King Salmon fishing video

The king salmon is a pacific ocean salmon that comes under many other names including chinook salmon, black salmon, tyee salmon, just to name a few. They have a large growth potential and can reach the up to 1.5 meters (58 inches) and 130 pounds (59kg), but most anglers encounter fish up to 50 pounds. King salmon have the strange distinction of dying after breeding, which was highlighted in an episode of Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe.

King salmon are a popular angling target as they fight well and large fish are often encountered. They are also regarded as a top eating fish and the flesh is high in omega 3 which is an essential fatty acid linked with many health benefits. You should always check your local regulations as some Chinook salmon populations are listed as endangered.

One of the best places to catch big King Salmon is Alaska, which has quite a large population of these great fish. Many anglers dream of an Alaska Salmon Fishing adventure.

Enjoy this video of a big King Salmon caught in Alaska

Deepwater Jigging Technique (with video)

With the advent on braided fishing line deepwater jigging has undergone a resurgence in the last decade like never before. Jigging is an effective fishing technique using a metal jig and produces good quality catches of fish. Many anglers enjoy this style because it is a very active form of fishing.

Jigging Technique (How to jig)
The technique for deepwater jigging might be quite energetic, but fortunately it is also very simple. Once fish are found on the sounder the anglers drop their metal jig to the required depth. The jiging technique itself basically requires a fast raising (whipping motion) of the rod tip and a quick wind of the reel to regain the line. It is often described as the "pump and wind" motion. It is illustrated best through video and I have found a couple of good videos of this technique on youtube.





For deepwater jigging you will require:

• Metal lures of various weights and colors.
• Solid rod and reel combo (usually a spinning reel).
• Strong Arms!
  

How to catch tuna

Tuna are one of the most popular fish on the planet and unfortunately this has lead to a population demise that is almost unrivaled in the salt water. Fortunately many countries are taking a tougher stand on commercial tuna fishing and the fish are slowly becoming a worthwhile target for recreational anglers.

Fishing for tuna
There is no doubt that most of the tuna species get pretty big and at the larger sizes are a big game fishing target. However, these days most anglers like to tackle these fish on relatively light line and stand up tackle.

One of the most popular methods of fishing for tuna is trolling with feather jigs, small squid imitations, live or fresh dead bait and even hard bodied lures. Outriggers are often used for this form of fishing and where fertile bait grounds exist the tuna will follow.

Another popular method for catching tuna is to drift (or anchor) and start a chum line (burley trail) and wait for the fish to show. Once the fish arrive the anglers send a baited hook into the trail to temp the fish into biting. Chum or bait fish styled flies also work well in this situation.

Sightcasting small lures or flies to tuna is also popular in some parts of the world and can be a very effective method.

Night Fishing For Catfish

Catfish seem to be on my mind lately (see the biggest catfish ever caught post) and this post is no different.

Night fishing for catfish

Catfish were once strictly a night time angling target exclusively, but day time fishing has become a much more popular method for catching these great fish. However, there are many reasons to go night fishing including;

• The water to too clear.
• It is too hot during the day.
• Too many anglers and "pleasure craft" on the water during the day.
• Catfish (and other fish for that matter) will often be more willing to feed at night.
• The bigger catfish are consistently caught at nighttime!
  

To catch catfish at night try following the tips below;

• Try to be quiet catfish don’t have the best vision, but they are sensitive to noise.
  
• Try a big smelly bait to give the catfish the best chance of finding your bait - try shad, fresh fish fillets, chicken livers even hot dogs will work.
• Use a rig with the hook on the bottom (this is where the catfish are looking for food).
• Try not to shine your light in the water - this can scare the catfish.
• If you are fishing a river try working the pools below the damn where the bait fish will be schooling.

Good Luck - hopefully you will catch a big catfish like the one in the video

Bass night fishing

Many people do not understand that most fish activity takes place under the cover of darkness. There is research that suggests that over 90% of fish species feed almost exclusively at night. This means that night fishing can be a very productive method of catching fish.

During the day fish are not only less active, but can be spooked by boat noise and anglers making noise above the surface. They can also see your boat and lure presentation much clearer and there is the added risk of rejection because of these factors. Under the cover of darkness, fish feel more confident when feeding and cannot see quite as well as usual.

Night Fishing Tips
When night fishing for bass follow these few tips to success

• Use dark colored lures (color vision fades in darkness)
• Try fishing around areas of light like docks.
• Try a lure that makes some noise or a surface lure that "bloops"

Night Fishing For Bass
These two videos share some great ideas for night fishing for bass and are well worth watching - the first one is presented by Doug Hannon (The bass professor).

Basic fishing knots

I have posted lots about fishing knots before, but I have never really put all of the information together in one spot for convenience. Hopefully this post will be of use to people looking for the basic fishing knots that every angler should know.

Tying good quality fishing knots is a very important part of fishing. There is nothing worse than losing a fish of a lifetime only to find your knots were not up to scratch (trust me I know). Fortunately, tying quality knots is not all that hard and there are some very strong knots that are even fairly easy to tie in the dark.

Basic fishing knots
If you click on the following links they will take you to my original posts with instructions or an instructional video for tying the knots.

Line to terminal tackle (hooks, swivels) knots

Improved Clinch Knot - A strong knot that is easy to tie.

Uni Knot - Probably the most popular knot in fishing and is a quality knot.

Snell Knot - More difficult than the first two, but is worth learning.

Palomar Knot (Polymer Knot) - Quick and easy to tie with sufficient strength in most applications.

Line to leader knots

Double Uni Knot - The most popular method of joining a line and a leader and is very strong.

Surgeons Knot - A very good knot for joining two lines with very different diameters.

Albright Knot - A slightly more complicated method of joining two lines of different diameters, but is very strong.

Line to lure knot

Rapala Knot - A very famous knot that is perfect for lures.

Others worth learning

Trilene Knot
Joe Miller Knot

Fishing tips - Fishing with floats

Fishing with floats is a great form of visual fishing and is a very popular method for teaching children to fish. It is as simple as telling them to keep their eye on the float. However, float fishing is not only for beginning fisher people, it remains a very effective way of fishing for certain species. Many species are actually much easier to target with a float and it is important to consider this when targeting surface feeding fish.

I have found a really great article about float fishing that is worth reading if you want some float fishing tips and instead of reinventing the wheel I thought I would post the link. It explains the types of floats, how they work, how to set up your float and a few other useful float fishing tips. You can Read the article here.

Alternatively you can always watch this little video which demonstrates the effectiveness of floats perfectly.

Fly fishing rod weights

Fly fishing rod weights - General guide

1 - 3 weight

• small flies
  
• short casts

4 weight

• small to medium trout
  
• small to medium flies
  
• short to medium casts

5 - 6 weight

• excellent all around trout rod.
  
• Handles small to larger flies
  
• short to longer casts

7 - 8 weight

• long casts and windy conditions.
• 7 weight is a great compromise sized rod for trout and light saltwater
  

9 - 14 weight

• large freshwater fish
• salt water fishing
  
• large flies
  
• long casts in open areas.

Choosing a fly fishing rod

Choosing a fly rod to match your required fishing situation/s can be difficult at times, but there are some questions you can answer to make the decision easier.

What type of fly fishing will you be doing?
No one is going to argue with me when I tell them that a trout doesn't quite match the fight of a marlin or even a tuna. Before purchasing a fly rod think about what kind of fishing you will be doing with it the majority of the time. Whether it is saltwater, freshwater, maybe even a bit of both you will be able to find the rod that suits you for most situations. If you want to catch trout, but would also like to do some light saltwater sports fishing you can make a compromise by choosing an all-rounder rod instead of a specialist rod. If you plan on doing some very different fishing (eg. trout then marlin) you will need two different fly fishing rods.

What type of action do I need?
I will try to keep this simple

Slow action fly rod (full flex)

• Great for smaller fish and smaller rivers
• Enhances the fight of even the smallest trout
• Designed for short casts

Medium/Moderate action fly rods

• Good all round rod type for many different situations
• Make longer casts
• Additional strength in the rod for fighting the fish

Fast action fly rods

• Stiff - lots of fighting power
  
• Allows really long casts in any conditions
  
• Easier to cast (due to the stiffness)
• Generally not used for trout, but for saltwater fly fishing

Which material do I want?

Fiberglass - has some fans

• cheap
• heavier
• strong

Graphite - most popular

• light
• strong
• easy to cast
• more expensive

Bamboo - the original

• heaviest
• expensive
• handling and feeling is amazing

I hope this little article has helped you in some way. Remember that you will most likely be able to get away with one all round rob, but if the fly fishing bug bites you will eventually upgrade to 3 or 4 specific models for more specific situations.

Carp night fishing

Carp fishing at night can be a cold and miserable time if you don't make the necessary precautions, but night carp fishing can also be a rewarding time with some thumping fish available for the dedicated angler.

There are two ways to fish at night for carp:

1. Stay awake and use audible and visual bite indication.

• Visual bite indication can be as simple as a glow stick attached to the tip of your rod or you can purchase specially made illuminated floats.
  

2. Sleep and rely on audible bite detection to wake you up.

• For this method you need bite alarms. These come in a variety of form with increasing prices, but they all do a similar job - alerting you to a hookup!

Staying warm
This is the biggest problem with night fishing anywhere (I was cold when I went night fishing the first time and that was in the tropics!). You need a good shelter (read tent), and something to sleep in like a heavy duty sleeping bag. It is probably also a good idea to use a camping bed (stretcher bed) to raise yourself off the ground to be a little more comfortable and warm.

Tackle for night carp fishing
This remains basically the same as day time fishing with the addition of light in the form of glow sticks, and illuminated floats. Attach a glow stick to the tip of your rod and you have a cheap bit detection system - you can even buy specially made ones for this job. Always take a torch and lantern to see what you are doing!

Methods for fishing at night
You know I could tell you some fancy secret, but it would be a lie. Catching carp at night is really not that much different from catching carp in the day time. However, they feel safer at night and will come much closer to the margins to feed. Some experts recommend throwing a bait in only 3 feet from the bank!

Bait for night carp fishing
There is one rule here - make it as smelly as possible so the carp can find it. Oily fish is great for this!

One last night carp fishing tip
Like the scouts motto always be prepared. Rig your lines up before it gets dark and always have a spare rod or two rigged and ready to go just in case something goes wrong.

I hope this little post will help you with your night carp fishing - Good luck

How to tie a spinnerbait - Fishing tips

I thought I would tackle (pardon the pun) this topic as there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of information about which knots to use when rigging a spinnerbait. I personally prefer using a palomar knot, which I posted recently. I always recommend that you use a leader when rigging a spinnerbait and either monofilament or fluorocarbon will be adequate for the task.

1. Double about 10 cm of line, and pass it through the eye of the spinnerbait.

2. Tie a simple Overhand Knot in the doubled line letting the spinnerbait hang loose.

3. Pull the end of loop down, passing it over the entire spinnerbait.

4. Lubricate and pull both ends of the line to tighten the knot.













Photos from www.secretweaponlures.com

Choosing the right fly line - tackle tips

For new fly fishers choosing the right equipment can be a daunting task. Over the next few weeks I am planning on bringing more fly fishing tackle tips so keep checking back.

Matching the rod and line weight is a key feature of a balanced fly fishing system and the foundation of good casting. Casting power comes from the relationship of line to rod. When you pick up the line from the water, the line "loads" the rod by adding enough weight to flex it fully. Then, with a properly timed cast, the flexed rod straightens out, driving the line foreword.

Line taper

To help you cast more efficiently most fly lines are tapered. This taper varies in weight, diameter and thickness over the length of the line.

There are five main types of taper, each to meet a specific purpose

Weight-forward (WF) taper
These are the most popular and the best choice if you are a beginner
The first 30 feet or so of line is heavier because of its tapered front end
The rest of the line is thinner and is known as the running line
The weight-forward line helps with long casts and better precision even in windy conditions

Bass bug/saltwater (BBT) taper
This taper is much like the weight-forward design except that the front section does not run as long
This design helps with heavier flies, hence its use for catching feisty bass or bigger saltwater fish

Double taper (DT)
DT fly lines are preferred by seasoned fly anglers
These lines work especially well in making delicate presentations on small- to medium-size rives since the belly is at the center, with both ends gradually tapering
This makes the line highly economical too because when one end wears out, you can turn the line around and use the other end
This line won't cast as far or provide as much wind resistance as a weight-forward line

Shooting taper (ST)
ST lines cast farther than other lines so they are designed for fast-running rivers and in extreme wind conditions. The line portion (front section) is stout and short to form a casting loop.
Most anglers attach a shooting line on the running line using monofilament, braided line or a very fine diameter fly line

Level (L) taper
These lines are uniform in diameter throughout, making them the most economical
If you are a beginner don't try to save money this way. Level taper lines are the most difficult to cast so they really are best used by seasoned veterans, primarily for fly fishing with live bait.

Density

Floating (F) lines
These do as they say--they float on the water's surface
Floating lines are good for beginners since they are easier to cast and handle
Floating lines also are a must for dry flies, but they can also work with wet flies, nymphs and streamers that are fished several feet below the surface

Intermediate (I) lines
These are a little denser than water so they sink slowly to present a fly just below the water's surface
These lines work well in shallow, weedy lakes and in choppy waters where you want your line to stay below the choppiness

Sinking (S) lines
These lines do the opposite of floating lines--they sink
They are designed for deep lakes and deep, fast-flowing rivers
Some manufacturers also put a Roman numeral after the S to show how fast their line sinks in inches per second. For example, an S II line sinks about two inches per second
These lines are best for wet flies, nymphs and streamers at a constant depth

Floating/Sinking (F/S) lines
These combine the two characteristics--the five foot-- to twenty foot tip or front portion sinks to present the bait while the balance of line floats on the water
Manufacturers display the depth and speed that the front part of the line sinks
This floating/sinking line gets your fly down while helping you maintain control, so it's good for fish such as salmon.

sourced from www.troutlet.com

Truths About Lure Color

I found this great article by Greg Vinall and while I have only posted the first part to whet your appetite - if you like where it is going visit his complete article here (it really is fantastic)

The day had been slow. For the fifth or sixth time I steered the canoe close to a rocky dropoff on the Hopkins Estuary and enjoyed the gentle drift afforded by a light breeze that was running parallel to the shore. It wasn't the best day for fishing, in fact I hadn't raised any piscatorial interest at all. It was bright and warm with plenty of boating traffic to create a disturbance in what is essentially a fairly small waterway. Perhaps if I'd been prepared to soak baits quietly in a deeper hole or under the shade of some overhanging vegetation I might have done better, but that would have been giving in. Instead I persisted in flicking small crankbaits at any rocky structure I could find along the steep foreshore.

I started trying to convince myself that I was happy just to be out here enjoying nature, the warm sun on my back and the song of a whistling kite overhead. Without really thinking about it I made yet another lure change, this time from a pink and yellow pattern with a black spot amidships to a small black deep diver with just a hint of silver scales. I deftly flicked the little lure into a small pocket behind a large rock, gave it a second or two to sink, then cranked over the little Chronarch baitcaster, gave the lure a couple of gentle twitches and idly began my retrieve. Whack! Two turns of the handle was all I managed before the lure was nailed by a stud black bream that proceeded to go berserk in only two feet of water.

How to clean a fish: Video (Fish Recipe)

Herb barbecued fish

Squeamish warning

This is actually a fish recipe for herb barbecued fish, but the first part perfectly shows how to clean a fish for the table. This is something that new fishers often have trouble with and I thought that it would be helpful to post a video of the process. I am hoping to find a video of the proper filleting process too - so keep checking back for that in the future.

If you watch the whole way through you will also find a great recipe for barbecued fish that I have personally tried and enjoyed. In my opinion nothing beats a whole fish cooked on the BBQ with herbs, spices, garlic and ginger YUM!

Fishing Tips: Landing that big fish

A lot of fish are lost due to poor landing techniques. The first job is to clear the boats floor. Get the hoses, buckets, brushes, lures, and other rods out of the area. You don't want anything in your way while fighting, gaffing, or boating a fish.

Next, communicate! Crew and angler should talk to each other, especially if they're not used to fishing together. Landing a big fish is a team effort.
I you are the angler, yell out when you see the fish, or shout "color", and make sure the fish is under control as it comes up.

You should always stay directly in front of the fish - Remember "no angles, no tangles." You may have to make a few quick moves to keep the fish from going under the boat or tangling with another fish. Never be afraid of dipping your rod tip in the water. If the fish gets under the boat, you need to get the rod down as far as you can so the line will clear the running gear. Once the fish is under control, guide it into position and present it to the netter or gaffer. Never lift the fish's head out of the water, as this may cause it to react violently and break your off.

Landing a fish - netting

Netting a fish can be a daunting task for a new fisher. I must give a shout out to my old man here who I still blame for losing me a nice Spanish mackerel because of his poor landing
technique - hey Dad!



Netting the fish

It is at the point of netting - that most mistakes occur. When the fish is played out, the net should be placed in the water, ready for use. At this point the fish will probably be wallowing or lying on the surface. Hold the net about 12in (30cm) below the surface and lead the fish towards the net. Never try to chase the fish with the net - it only scares them into making another run to freedom. Do not lift until the fish is completely in the net.

Sometimes, as the fish is lead to the net, it will suddenly find new strength and either swim off or change direction. Let it do so as trying to bully the fish with pressure that close to the boat will lead to many tears (trust me!)

Important points must be remembered:
Never move the net towards the fish but keep it still and lead the fish over it. (I know I've said it twice, but it is really important!) See below at what not to do.

(This post has been adapted from http://members.chello.nl/tmarapengopie/)