For me there doesn’t have to be a reason to go fishing. Fishing itself is enough I’ll just go at the drop of a hat but for those of you who may need a reason, here are ten. Who knows, when you need an excuse to wet a line one of them might come in handy. So here they are, in no particular order.

1) To get out in nature. We all get caught up in the day to day inertia that we call life, and sometimes just need to get back to nature. It helps restore the soul, as many poets have suggested.

2) To get your mind off of other things. This is what I used to use fishing for, before I learned some other techniques for clearing my mind. But spending a day waist deep in a river still serves me pretty well.

3) To have some fun with your children. If you haven’t done this already, have at it. Kids love to fish. And I know with my daughter, I have every bit as much fun as she does. And in some way, that’s what this whole thing is about.

4) To try to catch a trophy. This is a wonderful reason for me, but some people just don’t want to work that hard. It took me three years of fairly hard fishing on the same river to catch the one trophy rainbow trout that I’ve caught out of said river. And it was worth every minute of fishing and frustration along the way.

5) Practice. In the immortal words of Allen Iverson, “What we talking about here? Practice? Practice?” Yes Allen, we’re talking about practice. And anglers need it just like professional basketball players. If you want to attain any level of skill, that is. It’s just like anything else, the more you practice, the better angler you will become.

6) To get out of the house or office. In this modern world, we can become like animals in a zoo. Just going through the motions, as if there were no real point to being on this earth other than making money to pay bills. At least that’s how it can seem if you spend too much time in the house or office.

7) To get exercise. No many people may be thinking, “Fishing is not exercise, you just sit there.” Not necessarily. If you go fishing with me, you’re going to walk three or four miles and cross the river four or five times. It can be quite a workout at times. Even when I go lake fishing, the areas I fish are a nice walk from my vehicle. So exercise is a great reason to go fishing.

8) To get ideas. I’ve had some great idea’s pop into my head while fishing, that might not have otherwise been discovered.

9) To hang out with a friend. If there’s someone that you haven’t hung out with in a while, and it’s overdue, go fishing. The drive and subsequent walk to and from the fishing area is a great time to catch up.

10) To discover something new about yourself. This one is big for me personally. I’ve discovered a lot about myself while wading in various rivers over the years and you can as well. There’s just something about standing in a river that’s conducive to discovery. Maybe the silence. I’m not sure of much, other than the fact that it is.

There you go. The next time the old lady asks you why you want to go fishing again, and you draw a blank, just drop one of these bad boys in her lap. If you get to go fishing one extra time, then writing this article was worth it.

I’ve been fishing for over 50 years and even more frequently in the last 10 years; during this time I have learned a lot of countless things about fishing in general. The most important is that you can never know it all. Even a novice can show an old timer a trick or two.

Over the years I’ve seen hundreds of anglers come to the areas I fish full of enthusiasm and determination and they end up leaving frustrated and confused. With just a little advice this could have made for a better experience and more than likely created another fishing addict like myself. It may take some time to turn you into that pro, but the enjoyment of the sport would be more easily realised.

When starting out the very first thing you want is just basic information on where and when to fish. Sounds easy and generally just ask other anglers, lodge owners, bait store owners, heck just ask.

Now for the fishing equipment, the rod and reel. Sounds simple enough, but maybe not. As in most other sports, cheap or poor equipment will result in poor results. As an example I met a fellow from southern Ontario (Toronto) while fishing here at home for Northern pike and asked him how the fishing was. His remark was that he was going to rent a boat and give it a try. So I asked him if he would like to go out with me that evening and he accepted. I met him at the dock and told him to load his gear in the boat and offered him a life jacket and away we went. I did not notice what he had loaded at first except he had a nice big new tackle box, as we moved away I asked where is your rod and reel. He went on to open his new tackle box and proceeded to pull out one of those pocket fisherman rigs. Of course I had a hard time from not laughing out loud, but went on to offer him one of my other rigs already in the boat.

Once we hit the area I intended to troll he went on to politely say he wanted to use his own rod but asked what one of his lures he should use for northern pike. He had one large red and white spoon and I told him to use that and made sure he let out enough line for what we were doing. I believe I was praying for him to get the first strike and sure enough he did after about 15 minutes or so and the fun began.

Now this pike he had on was I guessed about 15 pounds, not that big but the struggle with that little, short toy he had was hilarious to watch. I did not believe he would get the fish to the boat but he did although to fast, I had the net and told him to slow down, he did not hear me as I leaned over to net the fish he had it reeled up to about 2 feet from the tip of that little rod, all that pike did was lean on the line and he was gone.

I must add here that he also had no leader on that rig. After that he was so excited and of course wanted to keep fishing, but asked if he could use one of my other rods which was fine because I wanted to see him really hook and land a nice fish. To shorten this story he did land 2 more northerns and a small walleye. Oh yes I did catch a fish, one walleye and one pike, but we had a new fishing addict here. The next day he went into town to the Canadian Tire store and got properly equipped.

I imagine that young man from southern Ontario had some great tall tales to tell when he got home. I wonder how big that one that got away is Now!

A light action graphite spinning rod and reel will handle most fish you will want to catch, plus it is light enough for the beginner to feel even the light hit of those walleye.

So just get out there relax, take your time. Bring some coffee or lunch or even better catch your lunch and cook on one of the many small islands all over these northern lakes. Mostly just enjoy it all the fresh air, wildlife and scenery. Enjoy it all while your watching that loon, deer or even a moose feeding, a big walleye might just swim up and inhale your bait sending that twitch up your line through your rod to your fingers. Set the hook and there’s lunch!

Well that’s enough from me time for supper and a 5 minute stroll down to the river and make a few casts and see what happens.

Bass fishing with topwater baits is without a doubt the most fun you can have fishing for large or smallmouth bass. People watch these bass tournaments on the tube and see all these pros using plastic and spinner baits jigs and crankbaits, forget about the fun and excitement you get with topwater baits. Topwater baits create great action and stories to pass on to family and fishing friends.

Bass fishing with topwater baits is without a doubt the most fun you can have fishing for large or smallmouth bass. People watch these bass tournaments on the tube and see all these pros using plastic and spinner baits jigs and crankbaits, forget about the fun and excitement you get with topwater baits. Topwater baits create great action and stories to pass on to family and fishing friends.

The best time I find for topwater bass fishing is in summer, the colder the water the slower the response, and the more you have to work that bait. Early morning and evening are best for topwater bass fishing.

Of course weather effects your choice of lures also, on a bright sunny day it is better to have a light wind to go with it, a bit of a chop makes the bass less spooky. On a calm sunny day use a heavier lure and lighter line for longer casts. Bass tend to become real spooky in calm and clear water, so the further the cast from you the better off you’ll be.

Wind can also change the type of topwater bait you can use I believe that when the wind comes up you should use a smaller bait that makes a lot of noise. The larger baits just plow through the chop, while the smaller baits ride the chop and still make that enticing noise to get the strike you want. Also try to fish through the troughs created by the wind.

Bass fishing topwater baits has some of it’s own quirks you want to be able to make pinpoint casts to cover areas and make a clear retrieve. Most of your topwater bass fishing will be done in shallow water over weed beds, flats and around objects and shoreline cover. The majority of bass population remains in shallow water all summer.

To fish bass with topwater baits cast about a foot or two past your target and bring it as close to the cover as possible. If you do not get a strike after the first few feet reel in and try again and make another cast. Fishing cover like this there is no need to reel the bait all the way to the boat. Work the bait slowly to get that strike from the bass that is hiding in the shadows and under cover. Have patience when fishing topwater baits, let the ripples disapear, and let the bait sit a few seconds before you make you retrieve.

When the bass strikes a topwater bait, wait till you feel the fish before you set the hook. If you try to set that hook when you first see the strike you’ll miss more than you will catch. I can’t count the times that lure has been nocked back towards me by the bass striking that topwater bait.

Now for some of the most popular baits, Poppers are among the oldest of topwater bass fishing lures. They have the dished out face with the line tie in the middle. When retrieved they make a slash noise or “bloop” when popped. Poppers work best in warm, calm, shallow, clear water. You get your action from the rod tip not reeling. The harder you snap the bait the more noise and commotion created.

Stickbaits are rounded, hot-dog shaped lures usually plastic or wood. weighted to float nose up. The only action they have is what the angler ads to make them work. These baits have appeal for big bass, just using the jerk, then real up slack and jerking again produces a good eratic side to side motion that gets lots of attention from bass.

Propbaits are cigar shaped and fitted with propellers on one or both ends. Propbaits can be worked fast or slow, quiet or loud, but stop and go retrieves are best. The bass will let you know what is best so vary your retrieve. Be sure to experiment, propbaits are dynamite around sunken logs, lily pads, and shallow cover. Be sure the blades on the lure run freely,

Wobblers and Crawlers, these baits are particularly best at night or early morning, Examples of these are the Jitterbug or the Crazy Crawler. They make a loud plopping sound when retrieved steadily. Use a steady slow retrieve for the best results with this bass bait.

Buzzbaits are a little like spinnerbaits desingned to be fished on the surface. There are two types, the opposite wire types, with the blade above the hook, and the inline type with everything on one shaft. Excellent for clear water, and pick up less weeds. Again experiment with your working of this bait, twitching and vary speeds to create different noises.

Weedless Spoons are also in this category, designed to be fished in dense cover, either through the thickest weeds, lily pads, or grass. They go through the toughest cover you can find. Fishing with weedless spoons for bass you will want to be using heavy fishing tackle, rods and reels. I like to point my rod tip at the lure on my retrieve, and again here be patient and allow the bass to take the lure.

Now just remember, get out there enjoy nature, fresh air and let’s go fishing. When using these tips you will improve your results and of course have more fun.