Entries for August 2008

Dahlberg spills his hard-won river secrets.

Don't fly fish? Expert fisherman Larry Dahlberg says that's a mistake. Dahlberg writes, "Every single human being I have ever met who has become skilled with all kinds of tackle, and is therefore qualified to judge, agrees. Hands down. Fly rodding is the most fun way to fish..." Read why here...

I know lots of anglers who are instantly turned off by the mere mention of trolling. To many, it might be considered the polar opposite of fly fishing. But, truth is, those anglers who are yearning for a fish they can cast to might save lots of time and catch more fish by first locating a bunch by trolling, then resorting to their more preferred methods.

If it is presented properly, live bait is ALWAYS the most effective way to make a fish BITE. Yes, I said ALWAYS. And I DIDN'T say hook or catch, I said BITE.

According to expert fisherman, Larry Dahlberg, in hook selection, there are three major considerations: 1. Hooking power, 2. Holding power, and 3. How the weight or shape of the hook affects the bait or lure to which it is connected.

Enter the mind of the best angler on the planet.

Its name is “bacon.” Good name. Everyone loves bacon: Toddlers, college kids, balding thirty-something guys (like me) and pretty much all members of AARP. Fishermen often order huge plates of it, next to eggs, while in relaxing in restaurants after early-morning fishing trips. But I’m not talking about wonderfully-greasy slices of meaty heaven. I’m talking about a fishing fly.

Winter walleye and sauger fishing is not for the faint of heart. Ramps are icy. Temperatures brutal. And if the wind is blowing, the cold will gnaw, layer by layer, through the warmest of clothes until your icy flesh begs for mercy.

There’s something downright scary about bass fishing in dense surface vegetation. Even approaching a big field of lily pads or a tangled hydrilla mat is enough to make the hair stand up on the back of your neck in anticipation of a strike from one of the giant bass that lurk in these seemingly impenetrable clots of cover

Aside from a few relatively rare exceptions, soft plastics are denizens of the subsurface. We Texas-, Carolina- and wacky-rig them, or fish them as add-ons to jigs or specially weighted hooks.