Fishing can be a relaxing pastime and a way to spend time with friends or family, but it can get frustrating when the fish are not biting. Finding ways to improve the fishing and catch more fish without spending a lot of money on fancy gear is often an excellent way to make the trip or outing more enjoyable.
Go To The Fish
Fishing from a dock or the shoreline is a widespread practice and can be highly effective, but there are times during the day when the fish seem to disappear from those areas. When the sun is high, the fish often look for deeper water and places to retreat from the heat and light.
When this happens, the best way to increase the chances of catching fish is to take your fishing to them instead of waiting for them to come to you. A canoe, kayak, or small rowboat is a great way to get out on the water and look for areas where the fish may be hiding.
Fishing from the water instead of the shore often opens up more areas to fishing and can improve the chances of catching what you are after, and many lakes rent boats very inexpensively if you want to try it. Logs, downed trees, and areas that have a lot of brush or water plants growing are common areas for fish to hide. When fishing around these areas, you run the risk of snags in the water, so try and drop your lure or bait in the water just outside the area and see if you can get the fish hiding there to come out to the bait.
Research The Fish
Before heading out on a fishing trip, you can improve your chances of catching fish if you spend a little time researching the fish and the lake or waterway you will be fishing. Look for information about the best bait options, good lures that are known to work in the area, and areas of the lake that seem to hold the most fish.
Often you can find websites that other fishermen use to share information, and you can gather some details before you arrive. Once you get to the area, you may want to stop in the local bait shop and talk to the proprietor about the best baits for the area, and they may tell you to try specific areas with those baits if you press them a little.
You may also want to look for depth and contour maps of the lake online because they can show deep areas or have hidden shelves under the water that will hold fish, and most of the time, you can find this information for free.
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