Fishing can be complex for beginners and sometimes it is easy to miss out on important tips and tricks as someone starting out. In this blog post I am going to give 8 handy tips that you, as a new fisherman, can use to improve.
It is important to throw the right bait and lures for the job. To do that, it is so important to understand the eating habits of your target species.
Are they picky eaters? Always eating only one type of prey? Or are the fish you are targeting vegetarians? At the end of the day, we need to fool fish into eating our bait and lures, so knowing what they eat is half the battle.
When it comes to lures it can get a bit trickier. You want a lure that resembles the food that your target species is targeting right now. We call this matching the hatch and it can be quite simple or unnecessarily complex.
For beginners, it is important to know that you want your lure to be the same size, shape, and color as what your target species is eating.
For that reason I always recommend natural colors when starting out fishing.
But how do you know what your target species is eating? Research and observation.
You can find many articles online describing eating patterns for many species. It is the number one place I start when I want to fish something new.
The Second hint is observation. What can you see swimming around you? Are that insects or small fish? Maybe a crab or other crustaceans? These are clues that will impact your thought process when choosing your lure.
For many anglers using sharp hook seems obvious. However, there are many new fishermen who often forget or are oblivious to this quite simple rule.
Every time you go fishing check your hooks before you go out on the water.
The simple way to do this is to drag the point of you hook over your thumbnail with minimal pressure. If your hook is sharp it will start digging into you nail. That'll mean it's ready to go.
The reason why sharp hooks are so important: having sharp hooks equals more fish hook ups.
If you are out on the water and for some reason you can feel fish biting, but aren’t catching fish... It is most likely your hooks that are the problem.
When hooks become dull there are two ways to fix the problem.
Firstly, buy new hooks. I recommend this highly as it saves time and insures you always have the sharpest hooks.
If you are on a budget, then you can buy a hook sharpener. This will allow you to use your hooks far longer than they normally could be used for. With practice you can sharpen hooks to factory sharpness.
Not knowing how to set a hook properly is a mistake I see new fishermen make a lot.
The first thing you must know is what type of hooks you are using.
Though there are many different types of hooks out there I would place them in 3 categories when it comes to how we set a hook.
Firstly, circle hooks are hooks where the point is facing towards the shank, making a circler shaped hook.
This is by far the easiest hook to set.
When you feel the fish is running with the bait, simply raise your rod tip up slightly and start reeling in.
Circle hooks are designed to hook into the corner of the fish’s mouth, whereas a normal hookset will pull the hook straight out of the fishes mouth.
The next hook set I want to teach is the standard hooks set that we use for single hooks.
This is also a rather simple hook set, where when a fish takes your bait or lure you reel in the slack in your line before making a sharp pull upwards above your head. This in most cases pulls the hook into the top of the fish’s mouth setting the hook.
When I fish treble hooks, I will often perform a sideways sweep when setting a hook. This is like a standard hook set but we rather than using an upward motion, we strike parallel to the water in a sweeping motion. I’m using this strike when using diving lures like crankbaits. This prevents the lure diving out of the fish’s mouth preventing the hookset4 - Use the right knot for your line
A common problem in fishing is using the wrong knot for your line. Often a fish it lost due to a knot snapping or a coming undone. To help prevent this we must understand use the right knot for the different types of fishing line we use.
For normal mono-filament line any knot will do as it is very forgiving. I would recommend a Palomar knot as it is extraordinarily strong and easy to tie.
Braid is a line that often suffers from slippage and normally I tie I leader line on to help prevent this. However, from some presentations a direct braid to hook connection is good and the best knot to tie is again the Palomar. This knot bites down deep when under pressure and prevent any slippage that might happen.
Lastly for fluorocarbon line I would recommend the Unit-knot. Fluorocarbon can be incredibly hard to work with due to be very fragile. The Uni-knot helps by distributing the pressure of tying your knot over multiple loops. However, if you plan to use fluorocarbon, I recommend that you put a lot of practice in tying whatever knot you choose. Always lubricate the knot well as you tie it. After tying your knot feel the line. If you feel bumps or damage to the line retie the knot till you have perfected it.
Bonus tip. Remember to retie your knots often, normally every time you catch a fish. This will help prevent break offs.
Most species of fish stop eating during the middle of the day. There are a few reasons for this. The main one is usually to do with temperature and most species will hide from the heat of the day. Many species do not have eye lids and want to avoid direct sunlight. Also, this is the time of day that birds of prey will hunt, and fish will try to hide from them. That is why you will hear veteran fisherman talking about fish going off the bite usually around midday. However, we can take advantage of this by targeting shaded spots or underwater terrain during the middle of the day.
If is you want to get the maximum amount from your fishing, fish during the twilight hours. These are the hours where the sun is setting and when the sun is rising. Fish are the most active during this time and you should plan your day accordingly.
One of the best things about fishing is that you do not have to be stuck in your ways. I find that trying new things not only increases your enjoyment but also makes you a better fisherman. When lure fishing there are 2 main types of fishing. Firstly, power fishing is the idea that you want to fish fast and hard and very aggressively. It normally involves using crankbaits, spinner baits and other baits where you cast out and retrieve. The idea is to trigger the aggressive nature in fish, force them to chase and catch them that way. Secondary you have finesse fishing which is the opposite. The idea with finesse fishing it to present some very natural and fish it slow. Both types of fishing appeal to different people but if you want to master lure fishing its good to try both.
You soon might find you prefer one over the other. That is fine but if you find that you are having a hard time, experiment and you will most often then not be rewarded. This also applies to retrieves and experimenting with individual lure. Always be willing to experiment with your lures just a change in retrieve or changing color might mean the difference between an uninterested fish or a new personal best.
One of the most important things in fishing is that you fish with confidence. But what does that mean? Fishing with confidence is the idea that, whenever you fish always believe in yourself and your ability to catch fish. Though this does sound melodramatic, if you believe in your gear, setup, and what baits you are throwing you will have a much better time out on the water. In the beginning as a new fisherman, you might not believe in your abilities but trust me as you start figuring out your favorite way to fish you will gain more experience and suddenly you will catch more fish.
Believing in your chances means that you spend more time fishing and less time trying to figure things out. This will all come with time and why many fishermen will have a confidence lure, a lure they will return to when they are struggling to catch fish. The reason this work is because the fishermen knows everything about the lure, how its fishes and when to use it but most all he believes it works. This means he will fish to the best of his ability and therefore he will catch fish. As a new fisherman it might take some time but always believe in your self and your research and you will see in remarkable improvement in your fishing.
If you are starting to have a bad day fishing stop and analyze what you are doing. Many times, you will find that you are over thinking the situation. In times like this I will try to dial back, maybe the color I’m presenting is not natural enough or I’m trying a too complex of a technique for my situation. You will be surprised how this simple can be better approach can improve your fishing. Though I’m not saying you should not try new things just that if the new things are frustrating you remember to go back to simple techniques and strategies. In the end always remember that basics will always get your through hard times. Don’t be scared to take out your favorite crankbait or use a simple Texas rig.
