Attracting Fish

After seeing the post about attracting fish with chum buckets, I thought I would add a few other fishing tips because my favorite fishing (early fall) is coming up!

There are, of course, fishing at certain times. In the summer, anywhere from 5pm - 9pm is usually the best. While this sort of defeats the whole "spending a day on the lake" fishing trips, it is still just as fun to fish at night. Especially considering the sun does not set until 8 or 9 depending on how early/late it is in the summer. I've heard 430am and into the morning also produces great results, but have not tried it out myself. I find the night to be the most active time for fish because of the temp. drop. In the day, fish like to go to the deeper waters to stay cool.

In the fall (which is fast approaching) the best time to go is between noon-6pm. Fall days on the lake are much more fruitful than summer (and, much less crowded in some places). Now, unlike the summer, fish are most active during the warmest part of the day.

Color of your clothes (nit picky, but hey!). Fish have MUCH better eyesight than most people think. If you can see fish from the short/boat, than they can most likely see you. If you stand by the water and wear bright clothes-you stick out. They see something big and bright and active and they get scared. Wear dark and/or light colored clothes (preferably in a neutral tone).

Targeting a specific species of fish can help as well. Certain fish feed at different levels, determine what specie(s) of fish you are after and set the rigs and bait accordingly.

Fish tend to concentrate around stepe underwater drop offs and also like areas that structurally "interesting"- rocks, piers, jettys, trees, etc.

Hope these little tips help! I know a lot of these are "starter" tips, but they are good to remember at any level.

 

Oh, wow, the clothing tip was most definitely new to me. I never hear that before. No wonder I dont catch very many to none at all! I will choose my clothes wisely next time. I, too, have noticed that the timing needs to be timed right when you want to really catch some fish. Evening seems to be better in my area as you see way more fish biting.

 

you better not give the fish a piece of your favorite clothes lol. It is just that you would have to make sure its not one those 500-pound bass it might eat more than the piece of cloth.

 

I've found that the best times for me to fish will depend in large part on where I fish. If I'm fishing in the woods then I'll typically go for the middle of the day. If I'm out on the shore then I'll probably stick to the afternoons instead. If I'm fishing in open water then it will be broad daylight, because I ain't dying for no dang fish.

 

I think that it also depends a lot on what kind of lake or stream you are fishing in, and also the kind of fish that you want to catch. Catfish, as an example, seem to be great for biting at night. In fact, if you build a small campfire at the edge of the pond, it will actually attract the catfish right up to where you are fishing !
We used to fish at a slough near home (well, about 10 miles away from town), and during the day, you would catch a variety of fish. Some bass, some perch, catfish, and a trout now and then.
However, as darkness set in, you were much more likely to catch a catfish than anything else. We usually made a campfire and cooked any fish that we had caught during the day, as well as a few potatoes (and maybe carrots and sliced onions) wrapped in aluminum foil and roasted in the coals; and it not only kept us warm as the evening chill set in; it also seemed to attract the catfish right up to where we were fishing.
Now, let me say right here, I HATE catfish ! !
They are the ugliest fish in the whole world. Well, maybe not quite that bad; but they are right up there towards the top of the list. And they have sharp barbs that they usually manage to stab you with when you are trying to be brave enough to take one off of your hook.
As if that is not bad enough, the catfish will also totally swallow your hook; so you are not going to just unhook it out of their jaw, like you might do with a nice trout.
My usual solution was to just cut the line, and put on a new hook, swivel and sinker. At least they couldn't swallow my bobber, too....