Spring Crappie Fishing Techniques

Early spring crappie fish can be the most enjoyable and production fishing of the season. Don't wait for the spawning run. Learn how to catch more crappie right after ice out.

It has been a long hard winter and one of the most anticipated events in the spring is wetting a line on open water. While ice fishing is fun and productive, there is nothing like being out in the boat after taking a few months off. What really adds to the open water fishing experience is the thrill of catching slab crappies.

There are many fishermen who wait in the spring for the crappies to move in to spawn. Don't get me wrong; if you find crappies on their spawning beds, the fishing can be fantastic! But why wait to the spawn when you can have your cake and eat it too. Crappie fishing right after ice out can be equally rewarding.

The water temperature right after ice out will be very frigid. After a few bright warm sunny days the lakes ecosystem will start to come alive. Many crappies in the early spring will be found deep. These deep water spots typically will be the last spots the ice fisherman were having success. By using light jigs and minnows in these deep-water spots, chances are you will have good success. But if you really want to find fast action think shallow water.

As the water starts warming up, the insects will start hatching and small baitfish will move closer to shore. When that happens the crappies will move in right behind the food to feed. The best thing about early season crappie fishing is that the best times of the day to be out is during the peak of late afternoon and early evening when the weather is the nicest. Every lake is different, but the best early season lakes are the more shallow and muddy bottom lakes because they tend to warm up quicker.

If the lake has a small bay or channel the crappies will be drawn in there like magnets. Fallen trees, sticks brush and last years weeds will attract more insects that are hatching that the crappies will feed upon. This combination will become your "A" fishing spot. The water temp that typically starts this early season action is about 50 degrees. There are many fishermen who incorrectly think the crappies at this time are coming in to spawn. They are simply coming in to feed at this time. Crappies will move in to spawn a little later in the spring when the water temperature is about 65 degrees.

There are many fishermen that will use a jig and minnow. They will catch fish, but if you really want the fast action switch your presentation to a tube jig. The best depths typically here are about 6 feet or less. When you rig you tube jig, place a small bobber a foot and a half up from the jig. Cast and retrieve it slow. The bobber basically just keeps your jig at the same depth. In detecting the bite, crappies will often grab your jig and swim side to side or the bobber will tip up and then move slowly down. The tube jig body is plastic so give the crappie a little time to suck it down. The best thing about the tube jig is that if you miss you will often get another bite right away. When using minnows for bait, you miss your done.

Once the crappies move in, the action can get very fast. This spring crappie pattern usually lasts a few weeks. After that the crappies move slightly deeper staging for the spawn and then move back in. So why wait for the crappies to spawn? You waited all winter. Early spring crappie fishing is a real bonus. Have Fun!

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About the Author

Stephen Long is an author for Sportsmans Article Resource Directory. Learn how to catch more crappie as well as other fishing tips at http://www.profishingtips.info

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Top Water Bass Fishing Secrets

There are many ways to catch bass, but there is nothing more exciting than catching bass with top water lures and techniques. Learn more on how to put the thrill in bass fishing.

It's early in the morning and you're already on the water. The water is like glass and all is quiet around you. Next to you in the boat is a cooler filled with your favorite beverage (whether it's beer or coke is up to you!). As you approach your favorite fishing hole, you pick up your rod and tie on a surface lure. You cast your line toward the shore and present your topwater offering.

All of a sudden, the water explodes and you are in the battle of your life with a lunker largemouth! He feels like he goes maybe 3 or 4 pounds. As you get him boat side, you reach down and lift him out of the water. Larger than you expected, around 5 pounds! You turn and drop your prize into the live well and prepare for the next cast...

The thrill of topwater bass fishing is addictive. There is a BIG difference between catching that elusive largemouth off the bottom, from the middle or from the surface. Topwater bass fishing is a more visual experience than other types of fishing. There are specific types of rods and lures for topwater bass fishing.

Rods

Most anglers will tell you that a 6 to 6 Ѕ foot rod with a medium action will suffice. If the action of the rod is too stiff, you will yank your bait right out of the fish's mouth when you set the hook. A medium action rod is the best fit for topwater bass fishing.

These rods are available in a price range of about $20 to over $200. Do you need to spend a bunch of money on a rod? Regardless of the price tag, medium action is medium action. On the other hand, if you go with a $25 rod, you can expect $25 worth of performance. Chose a rod somewhere in the middle price range and you won't go wrong.

Lures

When it comes to lures, there are a great many to choose from. Here is a list of the top ten I have read about recently:

1. Heddon's Zara Spook.

2. Custom Bait's Senko.

3. Yum's Floating Worm (with a Texas style rig).

4. Zoom's Superfluke.

5. Heddon's Torpedo.

6. Lazer Eye's Buzzbait

7. Smithwick's Stick Bait aka Hard Jerk Bait.

8. Rebel's Pop-R bait.

9. Snag Proof's Tournament Frog.

10. Any spinner bait. These are manufactured by numerous companies.

All these lures have their own unique presentations. When presented properly, these baits are historically known to produce quality bass. This is true across regional boundaries, weather conditions and water tempuratures.

A big tip

Now you have the rod and the lures you need for topwater bass fishing, there is one more thing you should know. Here it is: Since topwater fishing is a visual type of fishing, most anglers will set the hook too soon and jerk the lure right out of the fish's mouth. To prevent this, do NOT set the hook immediately when you see the strike! Wait a second, reel in some slack and when you feel the pressure of the bass on the line, THEN set the hook. You will land more lunkers that way and be a much happier angler to boot.

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About the Author

Stephen Long is an author for Sportsmans Article Resource, providing you the latest fishing and hunting tips and techniques for the outdoorsman. Sportsmans article resource is an article resource directory for free online articles.

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Ice Fishing Trips in Alaska: A Fantastic Experience for any Outdoorsman

Everything you need to know about alaska fishing

Do you love to eat fish? Well, if you do then you probably love to catch fish. If you want to experience how to catch fish the fun way, then you must have an ice fishing trip to Alaska.

So why choose Alaska? So far, this is an excellent location to go for ice fishing because the country has so many fishing resources. If you plan to catch halibut, king salmon, and rainbow trout, Alaska is the best place to fish.

If you love the wilderness and all the ice, you must immediately plan for your Alaska fishing trip. You will surely experience the most splendid and spectacular fishing trip ever. You can do a search online about Alaska. There, you can see various information resources about fishing trips to Alaska. Before planning for the trip, you must first identify what fish you want to catch because you can't find all the species of fish in one location. In fact, some species can be found in only a specific region of Alaska.

For instance, you want to catch halibut. You must ask for the exact location where this specie is found. The internet is the best place to conduct a search because you can find almost all the important information about Alaska and the fishing locales. If you're not satisfied with the search results, you can always go directly to Alaska especially if you have a place to stay there. After your arrival, then you can ask the local residents there for the best place to catch halibut and other fish species. The local residents can give you good tips on where to find the best fishing locales.

Alaska is a very cold place so you must be prepared for the weather there. Choose a fishing spot where the climatic conditions are suited or conducive to the fish specie that you want to catch. Ask around especially if this is your first Alaskan fishing trip. Fishes than be caught during the summer may not be caught during winter, so keep yourself informed.

Halibut, steelhead, and salmon fishing is most popular in the southern part of Alaska. If you want to catch fighting fish, go to Kenai River. Among the most popular fishing trip destinations are Anchorage, Soldotna, Seward, Kodiak Island, Homer, Kuskokwim River, and Bristol Bay. You can enjoy fly fishing in Anchorage, particularly Lake Hood.

These are just some of the popular fishing locales that you can visit. With diligent search online, you may be able find more information about an Alaska ice fishing trip. Take advantage of the unlimited resources on the internet so that you can plan an ice fishing trip that you won’t forget for the rest of your life. If you haven’t had a memorable fishing trip vacation, this is the best time to plan for it. Get your family involved so that you can arrange for the trip at an earlier date.

Before flying to Alaska, make sure that you have all the fishing supplies that you will need. If you're gong there for the winter, you must prepare for the extreme cold weather. Bring the appropriate clothes because you will need layers of them. If it's for the summer, then try to bring the appropriate clothes as well. You must always be prepared so that you can fish all day regardless of the shifts in temperature.

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About the Author

Sandra Stammberger owns and operates http://www.myalaskafishing.com/icefishinginalaska.html - Ice Fishing In Alaska

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Alberta Trout Fishing: Fishing Paradise!

Information on Fishing in Alberta.

Are you considering a fishing vacation? If so, look no further than a trip to Alberta, Canada for a little fishing bliss. Alberta is full of rivers, streams, and best of all lots of trout. The Bow River in Alberta is probably the best place to go for you hungry anglers looking for a great fishing adventure. You won’t be disappointed. Alberta is home to many trout species including cutthroat trout, brown trout, bull trout, and rainbows.

There are a couple ways you can go about your fishing adventure. First and foremost you can look up a fishing guide in the Alberta area at: http://www.charternet.com/fishers/alberta.html

Using a guide is always a great way to get local advice and local knowledge of the fishing tactics in the Alberta rivers and streams. You can’t go wrong. If you are a beginner we would highly recommend a professional guide. If you are really looking for some fun try a little fly fishing. You won’t soon forget the experience.

If you are the adventurous type and want to go out on your own we would highly recommend heading straight to the Bow River. This is by far Alberta’s best trout river. The Bow River is divided into two parts. The upper Bow river located west of Calgary nestled in the mountains, high in the Banff National park. The lower section contains a 51 mile stretch of river below Calgary. This lower section is largely considered trout fishing paradise by trout fisherman all over the world.

Most trout caught in the Bow River are between 14 and 18 inches long. You can however find trout in the 20 inch range if you have the special touch. Fishing the Bow river is not just about the size of trout but the beautiful scenery and diverse ecology. This is considered by some to be one the most beautiful landscapes in the world. While you are fishing you can enjoy deer grazing, eagles, hawks, and falcons soaring above the river.

Another great adventure besides the Bow River is the Red Deer River. This river will require your patience. If you are looking for a large brow trout in the 22 inch range on average this might be the adventure for you. This river requires patience and is considered by some to be a schizophrenic river when hunting the large brown trouts.

The benefits of the Red Deer river is that is is not heavily fished. When the fishing is good you can often see trout in the 22 to 27 inch range. On other days you may seen zero. This river takes patience and might be best to take a guide along to help you navigate.

The fishing on Red Deer river starts towards the end of May and is usually good into late June. There are great accommodations in the city of Red Deer.

The bottom line is that if you are looking for a great fishing adventure, Alberta definitely fits the bill. You will not experience many other fishing adventures as scenic and as plentiful with world class trout as you can find in Alberta.

Grab your gear and make the journey to Alberta you just can’t lose for a few days of trout fishing bliss!

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About the Author

Matt D Murren owns and operates http://www.alberta-fishing-advisor.com Alberta Fishing

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Lure Making

Fishing is hobby that is enjoyed by various people. The anglers will use fishing as a test between themselves and nature. To prove this superiority people will use different types of fishing lures. Among these will be different types of fishing lures that you have made. You can learn lure making with ease as there are various instructional aids and supplies to help you with this task.

Even though the commercial fishing lures for bass and crappies are designed to look like live bait, the fishing lures that you make will not have this smooth look to them. The general look of these lures that you are making will be rough and partially realistic looking. When you are doing your lure making try to think about the type of insect bait that you want. This is the easiest way for you to fashion your lures.

You will find that you can easily find and buy the supplies to make one of these original homemade fishing lures. By looking for dealers and suppliers the making of lures you will be making different fishing lures in no time at all. There are many different books and other items which you can buy to help you out with lure making.

These lure making supplies which you will buy from places the internet and hobby shops will have a large selection of quality items that you can use in your lure making. These products that you can use in lure making will include feathers, beads, shiny blades and other items. With these items your fishing lures which resemble beetles, praying mantises and other insects.

As bass and crappies among other fish prefer to have live bait you will need to think about how you will make your lures act in this manner. You can see the different ways to accomplish this in practice lure making techniques.

For the most part these lures that you are making will need to be refined. The best way to see if they are working is to cast them into bass filled waters. If the bass take the bait then you know that you have accomplished the task that you set out to do when you began lure making.

By seeing where you can get the different tools for lure making you can see how this new hobby of yours will make fishing an even more interesting sport. The world of lure making will provide you with endless opportunities to experiment with making new lures.

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About the Author

Visit our Great Fishing Guide to find out more on Fishing.

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