Quick Fishing Tips

Helpful Fishing Tips
A majority of the fishing tips found below have been written through knowledge gained in the outdoors and relative materials found in the media. Because of the growing interest in tips like these we will be writing more and adding them here when time permits.

Quick Tips
Quick and easy fishing tips Use Lux Liquid dish soap (or any other dish detergent of your choice) and rub liberally on skin. Flies avoid you, washes right off, does not mar or eat into the seats as other fly repellant chemicals do. Also “hides” the human scent from lures. May be applied more than once if some gets washed off during a day of fishing.

Fill the aluminum handle of your landing net with styrofoam packing peanuts and you’ll never watch another landing net sink to the bottom when accidently dropping it in the water.

When setting out tipups during the icefishing season place a small bobber at the waters surface. During sub-zero temps this will give you a quick reference for resetting the tipup. It also gives you a visual aid to see if the fish has taken line from the spool during the strike.

When in a pinch for a line dressing during a flyfishing trip you can always use some ordinary chapstick. Apply it to your line or work it between your fingers and a dry fly. Your fly will now float perfectly on top of the water.

Before spooling the new line onto your spool you might want to get rid of the memory it has retained. By running your line under some warm water you will find the line becomes more flexible and will spool onto your reel with fewer tangles.

Weeds In Winter: Open water fishermen curse the weeds that trap their lures. But when surfaces harden, and the only visible weeds are brown cattails jutting out from a frozen shoreline, healthy greens deserve some respect. Now is the time to use vegetation to your advantage. Most underwater weeds die-off during late fall and early winter, leaving vast areas of desert-like bottoms. At this time, if you can locate healthy weeds, fish are likely present. Thick beds of milfoil, cabbage and coontail typically hold fish. Start by locating the deepest living weeds in the area. And if active fish are not found, continue moving shallower. Microscopic organisms, bait fish, crayfish, and wealth of other edible critters inhabit weed beds all winter long. In short, cherish weeds in the wintertime.

Tips and Info
DETERMINING THE AGE OF A FISH
Two methods are used to determine the age of a fish — growth “rings” on scales, and/or ringlike structures found on otoliths (small bones of the inner ear). The rings correspond to seasonal changes, similar to the rings of a tree, and can be counted to calculate the fish’s age. Examined under a microscope, a fish scale reveals a series of fine ridges, called “circuli,” in a circular pattern. A series of widely separated, light rings form in the summer, when faster growth takes place. During the winter, slower growth is indicated by narrow separations between the rings, resulting in a dark band. Each pair of rings indicates one year.

Because scales and scale rings are sometimes influenced by other factors, such as pollution and contact with harmful materials, researchers often examine otoliths, whose ringlike structures also indicate years of life. Like scales, otoliths exhibit a series of circular rings or bands around a center point. White bands are formed during the spring and summer months, while darker bands are formed during the winter. The fish’s age can be approximated by counting the light and dark bands as one year.

Although scientists can obtain an accurate estimate of a fish’s age by studying these markings, little information exists on fish longevity. Research reveals that the life span of a fish can range from a few weeks or months (small reef fishes) to 40-50 years (groupers, sturgeons). In fact, scientists believe that some species of groupers may live to be 80-100 years old. Most species, however, probably live no longer than 10-20 years, with larger species generally having a longer life span than smaller species.