How is it that in an age of technology and electronics, something as ‘primitive’ as bass fishing is luring in new avid anglers year after year. So much so that as soon as they hear something new and fancy that catches their interests, they will dive into it and try to get as much out of it as possible.

One common theme running through bass anglers (tournament or recreational) is “Where are the what…? Where are the bass!”

Even for the experts. When they are fishing in a body of water that they have never fished before, after dropping the boat into the water, they will start to wonder, where is the best place to fish?

I will try to unravel the mysteries of finding areas best for bass fishing. Locating bass and understanding the water would be the top questions among many bass anglers today. This is closely followed by the question, “Which is the best bait to catch a “big” bass?”

Actually, Bass Fishing can be simplified into 2 main areas. Once you know them, you will definitely be a better angler. The 2 must know things are:

1. How to locate bass?

2. How to catch bass using all the different techniques, presentations, and baits?

Learning how to locate bass can be somewhat of a challenge to most anglers as there are so many different factors. Here are some ‘Do You Knows’ for you to consider:

1. Do you Know how to read a map? This is a fundamental skill that you should try to learn because with a map, it is easier for you to zoom in on the location that is good for bass fishing.

2. Do you Know that the most practical place to look for Active Bass is just after the cold fronts and during early spring and late fall? This means you must take into consideration weather conditions as well.

3. Do you Understand water depth? This is an important element because the depth or the hollowness of the water tells you if it is a good location.

4. Do you know what Water clarity of the location?

5. Do you know the Water temperatures of the location?

6. Do you know that seasonal patterns has a direct relationship with whether it is bass fishing season or not.

But that is not all! Bass tournaments are so competitive and exciting because the winners are not necessarily the good and consistent bass anglers who knows how to get into boat, hitting the water, and casting their baits. No, more often than not, it is those who know how to locate the bass more quickly that has won half the battle already.

So how do you know what is the best location? Start by looking at a lake map.

There are two general types of lake maps that most anglers will use. They are referred to as the “Hot Spot” and “Topographical” maps. The difference between the two is that a “Topo” map shows more detail, and the “Hot Spots” map shows what the name implies, more fishing spots (well, at least we all hope they do).

Here’s a secret about how you can best use a lake map. Sector it. That’s right. Sector the map by first studying it for a moment (look for areas where the fish would most likely to be). Next, use a highlighter to divide the map into sections based on how much time we can pre-fish before a tournament or how many days we have to just fish for fun.

The other secret is to always check the actual situation versus what is stated on the maps. The size of the sections will vary depending on contours, structure, and number of places to be checked out during the course of the day based on what the map shows. Don’t just cast your bait into the water and work on it for five minutes and leave. Try an assortment of baits to see signs of fish in any given area. This will help you understand their working pattern.

A good bass fisherman will know how to keep notes or markings on his maps. This will be his source of best bass fishing locations for his enjoyment for years to come.

Gordon Lee is an aspiring copywriting who has taken an interest in Bass Fishing recently and this has led him to host a Bass Fishing portal for beginners at http://www.bass-fishing-101.com

Fly fishing, in all it’s variations and sub-areas (casting, fly tying, etc), centres around a single goal - To successfully tempt a fish (Most commonly a trout) to take an artificial fly as a food item. Sighting, hooking, playing and landing the fish are also important parts of the successful fishing experience, not to mention being able to get the fly to the fish in the first place, by the unique casting methods utilized solely in fly fishing.

However, along with all that work, and the practice of the skills involved in bringing it all together at that crucial moment, comes that pivotal element of convincing the fish that what they are considering is indeed food-like in nature. Without this key element, we can forget the rest, and this is the one step of the exercise which is dependant upon the decision of the fish, rather than ourselves.

In this, fly fishermen spend untold amounts of time researching, studying, and imitating countless insect types in aid of presenting a believable decoy to their quarry. We tie our flies, the fish takes it, our efforts paid off, right?

But is everything as it seems? Did we deceive the fish for exactly the reasons we thought?

Although there are many factors involved in getting that fly to a timid fish, and fly fishing itself was obviously designed around overcoming all of those obstacles, considering it’s significance, understanding the ‘Feeding behaviour’ of the trout has probably taken somewhat of a back seat, compared to some of the other areas or skills of fly fishing, we fishermen often seem to focus our efforts on.

The feeding behaviour of trout is the sum of two main factors:

Firstly, through the fry and fingerling stages of development, the identification of specific ‘Food Recognition Keys’ are ingrained resulting from the repetitive feeding pattern of their natural survival instincts.

Secondly, as they get larger, they can manage larger diet articles. Supplementary behaviour is then learned out of a reactive response to the local fauna they find in the area where they are hatched or released. Local knowledge is naturally beneficial here and this is normally what we focus on when fly fishing.

The behavioural patterns of trout vary significantly between the species, the size and the circumstances in which they are found. Trout habits also change through different times of the day, and again depending on weather conditions. Feeding habits and behaviours also change between faster and slower waters, and so on.

As in most types of fishing, there is not just one single or simple answer. If there was, it would have been made common knowledge, a long time ago. What this does tell us, is that to increase our odds of convincing the trout of the validity of our fly, it’s going to be far more beneficial to concentrate on presenting specific ‘Recognition keys’, which remain consistent, rather than the far more subjective; ‘Circumstance-specific learned behaviour’ which will often vary greatly from fish to fish, and particularly from place to place.

There are many pieces to this puzzle. The more pieces you can find, understand and put together, the more it multiplies your fly fishing results. What this methodology does do for us especially, is simplify and sharpen our learning curve by quite an incredible degree.

Therefore, instead of studying dozens, even hundreds or more, of insects and the flies designed to imitate them, I’ve found that in nearly all circumstances, you need only a few fly patterns, each designed to do a specific job in the varying circumstances found on the stretch of water you’re fishing.

Trout Flies then induce fish ‘Takes’ by the use of food ‘Recognition Keys,’ rather than by intended imitation. For this method then, local knowledge becomes relatively irrelevant.

This means flies do not need to imitate anything to catch trout. What!?! Say that again.- Flies do not need to imitate anything to catch trout. Certainly nothing specific anyway.

Flies can then be tied to counter stream or water conditions, or to counter, and or take advantage of, various aspects of trout behaviour. This, then (Not being restricted by specific imitation), opens up possibilities for us to incorporate the use of innovative strategies, tactics and trout fly construction, to give ourselves a far greater edge than previously thought possible.

The more time we have spent fishing with incorrect or insufficient knowledge, the more time you have spent developing the mindset that the trout is a vastly superior, cunning and unpredictable adversary, and results like mine become seemingly unattainable, and without such knowledge becoming available, the practical reality remains precisely that.

Normally it takes years of studying these fish, trial and error with different fly patterns, different fishing techniques, different innovative designs and methods with the right focus to get to a place where you understand these creatures adequately for the outstanding results we normally only see the Pro’s achieving.

Fortunately, with the right focus, we can now be achieving much greater success in much shorter time frames by understanding and taking advantage of these ‘Recognition keys’, combined with other behavioural patterns of the trout species we are targeting and just some basic skills of fly fishing.

Wayne Smith, author of the acclaimed ‘Fly Fishing For Trout - A Quiet Revolution’ which can be found here:

Fly Fishing

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Fly Fishing

Night fishing is a serious challenge even to experienced fishermen. It is getting more and more popular these days, especially on lake Taneycomo and other lakes where the water stream is not so dangerous. Night fishing is also popular on riverbanks. There are several basic things you need to know before attempting to go night fishing. To fly a fish at night is not as easy as it may seem to the uninitiated.

First things first. Before going out with your flyfishing enthusiasm in the middle of the night, you’d better have checked the water area during the day. Carefully examine the bank and the lay of water. Although it may seem knee-deep on most places, there are exceptionally deep drop-offs, riffles and holes where you may get stuck in the dark. To reduce the risk of drowning, be very careful not to go far away in the water. Wade only to the level of your calves, not more, unless you are very experienced or you know the area like your palm. When night fishing, you should take your waders with you, they are perfect for the muddy conditions which you have to overcome. The thing to have in mind about your waders is not to let any water in. Hypothermia is not an option, but will inevitably come if you stay with wet legs for several hours, waiting for the trout to peck. Another thing goes: be cautious enough to take your cell phone with you, so that you can phone whenever you like if a problem occurs. If the current is very strong, you’d better not try night fishing by yourself. The water stream can be quite dangerous at night, and if you are on yourself things may go fatal.

A great number of fishermen follow the above-mentioned instructions, hoping for a good catch, but still the fish is silent. What can be the reason? First and foremost, the weather conditions. Night fly fishing requires dark and moonless nights for the trout to come up. Night fishing on rainy weather can be profitable for some fishermen, because the sky is cloudy and there is no moonlight.

Another question of interest is on how long intervals the trout is feeding. It comes up usually for half an hour, in between two hours’ periods of silence. But the meal-time can be different and you have to be careful and attentive all night.

What about the bait? Anything is possible, the choice is yours. Flies from small nymphs to bigger Woolies can be substantial. It depends on the weather conditions, and also on the trout’s appetite.

Bearing in mind these suggestions, you may soon fall in love with night fly fishing. It is not just a fishing occupation, it is a great adventure, a dark time to muse and enjoy nature.

Article by Robbie Darmona - an article writer who writes on a wide variety of subjects. For more information click Night Fishing