Freshwater Fishing

I started fishing a little lake just south of Somerset, Ohio, called Clouse Lake about 35 years ago. Matter of fact, when I first started fishing it, I fished with a fly rod. One day, I was fishing and noticed this older gentleman trying to get a little plastic boat on his car after a hard day's fishing. He was using a fly rod too. We began chatting and discovered we lived about 10 miles from one another. He lived in Pleasantville. As the conversation closed, he said he would call me sometime and we would go fishing together. I thought "Yeah, I bet he calls me". Imagine my surprise when he called two days later and wanted to know if I wanted to go fishing with him the next day. Earl and I became good friends, we fished Clouse many times and about every other place that we could ...

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I had surgery last week and couldn't fish or drive, so I was working on the website and talking to some friends on Facebook while watching some live tournament coverage, and the subject of why we don't see many women fishing in professional bass events came up. It really made me think because I hadn't paid as much attention to this as I should have. I decided to contact some old friends in professional bass fishing both male and female and get their thoughts on it, and I think you'll be surprised at what some of them said. First, in case you weren't aware it, women haven't always been allowed to fish B.A.S.S. events. The first woman to compete in a co-ed B.A.S.S. tournament was Vojai Reed. She fished the 1991 Missouri Invitational and finished 58th! not bad, but it wa...

Well, we have talked about flippin and now we'll mention pitchin. Both techniques are used to fish cover and to do it quietly. Use pitchin when the distance is too long for flippin, to fish under boat docks, brush piles, logs and shallow water. You can use pitchin to fish with most baits but some of the favorites are of course, jigs, spinner baits, worms and lizards. Lots of people prefer a wide gap hook. A good stout rod 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 foot long with a flexible tip and lots of backbone is the best to use when fishing cover, you want the rod to be able to pull the fish out of the cover you're fishing. A high speed reel with a ratio of 6.1-6.2 for a quick hook set is good. The technique: Hold the rod in your right hand (if right handed)with the tip pointed upward and disengage...

Nick Creme HAD A DREAM. The lure that had the biggest impact on American fishing started in the late 1940s in a basement in Akron Ohio. That's where Nick and Cosma Creme cooked up the perfect combination of vinyl, oils and pigments to produce a molded plastic worm that not only looked and felt soft and alive, but also stayed that way when exposed to air over time. 1949 would be the official birth year of the now famous Creme worm. The first marketed worm was the Creme Wiggle Worm. It was sold by mail in 1951 at a cost of $1.00 for a pack of 5. When the product was shown at the Cleveland Sportsman's Show, a distributor sold 9,600 packs to curious anglers in just a few days. The demand soared, and the worm business quickly outgrew Cosma's kitchen. That's when the Creme's set up a s...

Many people approach measuring fish with a relaxed approach and risk hefty fines, particularly if the fish is borderline size. There is no grey area when it comes to legal size of catch. Even the difference of 1cm can have you in trouble, and is just not worth the risk of a fine. Sustainability needs to be taken very seriously, hence Fisheries have very clear guidelines. Sustainable fishing means that fish are harvested at a sustainable rate, so the fish population does not decline over time due to poor fishing practices. Imagine a world that is over-harvested and the corresponding devastation to the eco-system and to our future generations. It is the responsibility of each and every one of us to do our bit to protect the planet. Size limits are typically based on biologica...

When you were a kid and needed to learn something new, you went to Dad, right? He's the one who taught you how to ride a bike and drive a car. He's also the one who taught you how to bait your hook for the first time. You've never forgotten these skills and now is a great time to say thank you to the man who helped you learn and grow by taking him out for a day of fishing. You might even teach him a thing or two. Whether it's for Father's Day or his birthday, this is a great time of year to surprise him with can't-miss gifts he'll enjoy while sharing his favorite pastime with you. So don't delay. The weather's great and the boat is ready. Make the most of it with this list of tips guaranteed to show Dad a fishing trip he won't forget. * Surprise him with the perfect invitation...

Largemouth bass season begins in mid-May here in Wisconsin. Depending on the weather year to year, many fish may be in pre-spawn, spawn or post-spawn modes. Last year, the bass were just ending the spawn period. This year, they were still in pre-spawn. Shifting weather patterns in the last couple years have really affected bass behavior. Early on, the fish were staging in about 4-5 feet of water (the depth of this lakes out weed edge). I absolutely slayed them on a scented tube jig (using our Lucky 7 Gamefish Attractant) in pumpkin color worked slowly along the bottom at the weed edge. As the bass moved up to spawn, I kept throwing the same lure at them, catching good numbers of fish. After the majority of the fish spawned, many returned to the outer weed edge during the day, return...