Hybrids, subspeicies and mutants

As any wise fisherman will tell you, nobody is really sure what they will catch and with mixed lakes and similar speicies crossbreeding is not uncommon. In fact, three days ago I caught what I am almost sure was a bluegill/pumkinseed hybrid, it had the shape of and fins of a bluegill but the coloration and mouth type of a pumkinseed plus a little bluegill color. Anyway, panfish breed easily with each other and hybrids among them are more than common but other speicies spawn with each other as well, for example , some hybrids are known and others are not named. For example if a male brook trout spawns with a female lake trout, you get what is called a splake, it is similar in size and shape to a brook trout but has the markings of a lake trout. Another form of hybrid that also involves a lake trout is a fish that you will catch in lake superior known as a ciscowet. If a walleye mates with a sauger the offspring is known as a saugeye and if a northern pike and a muskie spawn, you get a tiger muskie. On rare ocassions anglers catch mutant speicies like the silver pike, a mutant speicies of Nothern pike. Different forms of the same fish can be caught, a few examples are the northern largemouth bass and the florida largemouth bass and the northern bluegill and the florida bluegill. The muskie is divided into three subspeicies, the spotted muskie, the barred muskie and the clear muskie. You may catch a number of crossbreeds and subspeicies or evan mutants so if you catch a fish you don't know, look into it, you may be suprised. In the picture to the left, this is a Saugeye

Freshwater options: North America

North America is a masterpiece of God famous for it's natural beauty and bustling with lakes and rivers and ponds. You can reel in a variety of fish. These are the freshwater speicies you can catch, you can catch freshwater fish from the tropics of southern mexico or just below the arctic circle in northern Alaska. You may catch... {Pictured, Atlantic salmon}

Largemouth bass
Smallmouth bass
Spotted bass
redeye bass
Bluegill
pumpkinseed sunfish
longear sunfish
green sunfish
fliar sunfish
redear sunfish
redbreast sunfish
Orange spot sunfish
warmouth
black crappie
white crappie
rock bass
white bass
yellow bass
striped bass
yellow perch
white perch
sacramento perch
striped bass
channel catfish
Blue catfish
flathead catfish
black bullhead
brown bullhead
yellow bullhead
white sturgeon
shovelnose sturgeon
lake sturgeon
paddlefish
Atlantic salmon
coho salmon
chinook salmon
pink salmon
chum salmon
sockeye salmon
brown trout
rainbow trout
brook trout
cutthroat trout
golden trout
lake trout
bull trout
apache trout
arctic char
dolly varden
lake whitefish
mountain whitefish
round whitefish
Nothern pike
Muskie
chain pickeral
grass pickeral
walleye
sauger
rio grande perch
Grass carp
mirror carp
common carp
white sucker
bowfin
freshwater goby
freshwater drum
shotnose gar
longnose gar
alligator gar
garpike
American shad
hickory shad

Reeling in Advice

At your local library you will likly find a number of books on fishing from maps of lakes to ice fishing, reading these books and studying your target speicies will get you closer to success.
Here are some books that will give you advice and may improve your chances of catching fish.

1.500 fishing tips for freshwater 2.Freshwater gamefish of North America, hunting and fishing library series {Pictured}
3.Northern pike and muskie, hunting and fishing library series
4.Catfish, hunting and fishing library series
5.panfish, hunting and fishing library series
6.Walleye, hunting and fishing library series
7.The complete book of saltwater fishing
8.Northern pike a complete guide to pike and pike fishing
9Wisconsin's top muskie lakes.

Don't fish on friday the thirteeth

Just for the fun of it I am going to tell about the worst luck any fisherman can possibly have!
There is one little tiny noise that no angler ever wants to hear when reeling in the big one.....snap. And hooks, those things are nasty, one time I caught a bass and it fell off the hook, sending it flying and hitting me in the finger or when my friend hooked me in the neck and he kept reeling in Ouch! If you ever get hooked,you do not want it to go into your skin past the barb, I can't imagine how painfull that must be to get out. These ones are simpler but downright irritating! When you get poked by the sharp spines on a bluegill's back. The scent of rotting dead fish and pretty much fish in general. When you touch a fish and it's really slimy. When the warden starts questioning you. When a bullhead slices you with it's sharp fins. When it gets too dark to continue. When your boat starts sinking. When you reel in a bunch of weeds. When you snag your line on something and you spend endless hours freeing it. When You lose that ten dollar lure to a snapped line. When your line snaps due to a snag. When the fish gets away. When the guy next to you starts catches your fish! When little kids are running around. Ducks swim by and scare all the fish. when another fisherman is in your spot or when someones dog jumps in the water. And last but not least, the worst luck of all, When you have to untangle a mess of line!

Self control

Two weeks ago I hooked a beaufiful northern pike! The thing was on my line for about twenty five seconds and then I accidently pulled the hook out of it's mouth. Bummer, but to tell you the truth I never saw the thing but the guy next to me described it to me. Well anyway, I now know why the fish escaped and what I did wrong, my andreniline rush got the better of me. You see I have this habit of jerking back on the rod more than once to make sure the fish stays hooked and keep reeling between jerks. I knew how to fight it and I knew what to do but like I said, my exitement overcame me. Perhaps if I had given the fish more line, it would have stayed on the hook. Well the point here is that you must learn to control your andreniline rush, it's not easy to to stay calm when you hook the big one, it is very exiting but still, you have to fight him just right before you can land him. For example if the fish is swimming downword, lower your rod and let out about a foot of line before raising the rod and reeling, if the fish is swimming out farther and farther keep letting out line until he stops, if he jumps out of the water that is an attempt to throw the hook so what you have to do is raise you rod as high as you can. The trick to keeping the fish on the hook is making sure your line is tight but if he is straining the line, just loosen your drag a little. You should only reel in under one of three condition, when the fish is has stopped struggling, if the fish is only struggling a tiny bit or if it has dragged out too much line and is about to snap it. One more thing, when landing the fish, if it is a big fish like a pike, salmon, muskie, catfish or even a big bass, it is best to use a net. Man if Only I had caught that pike, not only would it have been my first pike, it would have been the biggest fish I have ever caught.

Beware!

Fishermen, watch your backs! Because popping up in lakes and rivers all over the united states is the giant snakehead! These monsters are such a problam because they are predetory beyond imagination, eating smaller fish, decreasing they're numbers and lowering the food supply for larger species. Native to thailand and other areas of southeast asia, they are considared a delecacy and up until recently have been sold live at many asian supermarkets and are capible of surviving out of the water for at least eight hours, some are still being smuggled into the country as you are reading this, some have escaped captivity and some pet owners have dumped snakeheads they can no longer keep into American waters, in fact one was recently cought in the lake Michigan in Chicago. If somehow, you catch a snakehead you must kill it and contact your local DNR office immediatly. Be extreamly careful when unhooking these things, they have teeth like demons and are responsible for some bloody attacks in thailand. Note that you may find out that your possable snakehead catch is actually a bowfin, a native fish often mistaken for a snakehead.

Beat this! Bass anglers!

Well bass fishermen, you have officialy been beaten, for years you have been catching huge bass, trying to break the sixty and forty year old records for both large and smallmouth bass and you have landed some pretty impressive catches. But!.... in the year 2007 two fish and two anglers changed the world. First, the largemouth bass, a lucky angler {Bless his heart} fishing in Dixon lake in Californa managed to haul in a whopping Twenty five lb one ounce Largemouth! Sadly the previous record of Twenty two lbs from the forties is now a memory from the past. Now for the smallmouth. Another fisherman in canada proved himself by landing a beautiful twelve pounder and without knowing it, erased the previous Eleven lb record from the top of the list. These fish are amazing and they're captors should be proud, Congratulations! We all give high fives from our hearts! Still How long will these records last? We all know that there are bigger fish out their, they just haven't been caught yet and they could be hiding in an enormous lake on the other side of the country or in that small community pond down the street, you never know. These future monsters will continue to elude us from the shadows, but for how long? Which one of YOU will reel in the next giant? This is the picture of the world record largemouth

Best tasting fish around

The following fish Are by by far the best eating on my watch, If you live in an area where you can catch any of these, I would reccomend you take them home and cook them.

1.Yellowfin tuna, good grilled, canned, broiled or as sushi
2.Mahi Mahi, good broiled or grilled
3.swordfish, best grilled but also good broiled
4.Walleye, good fried, baked or broiled
5.Whitefish, Best fried but good when baked
6.Bluegill, Only good pan fried

This is yellowfin tuna pictured

Lima bean technique: Confirmed

Remember that article I posted about lima beans as bullhead bait? Well, it works! I tried using lima beans at a local creek where I had seen a bullhead come to the surface and take an insect. I was also using hotdogs, I have to admit that hotdogs seem to work a little bit better for these little catfish at least they do at this creek but I did in fact catch at least one bullhead using a lima bean, I estmate this one weaghing at least ten ounces.

Presentation

Fish are like toddlars, they constantly need to be entertained, you have to keep them interested as long as you can before they bite. That is why the key to fishing is presentation! This is a vital step when using dead bait or lures. Presentation is ever too true when you are fishing for large and smallmouth bass. But remember, if you don't want the fish to find out that your lure is a fake or you don't want him to lose interest in your dead bait don't keep doing the same routine over and over, put some spice into your reeling pattern! play with your rod a little! keep thinking of new ways to impress those fish! for example, what I like to do is cast, let it sink, reel in three times then Jerk it! Sink, reel three times Jerk! see what I mean? You have to play the fish just right before he attacks your lure. Sometimes I will constantly shake my rod and spin it around in circles as I'm reeling in. You have to keep it up while trying new patterns every time you cast.
Remember one more thing, just like the key to fishing is presentation, the key to presentation is patience!

You may have better success using a spinning reel

hooked on Walleyes

Although you can catch them all over the united states and canada, the beautiful lakes of Wisconsin, minnisota, michigan and especally canada, ontario in particular host the best walleye fishing in the world! Walleye are particulary large fish growing up to five pounds just as an average weaght, they can grow eight pounds in just a few years and a ten to twelve pound walleye is a monster, a wallhanger if you will {I can just imagine one of those hanging over my fireplace} I personally beleive that they are the best eating freshwater speicies around, in fact if you get a walleye sandwich from Culver's you wont be able to find a tastier fish around! But how do you catch these Beautiful fish? I have been studying up on how to catch walleye for the past few days and I happen to know a few secrets that may prove sucsessful for you. First of all, during the warmer months of summer and late spring, these fish move out to deeper water with cover or underwater structure so if you have a boat, you should look for them there. Another key to sucsessful walleye fishing is knowing the fact that these fish are night dwellers, although they can be caught during daylight hours, if you are hoping for the best odds, I would reccomend fishing at dusk or dawn and throughout the hours between 9:00 pm and 4:00 am. Water conditions are a critical factor when using lures or live bait use bright flashy colors in murky water and natural colors in clear water. Remember that each day is unique, if you caught a walleye with a certain technique on sunday dosn't mean it will work on monday. due to the deep water feeding habits of these fish, it is best to have at least one weaght on your line and colored beads on your line may improve your chances of a bite. Now that you know the basics it is time for the most important part , bait, Walleye will eagerly take a lure or plastic bait but for the best results you should use live bait. Walleye are best caught on minnows, nightcrawlers and leeches, yes for some reason, walleye and perch seem to love leeches. Here is a technique that I learned watching a fishing show. Take a fathead minnow and hook it into the gill and out then through the body diagnoaly, this will kill the minnow but the walleye are just as willing to strike it if you cast and make a slow retreive. In case you are interested, this technique will also trigger bites from the close reletive of the walleye {The sauger} and from northern pike. Good luck!

surprise bait for bullheads

Bullheads your going for? Well get this! I read a book called 500 fishing tips for freshwater and it said that the author got this peace of advice from some kid fishing at a local pond, he was using lima beans for bait just simple canned lima beans and he kept catching bullheads so I figured that I would give it a shot. So I bought some canned lima beans and I tried them out at a small pond here in Kenosha Wisconsin where I live, the pond is at Porio park near Bose Elementary school. I knew there were bullhead in the pond because my friend's grandmother caught two of them in one day and I found a dead bullhead in there once. Well anyway I baited my hook with a single lima bean and casted out, I got a bite and I reeled in a trout! The pond gets stocked with more trout every year and I guess that the reason they bite on lima beans is because they are raised on corn in the hatchery. Now that you have this information you should try using lima beans. Although I didn't catch a bullhead I still will keep trying with lima beans, you should too, who knows? you might catch truckloads of bullheads and maybe a trout or two!

How to build your own minnow trap

You can buy minnows at almost any bait store and they make excellent bait but gosh are they expensive! You don't have to tell me, I know you are getting tired of paying $4.00 for one dozen and $8.00 for two dozen. Well let me let you all in on a little secret, It is so much cheeper to catch your own minnows than pay insane prices for them. Again you can buy minnow traps at most bait stores for the low price of $30.00!!! These things get stolen so easily in fact it happened to me once because it is best to leave them over night. Why go back to the bait store and spend $30.00 for another minnow trap when you can simply just make one yourself? Thats right! You can make one yourself! It is actually a whole lot simpiler than it sounds, all you need is some kitchen twine, some duct tape, a hole puncher and a two liter bottle of your favorite soda. First drink all the soda and empty the bottle then take a knife and slice off the very top end and you should get a funnel shape, turn the funnel upside down inside the bottle {this is how the minnows get inside your trap.} next tape it around the top to hold the funnel in place then take the hole puncher and punch a holes on both sides last string some kitchen twine through the holes and then tie it togather then take more kitchen twine and tie it to the string so you can pull the trap up. Heres how to use it, put sand in the bottom or just let the water fill it up to weagh it down. Tape some bread too the bottom for bait. I would recomend tying the string to a stick and anchoring it to the ground, this will keep it from floating away. Leave the trap over night at your favorite fishing location and with some luck when you return in the morning, Free bait! I tried this once and I had sucsess but I only caught two minnows, don't be dissapointed, sometimes you will catch fifty minnows sometimes none at all. The best thing is that when the minnows swim inside your trap, They are too stupid to find they're way out!!!

Best bait for all freshwater species

Baitfish are found throughout The world and make excellent bait for all freshwater species. In North America you can fish with a variety of different baitfish, what you use depends on what species you are fishing for, here are some examples. If you are fishing for larger gamefish use larger minnows, for example, if you are fishing for bass, pike,salmon, steelhead, muskie or even catfish you should use medium or large roaches or shiners, esspecialy gold shiners {Pictured}, these larger baitfish are just big enough to work wonders on these bigger species while the small and pesky fish such as bluegills are unable to get they're mouths around them. fathead minnows, rosy reds, madtoms, bluntnose minnows and even goldfish can be used for panfish, perch and bullheads. The larger fish will also eagerly bite on these esspecialy walleye and striped bass. An effective way to reel in lunkers is to use large fatheads, these plump minnows will ring the dinner bell for large gamefish and if a panfish bites it, that means it is probably a pretty big one! If you are fishing for monsters like pike, muskie, catfish and sturgeon a last resort is to use baitfish weaghing at least a pound like suckers, carp or drum and small bluegill will sometimes trigger a bite, they can be used eather live or chopped up. The key to fishing with batfish is the way you hook them {When hooking live baitfish, try to do it as humainly as possible} If you want it to swim around and flap in the water, hook them eather through the tail, mouth or back, when hooking through the tail or back, avoid the spine or you will cripple it. When using a dead minnow, you can hook it through the head or out the gill, then you can cast and slowly retreive for that will make it seem alive, this method is also effective when trolling. When using a freshly dead minnow, you can slit the belly with a knife, the blood will attract predetory fish.