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Spring is an exciting time; the ice and snow finally disappear and it's time to get the boat ready to be put back in the water. Now is the time to use a simple checklist to help make sure your spring boat launch is a successful one. While this checklist is an all-purpose one for any boat, it's a good way to start your fishing season. NOTE: Now is also the right time to double check your rod holders, tackle boxes, and fishing gear for wear and tear. Click Here to Read More and Print Out a Checklist
The advent of catch-and-release has been great for the sport of fishing. It has literally re-cycled fish/opportunity for other anglers. However, there is a proper method to returning fish to the water after you catch them, that assures the fish's chances of survival.
Here are some basic tips:
The above image depicts the most commonly used measurements for fish.The total length is the maximum length of the fish with the mouth closed and the tail fin pinched together. The best way to obtain this length is to push the fish's snout up against a vertical surface with the mouth closed and the fish laying along a tape measure, then pinch the tail fin closed and determine the total length, DO NOT pull a flexible tape measure along the curve of the fish. Conversely, most marine (saltwater) regulations refer to the "fork length", and scientists often use "standard length" which is to the end of the fleshy part of the body. "Standard length" has the advantage of not being affected by minor damage to the tail fin, nor does it give too much credit to a fish for the relatively light weight tail when calculating a fish's condition. "Girth" is best measured with a fabric ruler, such as tailors use. It can also be determined by drawing a string around the fish at its widest point marking where the string overlaps and then measuring the distance between the overlapping points on a conventional ruler. Knowing the girth is important when trying to certify a fish for a record, and provides useful information to biologists about the relative condition of a fish. Using total length and girth you can get a rough estimate of a fish's weight using various formulas. Length-Weight Formulas to Estimate Fish Weights: Log (weight in grams)= -4.83 + 1.923 x Log (total length in millimeters) + 1.157 x Log (girth in millimeters). Image
and information courtesy of the US Fish & Wildlife Service and
Duane Ravers, Jr.
Combating
Murphy Murphy’s Law- If it can go wrong, it will go wrong. We’ve all heard it before and experienced it at one time or another. I’m not certain just who the infamous Mr. Murphy was, but I do know this, he’s not welcome in my boat, ever. A saying I’m prone to use is “Luck favors those who prepare”. While I didn’t coin the phrase, I certainly agree with what it is implying. If you’ve ever experienced an equipment failure out on the water, you remember how it affected your game plan. It may have cost you the tournament jackpot or maybe you had to be towed back to the ramp. How often was it a simple fix that made you say to yourself “Man, if only I had a widget, I’d be back in action”? Lets look at some items that could potentially save the day. On-board spares Fuses - keep a pack of the same ampere rating as those in your fish-finder and any other electrical items (livewell timer, nav lights etc.) Spark plugs - Keep one or two pre-gapped plugs on hand. I have a two-stroke and I sometimes go a little heavy on the oil, risking a fouled plug. Spare Propellers - This is the most costly item in the kit, but consider its value out on the water. Lose or destroy a prop and the day is done. I have been on both ends of the towrope. Spend enough time on the water and so will you. Keep both a trolling motor and outboard prop onboard. Shear Pins - These are too vital (and cheap) not to carry. The funny thing is I’ve never had one do its job. If you’re unfamiliar with a shear pin, it’s the little pin that goes through your propeller shaft and propeller seats against. The purpose of this pin is to shear or break when the prop strikes and object hard enough to damage the prop. I started carrying only shear pins, since they’ve never worked; I’ve added the spare props. Starter rope - These rarely fail without neglect on your part. You should replace it once it begins to show signs of fraying. Next time you see a lawnmower in the trash, stop and cut off it’s starter rope. It’s free and it works. Basic tools - I keep a #1 flathead and Phillips screwdriver, spark plug wrench, crescent wrench, pliers, emery cloth, electrical tape, small can of WD-40 and a few miscellaneous hardware items (cotter pins, solderless connectors, wing nuts, washers etc.) onboard as well. Storage- All of the previous mentioned tools and parts fit into an empty Army surplus .50 caliber ammo can with room to spare. The can is waterproof, durable, requires minimal space and weighs only a few pounds. Tacklebox spares Rod repair kit - I keep a Fuji rod repair kit on hand. It has 5 or 6 different size rod tips, and some ferrule cement to install them. Reel repair kit - I keep some oil and grease along with some small screwdrivers. I also have a small vial of screws and washers from old reels. I do not carry spare reels with me. Be sure to have some spare mono on hand too. You never know when the “bird’s nest” will appear. Vehicle spares Drain plug - Mine is fastened to my trailer’s tie-down strap. That way I CANNOT launch my boat without noticing it. You may laugh, but I’ve seen more than one boat launched and sink before anyone noticed. I keep a spare in my glove box just because of the vital role (and cheap cost) this item has. Spare bulbs - Carry spares for your trailer in the glove box. The cost of these is negligible when compared to a traffic ticket. I found that if I unplug my trailer’s lights just prior to launch, I rarely ever have to replace a bulb. Vehicle and trailer tires - Check the condition of your spares periodically. Check the compatibility of your vehicle’s jack and lug wrench with your trailer. Waiting until you have a flat is not the time to discover your trailer’s lugs are different than the tow vehicles. Barring catastrophic failure, these items will keep you out on the water until you want to come home. 
How
to Fillet a Striper There
are many different ways to fillet a Striper. We feel this method
yields the best tasting meat.
Keeping a record of your catches can help you improve your angling skills by allowing you to spot patterns and determine which baits work best for different itmes of the year. Click here to go to a printable Fishing Log Click Here for the PDF version.
Boat Positioning When it comes to bass fishing, boat positioning is probably just as important as having your rods and reels on board with you. Using your boat properly while bass fishing can definitely make the difference between catching bass or not catching bass, especially when certain circumstances prevail during the course of the time spent on the water. For example, let's say that you were fishing for bedding bass during the Spring. Many anglers are aware of the sensitivity nature of the bass during this time of the year, they can be very skittish and frighten (or you can spook them) very easily right? Now, you certainly wouldn't want to motor the boat right up on top of the beds and scare the bass before you had a chance to fish for them would you? of course not! In this article I hope to help you understand the importance of boat positioning by giving you a few scenarios that many anglers encounter during the course of their time they spend on the water. Many of my Bass Fishing School students are amazed when I teach them the importance of boat positioning, especially when they're actually shown How and Why one would position his or her boat a certain way while learning to fish the many different environments offered by many bodies of water through out the nation. As important as I feel this subject is, I always teach my students and even my bass charter clients how and why I would position my boat certain ways when fishing: drop-offs, fall-downs, gradual slopes, rip-rap, steep bluffs, current conditions, vegetation, channel contours, rocky areas, points, windy conditions, etc. just to name a few, and when the students and charter clients begin to start understanding the whys and hows of boat positioning, they can't help but to increase their angling skills, confidence, and ability to become better anglers. Fishing
beds - Now, let's go back and start with the Spring beds
(or Spring bedding bass.) Many anglers that fish bedding bass usually
will have trouble fishing them because they really don't understand
how to approach these beds when they do find them. There are several
factors one might consider before making a approach before fishing
these bedding bass such as; what the daily conditions are (sunny,
overcast, windy, calm), what the water depth is, how much vegetation
(and types of vegetation) is in the area of the beds, what types
of structure or obstacles may be in these areas (such as rocks,
pilings, docks, etc.) and there are more, but lets just take a few
of these factors I just mentioned and try to draw a picture of why
boat positioning would play an important role when it comes to fishing
beds.
Click Here to use the Animated Fishing Knots page
Basic
Fishing Equipment: Tackle Thinking about buying your own tackle? If so, you have two choices: pay a little extra and shop at a fishing specialty store with the help of professionals, or save a few bucks and go it alone at discount department stores or through fishing tackle direct-mail catalogs. Either way, the most important purchase you make will be your rod and reel. For beginners, spin-casting equipment is the easiest to operate and causes the least problems. A spin-casting reel spooled with 6 -, 8 - or 10 -pound test line and mounted on a light- to medium-action 5 1 /2 - to 6 -foot casting rod will work well for most types of Ohio fishing. Rod and reel combinations, already spooled with quality line, can be purchased pre-packaged. More experienced anglers may prefer spinning or baitcasting tackle. Next, you will need hooks, sinkers (weights), and bobbers (floats). Hooks and sinkers can be purchased in variety packs that include many sizes and styles. When purchasing bobbers, keep in mind that smaller tends to be better. The amount of resistance a fish feels on the line when taking a bait is directly related to the size of the bobber. More experienced anglers may enjoy trying to catch fish on artificial lures. Smaller baits are attractive to more kinds and sizes of fish, so choose lures in the 1/8- to 1/4-ounce size range. Also, choose colors that mimic what the bait is supposed to imitate. For example, if the lure is a minnow imitation, either silver or gold would be a good color choice. Finally, remember that some lures are made to catch fishermen rather than fish. If you don't know the difference, ask a knowledgeable angler before you buy. Buying the Basics:
• Spin-casting rod and reel combination (with 6-, 8-, or 10-pound
test line)
Those of us who try to share the findings of scientific study with non-scientists are often frustrated. It seems very difficult to get the word out. We write about some important discovery, but find anglers, particularly the influential professional and TV bass anglers, either don't read the new information or dismiss the new scientific insights because they conflict with beliefs the anglers already hold. Professional and TV anglers aren't the only ones to be slow in learning and applying the latest "word" from scientists. Biologists, particularly state fisheries workers are often too busy with their own assigned tasks to read all of the literature produced by other scientists. They continue to advise anglers to handle fish using outmoded procedures. The recommendation that anglers cut the leader close to the hook when bass are "deep-hooked" is a good example. It is hard to find a publication on catch-and-release techniques that doesn't pass on this poor advice. Yet, recent research on release techniques strongly suggests there is a better way. Some years ago, Doug Hannon noted that most magazine articles and state publications recommend leaving hooks in bass and other fish to "rust" out. He reported that hooks don't rust fast enough, even in salt water; and suggested that the shank of a hook pointing up the throat of a bass acts like a lever or trap door that prevents swallowing. Bass can die of starvation while waiting for normal body processes to eject the hook. Food coming down a bass' throat will bypass a hook-shank, IF the shank lies tightly against the side of the throat where the barb is lodged. However, if the shank protrudes into the throat, food coming down can push the shank across the esophagus, blocking it. Deep-hooked bass may even feel pain as the food rotates the barb and regurgitate the food. Recently, Hannon's observations have been scientifically verified. John Foster, Recreational Fisheries Coordinator for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, studied striped bass at Chesapeake Bay. His researchers held throat-hooked stripers between 16- and 28-inches long for observation in half-strength seawater so that hooks had ample opportunity to rust away. Size 1/0 and 2/0 stainless steel, bronzed, nickel, tin, and tin-cadmium plated hooks were hooked in the top of each fish's esophagus, with an 18-inch length of line connected to the hook. After four months, 78 percent of the hooks were still imbedded. Cadmium coated hooks poisoned 20 percent of the fish, and production of these hooks has been stopped. Bronzed hooks were less likely (70%) to be retained than tin-cadmium (80%), nickel (83%), or stainless steel (100%) hooks. In a second test, the line was clipped at the eye of the hook, as advised by most existing Catch and Release guides. One-hundred percent of the stainless hooks were again retained, while 56 percent of tin, 76 percent of bronze, 84 percent of tin-cadmium, and 88 percent of nickel hooks remained. Fish mortality was greater when all line was trimmed. Foster suggested that the lengths of line hanging from a fish's mouth kept the hook-shank flat against the side of the esophagus and allowed food to pass. Without the line, food could move the hook and close the throat. Hooks rusted slowly in stages, and the bend and barb became smaller very gradually. Stripers formed scar tissue around imbedded hook points, a typical reaction of body tissue to foreign matter. Foster noted, however, that once the tough scar tissue formed, hooks became more, not less, difficult to remove. Months after fish were hooked, infections sometimes developed around points, causing some deaths. Based on his research, Foster recommended anglers carefully remove even deeply imbedded hooks. If the hook can not be removed, then it seems better to leave about 18 inches of line attached. Perhaps, someday, these findings will reach Catch and Release anglers, the biologists who are researching Catch and Release and publish Catch and Release guidelines, and TV anglers who teach by their example. One option is to carry strong wire-cutting or needle-nose pliers. Cut off or crush down barbs and a hook shank rotates free more easily. Removal is usually best for a released bass. But, the hook should be easily reached. To be strong enough to cut or crush down the barbs of heavy hooks like True_Turn Brutes the tool usually must have heavy jaws and long handles. Forcing such a tool into the gullet of small bass can do as much damage as leaving a hook in place. Best for the fish is using barbless hooks. They greatly reduce hook damage to all mouth tissues and rotate out easily. (See the through-the-gills comments below). Texas researchers recently compared the mortality of largemouth bass hooked with live bait and artificial lures. Their main finding: "there is no biological justification to regulate use of live bait to catch bass" has been widely publicized. Their other findings may help anglers make appropriate adjustments in technique. In two separate tests, largemouth bass in a private water were landed by TPWD anglers using Carolina-rigged scented plastic worms, crankbaits with multiple treble hooks, and live carp fished with either a Carolina rig or a float. To simulate normal fishing conditions, anglers with different levels of expertise were used. While fishing with floats, anglers were instructed to delay hooksets until floats went completely under, simulating the way typical amateur anglers fish with unattended rods. Under all other conditions, anglers were to strike immediately upon feeling a hit. Captured bass were immediately examined to identify hook-related injuries. When bass were hooked deep in the throat, the line was cut and hook left in place. (TPWD did not identify whether the cut was made in the traditional way near the hook, or with line remaining outside the fish's mouth.) Bass were then kept in a large holding net over a 72-hour observation period to determine short-term mortality rates. Sixty bass were taken using each method. Tests were made in August, when water was warm and stress and mortality are normally high. The average mortality under these worst-case conditions was 22 percent. Carolina rigs with flavored worms caused the highest mortality, followed by live carp used under floats, crankbaits, and Carolina-rigged carp minnows. TPWD biologists concluded that the timing of the hookset appeared more critical than the type of bait used in the determination of short-term death rates. The data show bass hooked in the throat had poor survival odds. Evidently, largemouth bass took both lures and live bait fully into their mouths almost immediately. The bass pros' advice to strike without delay is important to reduce mortality. Angling techniques that delay hooksets should be avoided. Carolina-rig and worm combos likely killed more fish because the lengthy leaders prevented immediate detection of some strikes and flavored worms are easily swallowed or held in the back of a bass' mouth. Eighteen percent of bass taken on Carolina rigs with worms were throat-hooked. In contrast, Carolina rigs with live bait and live baits under floats caused less mortality, likely because live preyfish are often held in a bass' mouth for a few seconds, killed, and turned to be swallowed headfirst. This gives anglers a few seconds more to detect hits before baits are ingested. The decision to delay hits when live baits were used with floats and to strike immediately with Carolina-rigged baits likely caused the different mortality rates of these two techniques. Nevertheless, 10 percent of bass hooked on Carolina-rigged live baits were hooked in the esophagus. It is no surprise that crankbaits are less likely to be swallowed, as their artificial nature is immediately detectable to fish. When fisheries are managed primarily for Catch and Release or trophy bass production, it may be appropriate to ban use of multiple rods to reduce delayed hooksets, or to limit lures to items unlikely to be swallowed. In any case, Catch and Release sportsmen will want to avoid techniques that delay hooksets, like fishing with unattended rods. The TPWD study showed that bass hooked in the tongue and esophagus had about a 50 percent chance of dying, while bass hooked in the lips mouth, jaw, roof of mouth had 25 percent or less mortality. Interestingly, only 12.5 percent of gill hooked fish died. This finding suggests anglers who kill and eat or mount gill-damaged bass because "they are unlikely to live" are in error. TPWD also compared the survival of bass when they were bleeding and when leaders were cut and hooks left in the fish. Removing hooks improved bass survival when bass were not bleeding. But there was little difference in mortality when bass were bleeding or hooks were left in the fish. Then I read that some anglers removed hooks by working through the gill slits several years ago, I reacted negatively, assuming excess damage would occur. But, upon reflection on the normal function and resistance of gills to external damage, I decided to test the procedure for myself. In a private pond with barbless hooks I've now made over a hundred gill-slit removals of barbless hooks without any observed fish deaths or apparent bleeding or gill damage. Several individual bass with identifying marks have been caught again and again. Although some unobserved delayed deaths are likely, if the procedure was exceptionally hazardous, I likely would have seen several floaters. Despite their fragile appearance, the gills of bass are one of the strongest and most disease resistant structures of the bass, equivalent in resistance to skin of the lower jaw that we grasp so handily. After all, the gills are constantly exposed to outside influences. The prey the bass eats brush against them, and many prey are caught because they are sick and carrying diseases. Prey with spines cut and stab bass in the gill areas. With food, bass often ingest goop and disease laden muck from the bottom. Moreover, each breathing gill movement brings whatever bacteria, viruses, and dirt is in the water over the filaments. To function, gills must be tough. Still caution is needed. Gill filaments, the red comblike elements, are not reversible. Like a flag, they naturally stream with the flow. They never should be forced back toward the mouth by a tool or by reverse water pressure. Swishing a bass or any other fish back and forth to "revive it" can do more harm than good. If the fish need to be revived by more oxygen, move it slowly forward through the water. But, do not force water down its throat by moving it rapidly into a current. However, light contact isn't likely to damage gills or introduce disease. They are as resistant as the fish's skin to light contact. By using barbless hooks that reverse easily, an entry through the gill slit can often be used when entry through the mouth is impractical or impossible with typical tools. A small, narrow pair of long-nosed pliers should be used, so the tool can be rotated without putting pressure on the gill arches. If an angler is particularly clumsy, or careless, the procedure could cause significant damage, making leaving a hook and long leader in the bass a better option with higher odds of survival. Anglers practicing Catch and Release rather than eat legal bass or legally abiding with a slot limit might note these findings. Fish caught with only superficial wounds are likely to survive release. Small, deeply-hooked, bleeding, and legally kept bass likely should be eaten, rather than released to die later. Slot bass must be released in as healthy a condition as possible. And lunker bass larger than 24 inches are so rare and valuable in any fishery that they should be immediately released, even if they are bleeding or deeply-hooked. Remove the hook if possible. Leave an 18-inch leader if you can not remove the hook. (Note: My articles on the BFHPs are protected by copyright, and may be reprinted for public use only with my written permission. However, I want the information in this article to get maximum exposure to other anglers, so reprinting of this specific article is authorized as long as the text isn't modified. Informing me of such re-use is appropriate. Copyright c Ralph Manns, 2003 ralph.manns@charter.net
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Fishing
knots are designed to be tied in monofilament line and to run through
the eyes and rings of a fishing rod or rig. Compared to rope, fishing
line is cheap. The emphasis for fishing knots is on compactness
and reliability with no interest in being able to untie them. 
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