Bass Walleye
Anyone can learn how to catch big beautiful trophy fish by following some common sense tips and techniques. Maybe you’ve never caught a really big fish and you’re wondering why. I’m willing to bet that if you’ve spent much time fishing you probably had at least 1 “big one that got away”. That happens to everyone, including experienced fishermen who forget to follow some basic rules. The tips I cover here will be targeted at freshwater fishing but apply to both fresh and saltwater. Learn how to locate, lure and land that fish of a lifetime.
First of all you don’t have to spend a lot of money or travel to exotic locations to catch trophy fish. Almost any pond or lake that has water year-round and enough depth to support fish during both cold and hot dry months, will hold a good number of big fish. You can even catch huge trophy fish from shore if you know how to find the right spot. I have caught large Bass, Walleyes, Trout, Salmon and Pike from the shore. I have also caught saltwater Striped Bass, Bluefish and Sharks from the shoreline. Here is the basic outline for success. We will go into more detail in future article and on my website.
1. Use Large Real Bait
What do I mean by real bait? Well I mean the things that fish actually feed on to live. Do you eat plastic steaks? Do you cut pictures of food out of a magazine and eat them? Of course you don’t and neither do big fish. While imitation lures do have their place and time, all they do is imitate Live Bait. Also to eliminate catching small pesky fish, use bait that only trophy fish can swallow. I’ve used 12″ shiners in Florida and 6″ perch in New England, where it is legal to use smaller fish as bait.
2. A Quality Reel is a Must
A quality fishing reel makes all the difference in actually landing a big fish. This is one place where it makes sense to spend some money. Once you finally get that trophy fish to chomp your bait after waiting a long time, it would be a shame to lose it because of a cheap reel. A good fishing reel has a finely tuned drag that allows the big fish to run and get tired without breaking the line.
3. Use Thin Low-Visibility Line
Trophy fish did not get big by being stupid! So it helps if the fisherman is smarter than the fish. In lakes near populated areas, fish that have lived a long time have probably seen many hooks, lines and sinkers. So it doesn’t take much to spook a big fish. Use the thinnest line possible and the minimal terminal tackle. Tie the line directly to the hook and use the smallest sinker to get the bait to the correct depth. You can land a 20 lb fish on 4 lb test line if you have a quality reel.
4. Sharp Hooks are Necessary
The need to even mention this is proof that trophy fish can be smarter than fishermen. You can do everything else right and get that monster Trout or Walleye to grab your bait. With a pounding heart you wait that necessary 3 seconds and then pull back on the fishing rod to sink the hook. The behemoth doubles your rod over and the drag screams as he goes on his first run. Suddenly the line goes slack and the fish is gone! What happened is that a cheap or dull hook just pulled right out of his mouth. Dang it! Don’t let that happen to you…it’s painful.
5. Learn your Lake and your Fish
Every body of water is different and the habits and locations of fish can vary considerably. The length of this article will not permit a discussion to cover this subject. One quick example is to locate the thermocline in the summer and the fish will be just below it. Some fish come close to shore to feed at night. Some wait at the edge of weed beds at mid-day to ambush bait. Others feed almost exclusively at night or early morning. Your local bait shop can be a great source of information if you are humble enough to listen.
6. Patience, Patience, Patience
“Run and Gun” is a common practice these days that you’ll see on the Bassmaster TV shows and magazines. Power up that 250 HP motor and scream across the lake scaring every big fish within 200 yards of your boat! Yeah that’s perfect for the impatient generation that needs constant stimulus to avoid thinking at all costs. If that’s what you want, you’ve come to the wrong place. If you want to enjoy the beauty of nature, discover your inner self and catch trophy fish, then take it slowly and quietly. Catching the Trophy Fish of your life will be well worth it. You might even discover that you like yourself.
About the Author: John Kotuby is a grizzled fishing veteran with over 50 years experience fishing both fresh and saltwater all along the East Coast, Great Lakes and Pacific Northwest. He specializes in bait fishing, but also likes trolling and spin casting when appropriate. Fly fishing is not his thing, but he can teach the most inexperienced angler how to catch big fish and love doing it. Visit his website http://www.CatchTrophyFish.com which will contain more in-depth information, photos and videos.
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