share your favorite fishing memory with us. We love fishing stories - especially the ones made while growing up.

Labels: Angler's Legacy, fishing memory, fishing stories

I recently received an email from Skyhorse Publishing informing me of their newest released titles which are now available. If you enjoy fishing and listening to good fishing stories, you'll definitely want to check these books out!

The first is called, Trout Eyes: True Tales of Adventure, Travel, and Fly-Fishing by William G. Tapply.

Not only a writer and angler, Tapply is also a contributing editor for Field & Stream and a columnist for American Angler. He has written a dozen books and nearly a thousand magazine articles, mostly about fly fishing and the outdoors.

The other newly released title is called, The Gigantic Book of Fishing Stories, written by Nick Lyons. This 800-page hardcover book is one of the largest compilations of fishing stories ever created! It's the ideal gift for any fisher man or woman!

The book contains fishing stories for everybody - no matter their level of experience or how they fish or what they fish for. You'll find fishing tales and wisdom from Rudyard Kipling, Dave Barry, Lefty Kreh, Zane Grey, and so many more.

These are two books you'll definitely want to add to your library!

Labels: fishing stories, Gigantic Book of Fishing Stories, Trout Eyes

We recently received and email from a newbie trout angler in Tasmania with some questions about bait choices. Like so many folks this weekend (myself included), she and her husband were getting ready to go fishing this weekend.

Apparently some heavy rains drowned most of earthworms and so she had the idea to use mealworms. Her husband probably considered himself a good angler, but like many anglers was stuck in the box.

Many anglers get very attached to their way of fishing and no longer are willing to explore other possibilities. Sure, they still catch fish. But the problem with this way of thinking is that you'll never be able to improve as a fishermen. If you aren't open to new fishing techniques, you won't be able to raise your game to the next level.

Great fishermen are always listening to others (novice and experts) because they know there's a chance they may hear something they've not heard or thought of before. They know that others (including newbie anglers) just may be on to something.

In this case, the wife (a newbie trout fisher) was right! Trout do LOVE mealworms. In fact, mealworms were always my grandpa's first choice in bait - and he caught countless trout using them.

Consider this as well. Rainbow trout are famous for biting on marshmallows, cheese (preferably cheddar), and corn. These bait sources defy logic - and yet somebody had to be the first one to try it. In my mind, it was either a small child or a desperate fishermen (who ran out of bait and was having too good a day to quit - so he used what he had left). Either way, this is thinking outside the box!

According to legend, floating jigs were invented by a desperate fishermen who was having one of those great fishing days. He ran out of bait and didn't want to call it day. So he broke off a piece of his Styrofoam bait container and glued it to his hook and then added a dab of nail polish (borrowed from his wife) for color. Defying logic, he caught more fish using this technique.

The history of the fishing spoon is similar. According to legend, Julio T. Buel (inventor of the first fishing spoon) was out trout fishing one day and took a break to eat a jar of fruit. He was sitting in his boat when he dropped his spoon. It fell in the water and twirled at is sunk - and as it did, he watched a big trout lunge for it and swim off with it. The rest is history.

These stories help remind us that great things happen when we're willing to think outside the box. There are many more stories like this - and I like to believe we still have some great trout fishing tips and techniques to discover. We just have to be open to the idea and willing to experiment and learn!

Labels: fishing legends, fishing stories, thinking outisde the box, trout fishing techniques, trout fishing tips