It can be exhausting and sometimes even expensive to learn how to catch big catfish. Because mega-cats or whiskered warriors, as they are sometimes referred to, can bust rods, straighten hooks, snap heavy line, and ruin equipment overall, it can get frustrating trying to hook and keep a trophy-sized catfish.

Of course, depending on what type of catfish you are searching for, the term “big” is definitely relative, but learning how to catch big catfish simply begins with being patient and taking tips from others who have success stories.

Because trophy-sized cats don’t appear on a daily basis, it takes a lot of patience to find what you are looking for. While you can find heavyweights of various types in many waters, it doesn’t guarantee that there is an over abundance of them.

Keep in mind that many of the largest catfish are extremely old and may even outdate those who are trying to catch them, meaning that they’ve had lots of time to practice avoiding the hook. Large fish tend to become even shier and more elusive as the years pass, making them all the more difficult to find.

However, combine patience - especially since you can spend several hours without catching anything in your attempt to find big catfish - with persistence and you may get lucky. In your search for a trophy, you should be prepared to get comfortable on the lake or river where you’ve decided to make your attempt.

Take with you a comfortable seat, food and drink (carry a cooler to keep everything fresh), and some good insect repellent. Also, you may not want to go it alone, since you may be spending some long days and nights on the water and will begin to crave companionship. Perseverance is a must because without keeping bait in the water, you will never be able to catch that trophy-worthy catfish.

Because catfishing used to be considered a strictly nighttime sport, how to catch a big catfish was always thought to be a no-brainer. However, it’s become clear that catching a large specimen can occur at anytime, day or night.

The real question is where and how to go about it. For example, you can find catfish in clear waters, and in these areas, you are probably most likely to catch a winner at night (catfish prefer a darker environment). However, if you frequent the more muddied and colored waters in the rivers and lakes that provide the best catfish, you have just as much chance of finding your prize winner at high noon as you do in the wee hours of the morning.

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Dan Eggertsen is a fishing researcher and enthusiast who is commited to providing the best catfish fishing information possible. Get more information on How to Catch Big Catfish here: www.askcatfishfishing.com

Great fisherman know the most basic of casting methods. They can tell you how to thread a line and cast using a variety of terms. And while they each may have their own perfect hand tied fly that lands them Moby Dick every time, they all basically cast the same.

First he must properly thread his rod. Start out by first moving the line over itself so that it will pass through the small holes easily. You dont even have to have a fly with you at this point. You can just thread your road and tie on a chunk of heavy string with a similar weight of your fly.

After threading, practice your cast. Hold the rod in your strong hand, pinch the fly line under your casting hand finger, and then tug a chunk of line off the reel of the rod.

After casting, learn to pick up and then lay down your line. This splashing motion alone will draw your fish as theyll think theyve got a monster bug they can swallow playing in the water. With your extended line in front of you, swiftly lift the rod up at 90 degrees in front of you and stop moving it when it sits just behind your ear. As you lift the rod, follow it with your string, and test the line weight. Then to lay your string down, as the rod sits just behind your ear, quickly move the rod forward to a 45 degree angle in front of you and stop suddenly. Let the loop of string go as you move forward.

Keep on practicing the pick up and laydown and you will soon have your basic casting stroke down. The roll cast works a little differently but it has proven success for many a fly fisherman. This works especially well on those breezy days when the wind catches the fly and line. The wind can wreak havoc on an inexperienced fly fisherman, so attribute some special time to practicing this particular stroke.

To cast shorter or longer casts, a fisher should basically move his line accordingly. He does this with his free hand not on the rod. He can tug away to create a longer line or reel the line up to create a shorter one.

Experienced fly fisherman will run all kinds of casts depending on their water choice, their fish desire, and their experience. Regardless of if youre trying to just learn how to cast or youre attempting to catch the next big fish, everyone should learn how to perform a basic cast. A plethora of fishermen have caught whoppers with the most basic methods, so never feel ashamed to use them. After all, you cant learn until you try.

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Resources of fly fishing can be found at: www.excitingflyfishing.comand here

Fly fisherman have tackle boxes and closets dedicated to their equipment. And while a person can list dozens of ?necessities? for a fishing trip, a fisherman really only needs a few essentials.

Obviously, everyone needs a fly rod if he plans on fly fishing. A good rod will be anywhere from 6 to 10 feet long. New fisherman should note that no other piece of equipment is more important than this rod, so if you have a liberal budget, give this road financial priority.

Ironically, while some will tell you that you cannot fish without a reel, you can. Many a successful fly fisherman has landed a nice fish without the mess of a reel. He just knows how to move his line. A reel does come in handy, though, for those seeking out the larger fish. This is especially important to warm water and saltwater fisherman.

Fly line comes in a variety of strengths but in a standard length. You will usually find it in 90 foot lengths but with weights depending on the pounds you are planning on landing. Fishermen rate their line according to grain, with 7000 grains equaling one pound. You can cast a heavier line farther and obviously land bigger fish, so this works best for those windy days. Lighter line obviously costs less and can work well on calm days when searching for smaller fish. You can even buy line in two styles: level and tapered.

Fishermen searching for Moby Dick utilize backing: an extra line that will give you more than the desired 90 feet of line. Though some might tell you that you really dont need this extra line, one reel will cost you only a few bucks, and it gives fishermen the security of knowing that if they do catch a big fish, they can land him with ease thanks to their extra line.

To affix your fly to your line, you will need a leader: a piece of transparent material that attaches to both elements. The leader will be as short as 6 feet and as long as 15 feet, just depending on what youre looking for. They have ratings based on a variety of things, from the diameter of the line, to the lines breaking point, to different business classifications.

Finally, no one can fly fish without a fly. Flies are basically artificial bait for the fish. Though no fly is alive or ever was, a good fly fisherman tries to either create or pick a fly that looks alive, because no fish wants to eat a dead bug. Flies will range in style from mimicking frogs to shrimp. Creative fly fishermen create their own flies from scratch using felt, wire, and even feathers.

So we can see that really no one needs a big closet for his fly fishing materials. In the end, fly fishing shouldnt take over the whole house but should still make its owner smile.

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Resources of fly fishing can be found at: www.excitingflyfishing.comand here

Have you ever spent hour after unproductive hour fishing on a lake with nothing to show for it? I doubt there’s a serious angler anywhere who hasn’t had that happen to them.

So, if you can relate to that, this article about the advantages of a fish finder might be just what you need.

Fish finders utilize sonar. These devices use sound waves to detect the bottom of the lake, calculate the depth, and will also detect anything between the surface and the bottom, such as fish. This technology gives the angler a huge advantage by letting you know right away whether or not there are any fish present.

Fish finders have become increasingly more sophisticated in recent years. Early fish finders simply flashed to indicate the presence of fish. But, today, with improved electronics, you can get things such as LCD’s with a wide variety of LCD types and resolution. The best fish finders today are similar to watching a color display of the water you’re fishing in and show everything with great clarity.

Fish finders vary widely in price and, like everything else; you get what you pay for. Larger units with more features will cost more. Generally, units with higher resolution will cost more than those with lower resolution. Higher resolution will give you greater detail as to what is in the water.

Many of the most popular fish finders are wrist-mounted devices and are worn just like a wrist watch. They will only have basic functions but are very mobile and easy to use. Other fish finders utilize large displays and can be mounted to your boat.

Fish finders can be found for as little as $100 and as high as several thousand dollars. There are many brands available with a wide variety of features, so it pays to do your research before you buy. You can check locally or do what most people are doing nowadays… check them out online. It faster and easier.

You can also find fish finders that include a Global Positioning System (GPS). GPS technology is great for anglers as it provides accurate information about your location. This will help you to return to that great fishing spot with ease. All you have to do is simply record the GPS coordinates of any location and you can easily find it again. The accuracy of GPS is about 9 feet so that should be good enough to find those fish again.

And one of the best benefits of GPS is the safety factor. You will never get lost as you can program your starting point and then easily find your way home… even on the largest of lakes and even in dense fog. Don’t underestimate the importance of this feature.

So, having a fish finder is a great way to increase your catch each time out. It will tell you where the fish are (and are not), give you depth information, and return you to your favorite fishing hole. And, with GPS, it will get you back home easily and safely. Do your research online and find the best fish finder to suit your needs and budget. You won’t regret it.

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Fish Finder

The Allan Water is controlled by the Allan Water Angling Improvement Association, you can buy permits by the day from the Dunblane post office or join the waiting list for the association.

The waiting list to join is a about a year but this venue is members only on a saturday.

We fished the upper pools on beat 1. The pools are up near braco just before the hotel. We only used Fly Fishing as our method although you can spin for Salmon and Trout

Salmon Fishing

Equipment - Single Handed AirFlow, SLS Fly Rod.

Location

There is no need for wading at this location as the river is not a large river. You can fish from the Far bank with ease. However this water really needs to have a lot of rain before it fishes well. The banks are clean and well maintained and the water quality is excellent

Flies - Stoat Tail and Pot Belly Pig.

We fished for a number of hours, without much luck and decided to change fly to a pot belly pig, within half an hour I had managed to land a 6lb Grilse. It took me over half and hour to land the fish. (We returned the fish safely to the river) I can see now why the Pot Belly Pig is such a popular fly.

Trout Fishing

Equipment - 6/7 9ft 6 Trout Fly Rod with Floating Line

Flies - Dry Fly and Wet Flies (the day we fished just about anything was catching)

The Fishing

We found this river to teaming with lots of small brown trout about 6inch long which must be viewed as an encouraging site, in fact we managed to catch around 20 (all of which were safely returned to the water)

We found We had Great Success with Wet Flies and Small Size 16 Dry Flies. We generally had the dry fly on the top dropper and the wet on the point.

Overall

A nice clean venue, ideal for in-experienced Fly Fishing, Easy Access and Depending on the weather a good chance of a salmon. This is a great place to learn how to fish on a river.

On the things to note about this venue is the fact that they actually stock the river with brown trout to supplement the natural fish stocks. I did notice large amounts of small brown trout about 1 - 2 inches in size, which is a real positive as it means the the natural fish are spawning and this can only result in making the venue and even better trout fishing mark.

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Tony Smith Gofishingshop - Fishing tackle and fly fishing

If you have never been to Mexico for a fishing trip you are missing a treat. With the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez on the west and the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean on the east, Mexico offers something for almost every type of fisherman, unless you are a lover of ice fishing! Mexico offers some of the best fishing in the world and has some interesting areas to explore as well.

The latest ?secret? spot of globe trotting anglers is the Pacific coastal town of Huatulco in the area called the Oaxacan coast. This area is more off the beaten path and is not a tourist trap like many other areas of Mexico such as Cancun and Cozumel. If you are like most anglers, myself included, you are looking for a place to get away from it all and enjoy the beauty of the outdoors. Huatulco offers exactly that with clear turquoise waters loaded with pelagic game fish such as Sailfish.

Huatulco is kind of in between the categories of primitive and luxury with nice hotels and restaurants, but nothing pretentious. The local natives are very friendly to tourists unlike a lot of areas that you may travel to.

As far as the fishing goes, Huatulco is an incredible fishing ground for sailfish and marlin. We focused on fishing for sailfish the least time I was there and in seven days of fishing we saw probably a dozen or so world record class fish and of those we caught and released four and landed two and that?s not even mentioning the fact that overall we raised over a hundred fish while trolling! We even got the attention of a couple of large blue marlin but couldn?t get them to take a bait.

Another hot spot on Mexico?s west coast is Cabo San Lucas, the destination of many Hollywood movie stars. This area which is located on the Baja Peninsula is the quintessential fishing vacation for all sport fishermen and in particular those seeking the elusive Marlin as the waters off of Cabo are known as the Marlin Capital of the World.

The Sea of Cortez which was created by an enormous earthquake millions of years ago effectively works as a huge fish trap to the large pelagic species that run the Pacific Ocean. You will see hundreds of boats chasing after the marlin with craft of every size from the local?s small pangas to luxurious motor yachts from California and all over the world. If you are looking for a great fishing trip Cabo San Lucas will not disappoint you.

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Gregg Hall is an author and internet marketing consultant living in Navarre Florida. For more on fishing and hunting or fishing in Mexico go to www.fishingandhuntingplus.com

Fly fishing is a very popular fishing sport that can be both relaxing and challenging at the same time.

The following tips and tricks are ideal for beginners.

When you’re just starting out learning to fly fish you’ll want all the help and advice that you can get from the experts.

Tip #1: Practice your Casting
The experts say that the one thing that you need to do to develop a good casting technique is to practice as often as you can. This will lead to a proficiency in casting that make all the difference between being a successful fly fisher or a frustrated one.

Try practicing against a wall on the outside of your house. Just imagine that there is a clock hanging on the wall that is at the same level as your shoulder. Place markers, such as black electric tape, at the 11:00 and 1:00 clock positions. Practice casting against these markers for a few minutes each day to improve your accuracy and style.

Tip #2: Rods
There are several things that you need to think about when choosing the right type of rod for you. Every reel and rod has a certain function that you need to be aware of.
One of the first things that you need to consider is comfort. Is the rod that you’re using comfortable for you to hold? If you’re shorter than about 5′5″ you won’t want to use a rod that is seven feet. Choose a rod length that is easy for you to hold and cast for a few hours at a time.

Most of the rods on the market today are designed to allow you to feel when a fish bites. The shaft of the rod is called a “blank” and when the rod is first manufactured the blank is made from fiberglass, graphite, or other materials. Each of these blanks has an action that is either: light, medium, medium/heavy, or heavy. The upper portion will also have an action that is either: extra light, light, or regular.

Both ends of the blank are assembled and the final result is a fishing rod, complete with a handle and guide. No matter what type of rod that you’re using, the “action” of the rod will refer to the “blank”. The action of the rod will have a great deal to do with the type of fishing that you’re doing.

Tip #3: Holding your Rod Effectively
It’s important that you learn to hold your rod effectively under any fishing conditions. You want to make sure that you maintain good control at all times without gripping too hard. You can adjust the power of your hold when you’re in the middle of a cast. This will allow you to minimize the vibrations of each movement. With just a bit of practice you’ll be able to increase the tightness at the same as you learn to relax your grip.

Tip #4: What do to with a Running Fish
Be prepared if a fish runs toward you. Stand on your toes and at the same time raise your rod up over your head as high as you can. Take the line and put it back over onto your second and third fingers of the hand that is holding the rod. Quickly strip the line to pull up on any slack.

If the fish starts to run away from you make sure that you keep the rod up high and slowly let out the line, letting it slide from your fingers. Be ready to palm the reel of the rod when the slack is entirely gone.

Tip #5: Best Bait Choices
Following is a list of some best bait choices as recommended by the experts:

Grubs: Grubs are small lures that are usually used to catch larger fish. Grubs are great for use in highland reservoirs where there is little cover for the fish. The grub is much like a bare jig head that has a soft plastic body to attach to the hook. You’ll want to use them most often in clear water conditions.
Jigs are best used in water that is clear to murky and in water temperatures that are below 60 degrees. The jig is considered to be a “presentation” lure and the ideal way to use them is by making them look as alive as you can. The jig is essentially lead-weighted bait that has one hook. You’ll want to add a trailer to the end of the hook for the best results.
Plastic worms: If you want to catch that trophy fish you’ll probably want to use a plastic worm. This is because the plastic worm is one of the most effective lures for catching any type of big fish. Plastic worms have a thin and long profile with a lifelike action that attracts them instantly to bass. You’ll have to learn how to use a plastic worm by touch, feel, and practice. The more that you practice that better results you’ll achieve. The one thing that you need to keep in mind is that the fish needs to see the worm before it will hit it. Therefore a plastic worm is best used in clear water.
Lure color: Choose lures that are all black or all white. A mix of black and red also works quite well. There will be the odd time when fluorescent colors, such as bright yellow or green, will work well but you’ll need to experiment with this.

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For more tips, purchase the ebook 101 Fly Fishing Tips for Beginners for only $14.97