Fishing Tactics

The scream of braided line zipping off through the guides has been the soundtrack to my morning since hooking a monstrous white sturgeon at daybreak.

“It takes a little time and effort to access,” Lawrence Taylor says about one of his favorite bank- fishing spots at a lake near his Arkansas home, “but when we get there we always have it to ourselves, and the fish act like they’ve never seen a lure.”

When grading cast-n-crank lures, lipless crankbaits score high, producing bass bites with little input from the angler on the other end of the line.

River walleyes – and often the biggest ones a system has to offer – frequently prefer the subtle swing and swagger of a suspending jerkbait.

It was mid-August and hot when I met Eric Haataja at the boat ramp in downtown Milwaukee. A stiff wind was blowing from the west; the same wind the area had enjoyed for over a week.

When you stand shoulder-to-shoulder with another angler, flipping the same baits to the same cover, in what seems to be the same way, yet that guy consistently catches four fish to your one—it’s no coincidence.

Anglers, biologists and lure makers weigh in on what we’re ‘teaching’ fish with every cast.

Here's a little advice on caring for your catch.

 In any endeavor, there is no magic pill for success, but follow these ten points and you WILL catch more fish this season!