Sochofishing

These awesome fish can look like a shark till you see the lateral line - but they fight and taste like few fish in the sea. The first time I saw a cobia I thought it was a shark. I was around 14, and had been fishing here a couple of years. Catching trout in cold streams is a very beautiful thing, and one that's still burned in my memory and my love for the sport as any snook, tarpon, or wahoo that's burned out expensive equipment. I could probably still tie a decent nymph if I had to. But that day in Anclote Key, when that three-foot-long thing slammed a pinfish we had under a bobber for redfish, I knew I wasn't in Pennsylvania anymore. We lost the fish in about twelve seconds. The drag was way too tight, we were two kids with no idea of what we were doing, and the fish went on to live his short life. Finding Cobia When temperatures are high enough, cobia start showing up all over inshore waters. Like all fish, cobia behave in a certain way. The wa

The great barracuda has two rows of razor-sharp teeth Barracuda Use Sharp Teeth to Prey on Other Fish Found across the globe in tropical seas, except the east Pacific, the great barracuda is typical of the approximately 20 species of barracuda. It may be distinguished from other barracuda by the black spots on its lower sides. It has a long, slender body, a pointed head and two rows of razor-sharp teeth. Juvenile great barracuda usually live among sea grasses and mangroves where they are hidden from predators. In their second year, they typically move to coral reefs. Sometimes found in the open sea, they often remain near the surface, though they may be found as deep as 325 feet. Sight-oriented, great barracuda locate their prey visually, swimming as fast as 36 miles per hour to swallow small prey whole or using their sharp teeth to rip larger prey into pieces . They prey on a wide variety of fish

Largest Fish is Mainly a Mystery Contrary to its name, the whale shark is not a whale; it is, rather, the world’s largest fish, growing as long as 60 feet. It is widely distributed, found worldwide in tropical and warm temperate seas, except the Mediterranean. As it swims, it sucks water through its gargantuan mouth, as wide as 5 feet, then filters out plankton and other microscopic organisms through its gills. It is an extremely patient feeder.  Individuals have been observed waiting as long as 14 hours for fish to spawn on reefs in order to eat the eggs. Whale sharks migrate long distances according to food availability and water temperature. One specimen was tracked 8,000 miles across the Pacific.  Thought to have evolved 200 million years ago, one might think that humans would have had ample time to study the species, but its life history remains poorly understood, partially because it is both rare and migratory. Jacques Cousteau is reported to have observe

So what's a slip bobber? Well, a slip bobber is a bobber that slides freely up and down your fishing line. For any bobber to work there must be a way to hold the bobber at a certain spot on the fishing line. To use the clip on type bobbers, you simply clip the bobber above the hook at the depth that you want your bait to be under water. This is fine but it limits your ability to cast. It also makes it extremely hard to fish any deeper than about 6 feet. Here's where the slip bobber out shines the clip on bobber. The slip bobber allows you to cast just about as far as you normally would. You can also fish as deep as you want. I have used slip bobbers to catch Crappie 30 feet deep in 40 feet of water. Rigging up a slip bobber takes a little more time than using a clip on bobber but it's well worth the little bit of extra effort. Clip on bobbers have a clip to hold the line. Slip bobbers have a hole thru them so th

The Caster The Caster is the pupae of the blue bottle fly (Calliphora vomitoria) (also known as the blow-fly). It is an ideal bait for all fish, especially Roach, Bream, Chub and Barbel. The Caster is known for sorting out the better fish but exactly why this is a mystery. Many specimen fish have been caught and many fishing matches have been won using the Caster. Fish do not always respond immediately to Casters and it may be from a few minutes to an hour or so before they do, but when they do you could be in for a great day, picking off the larger specimen fish. Roach love Casters and many an angler will tell you that the best bait for catching Roach is Casters. The Caster varies in colour from a light, creamy colour in the early stages to almost black just before it hatches. Personally I like my Caster to be a light golden brown colour.

What is a Fishing Line? A fishing line is a cord used in angling to aid in the capture of fish. Important factors of a fishing line are its strength, the material from which it is made and diameter (thicker lines are more visible to fish). Factors that may determine what line an angler chooses for a given fishing environment include breaking strength, knot strength, UV resistance, castability, limpness, stretch, abrasion resistance, and visibility. Fishing lines were once constructed from horse hair or silk thread. From the 1850s, modern industrial machinery was employed to fashion fishing lines in quantity. Most of these lines were made from linen, silk, and more rarely cotton or flax, sometimes with a waterproofing compound added during line manufacture. Catgut was als

Barbel Barbel - Barbus barbus - Description, baits and methods for catching Barbel   Common name:  Barbel Latin name: 

Find your own fishing spots Learn the basics about how to find your own fishing spots. The most popular species of fish Kiwis like to catch, like snapper, kahawai, trevally, blue cod, terakihi and gurnard live in a variety of habitats. This is great for us fishos because it means there are more places for us to find them. These fish can be found up in harbours, sometimes right up in the mangroves, surf beaches, rocky shorelines and sometimes in deep water. So there’s a range of habitats to take advantage of when looking for fish. Wharf fishing Rocky shorelines Deeper water (30+metres) Harbours Three things to look for There are three things in particular to look for when you're starting out your search for fish: 1.  Food 2.  Shelter 3.  Current Most popular fish we love to eat like snapper, kahawai, trevally and terakihi seek these things as part of their everyday life. FOOD Like us, fish think with their stomachs.  They don't feed constantly

STEP 1: Cut a length of trace line – around 80-90cm long. STEP 2:  At one other end of your trace line attach to a swivel using a uni knot, or attach the trace line to the mainline using a knot like the modified albright. (If you prefer you can do this step last). Swivel attached to mainline and trace STEP 3: At the other end of the line pass your trace through the hole in the sinker (it will slide along your trace line and act as an aid to help your bait naturally drift down in the water). Thread trace through sinker   STEP 4: If using a bead, slide this on the trace line. A bead between the sinker and hook helps to protect the knot. It stops the sinker banging against the it which can eventually wearing the line which can cause it to break. Thread bead so it closest to end of trace STEP 5: Tie the hook on to the other end of the line. The eye makes a difference to how you actually attach the hook. The main thing to note is that you don't HAVE TO ti

steps in fishing

Turn off the video games. Put up the balls, bats and other stuff. It’s time for a different kind of fun — fishing. Follow these simple steps! STEP 1: For gear, KEEP IT SIMPLE. All you need is a cane, fiberglass or graphite pole, available at a bait shop or discount store for about 10 bucks. Also buy a small spool of monofilament fishing line (6- or 8-pound test for fresh water, 10- or 12-pound test for salt water), a couple of plastic bobbers, some split shot sinkers (BB size) and some hooks (size 2 for small bait, up to size 3/0 for bigger bait). A small tackle box with divided trays and a carrying handle keeps it all organized. STEP 2: Bait. You can buy minnows, night crawlers, redworms and crickets at a bait shop. But it’s more fun to CATCH YOUR OWN. Get minnows out of a nearby creek by using a dip net. Look under stream rocks for crayfish. Find redworms and crickets under logs and leaf litter. Other baits work, too. Saltwater fish love shrimp, dead or ali

Spincast: This type of reel has a closed face. All the important parts are kept inside, under the nose cone. The line comes out of a little hole in the cover. You see a lot outfits designed for children sporting this type of reel, because it is the easiest to use. To use a spincast reel, you press the button on the back of the reel during your forward cast. The line peels out, and you let go of the button the line stops. Its very easy to get the hang of this reel, but you sacrifice some accuracy and distance. Baitcasting: This is the probably the most difficult to master, because the spool turns when you cast. The spool must be kept under control so as not to turn into a nasty nest of line. It works great with heavier lines and lures, and is considered very accurate. But, because it can take a while to master casting with this type of real, they tend to be used only by experienced anglers. Spinning: This is the most popular reel, it has an open f

General Care Do not hand lures or hooks from the guides. This will surely scratch the surface of the guides and negatively affect your casting. Use the hook-keeper. Do not let your lures bang the tip top by reeling in them in all the way. Do not “high-stick.” This refers to over-flexing the rod and creating excess pressure on the tip top. When fighting a fish do not lift the rod past 90 degrees. Don’t strike the rod against hard surfaces. Transport Place your rod in your car or truck so that the rod is not banging against another rod or hard surface, and so nothing heavy will fall on it, smash it or otherwise damage it. If you have more than one rod, consider using one a rod transport system, there are many ingenious designs to meet your particular needs. In the Field When there is sufficient space, carry the rod horizontally with the tip pointing behind you. This will keep you from digging the tip into the ground and breaking it off. Never lay

Bluegill Information The bluegill is small freshwater fish normally measuring around 6 inches, but can get up to 12 inches. These fish typically weigh less than a pound. The fish’s body is dark green in color and oval shaped with dark bars running vertically down their sides. Behind their eyes is a black ear flap. The belly of a female bluegill is yellow, while the belly of a breeding male is a rusty red color. The bluegill has two dorsal fins and a small mouth. The body of the bluegill is very condensed. Spawning season begins in late May and doesn’t end until August. The male bluegills first arrive at the mating site and the make a spawning bed in shallow water. As a female bluegill approaches the nest, the male will circle around and make grunting noises. The females are more attracted to the larger male fish. After the female bluegill chooses her mate, she joins him in the nest and they both circle each other. If the female still decides to stay, they set