Fishing Tactics

Spring creeks and flatland trout streams with moderate flows develop aquatic grasses and broadleaf weeds that hold one of the trout’s favorite forage items—freshwater scuds.

Bass Pro Gary Klein explains and demonstrates how to use a small worm for big bass.

When the bite gets tough, anglers are often their own worst enemy. We all have methods to catch big bass that we prefer over others, but there are times when stepping out of our comfort zone will pay big dividends.

There is no doubt that summer panfish can be tough, but ‘gill and crappie guru, Brian “Bro” Brosdahl shares his secrets to finding and these fish.

Catching a limit is a drop-dead serious necessity for professional tournament anglers. That’s why virtually every one of them resorts to limit baits when other lures strike out.

Puzzled, I put my rod down, took a drink of water, and started up the motor to head to another flat. Then it hit me: tight-lipped fish often require ultra-finesse presentations. Why not drop-shot? 

The pro angler was on his home water, and although he was seeing numbers of bass, walleyes and pike-both his eyes and electronics-concentrated along deep weedlines, he simply could not get them to bite.

Late spring and early summer provide some of the best opportunities of the year to catch bass in shallow water with a spinnerbait. The reason is because bream as well as shad, both prime forage for bass, have moved shallow to spawn, and bass are taking advantage of it.
 

 “Look at them,” he says, pointing with his rod toward a guide boat crawling across the massive flat. Every angler occupied a seat and gazed sleepily as lines from the trolling rods cut tiny wakes in the water behind the boat. “I’d much rather be doing this than just sitting and watching.”

Even the best electronic maps can't detail the hidden spots you fish—until now, that is.