Freshwater

7 Ways To Increase Your Chances Of Catching A Fish

Fishing isn’t just a livelihood, but it’s also a favorite pastime and a sport. A fishing trip could be just what you need to relax, spend time in nature, and use your new fishing equipment. But simultaneously, you don’t want to waste your trip and catch nothing. There can also be factors that could hinder you from making the catch that you want.

Before going, you should learn new tricks to increase your chances of catching as many fish as possible.

 

  1. Get on the Water Early

Catching fish during the day means you must be as early as possible. Being early gives you more time to learn. Also, fish would be biting early in the morning and by the time the evening sun comes. Fish will swim deeper during the middle of the day because the sun’s heat is touching the water. They’re also more active in low-light conditions as they can avoid predators. It’s best to wake up early and get to the boat rental company before they open.

The best time to fish would be from early to mid-morning and afternoon to evening. It’s the same when you have your boat. You can head to a stabilizer source like Seakeeper Fort Lauderdale and others to outfit your vessel today so you can use it early the next day.

 

  1. Study The Species You Want

You can have the fishing pole and your collection of lures and flies. You can have the best fishing gear out there. But if you know very little of the species that you want, it’ll likely elude your grasp. You must also know when the fish are active, by season, and by species.

There are various guides online that you can read, even about the kind of bait they like. For chinook salmon, you can use sand shrimp as bait. You can prepare for your next fishing session by researching the fish you want to catch first.

 

 

  1. Look For The Best Spot To Fish

Fish also have their preferred areas where they live and eat. When heading towards a specific fishing location, it’s best to research it to get more insights on where fish tend to gather. Sometimes, people will share information on social media and forums about their experiences in fishing. Experienced anglers will tell you to head over to high percentage areas where your targeted species tend to gather.

Many would agree that fish tend to hide in places where they can easily blend in, feed, or hide. You can find them on overhanging banks, hollow trees, eddies, docks, riprap, bridges, and rock piles. They can protect themselves from birds and other predators by hiding away. But where they are is the best place to cast your fishing pole, and you’ll likely turn up with more fish than you expected.

 

  1. Sharpen Your Fishing Hooks

Anglers would know this since the goal is to keep the fish from getting away. But sometimes, anglers are unaware of how much they’ve used their hooks, and fish could loosen themselves. Inspect your hooks now. Are they sharp enough the next time you fish? If you use a fly or lure, your hooks will likely hit rocks and wood pilings.

Before fishing, go through all your hooks and sharpen the tips with a hook file. If you feel the hook needs more than sharpening, you may have to replace them, depending on its condition. But sharpening can help give your fishing hooks the advantage as it’ll keep the fish from escaping.

 

  1. Use Live Bait

One of the easiest ways to catch more fish is to bait a fishing hook. You can choose to use insects or worms to attract the fish you want. It’s how you can get the fish to come closer and eat. The best time to pull is when they bite and get caught onto the hook. It’s also important to realize that fish don’t bite depending on the size of the worm. Other than worms, they also like grasshoppers, crickets, and caterpillars. If you don’t know which kind of worm you can use for bait, you can opt for the insect instead.

Standard night crawler worms are what anglers tend to use because they appeal to fish for their size and the wiggling they do. Those who fish for smallmouth, largemouth, walleye, and catfish can use night crawlers. Bass knows that they won’t refuse these worms. If you want to catch trout, you’ll find that they could be troublesome because they scare easily. But what appeals to them are red and mealworms because they’re smaller and wiggle less.

 

  1. Minimize Your Lure Collection

You don’t need to have a massive collection of fishing lures to catch as many as you can. You need to know which lure or fly matches the kind of bait that your target species is feeding on because that’ll attract their attention. This strategy is called finesse fishing.

You only want to keep the bait that looks similar to the fish. With finesse fishing, you’ll form your tackle into a presentation of what they want to eat. Scented lures are useful in this style of fishing as the attractant will cover more of the area where our hook is.

 

  1. Wear Sunglasses

Your eyesight is your immediate sense that you’re also using for fishing. And the great outdoors attracts various people because of the wonderful weather with the sun shining out. But fishing requires you to have your eyes on the lookout. Sometimes, the sun would be shining on your eyes, which could distract you from focusing when it’s time to pull the fish out of the water. In this regard, use polarized sunglasses to wear when fishing as it reduces glare significantly.

Fishing can be a fun and exciting, but you must practice and research the specific fish species you want. By knowing more about their behavior, you’ll be able to understand where they’re likely hiding and prepare for them.

 

Takeaway

Some of the ways to increase your chances of catching a fish are to hire a boat early to get to the ideal time when fish are biting, study the species of fish you want to catch, look into their natural habitat where they gather to feed, sharpening your hooks, using live bait, and more. You can also adapt a style of fishing and protect your eyes with sunglasses to keep your view unobstructed.

 

Roy Neves

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