Fishing

As part of an email discussion list I'm part of, the subject of following our passions came up. I mentioned that one of my lifelong passions was fishing. I got the following reply... Thanks, John for sharing your passion with us. So -- John -- when you are fishing... What do you enjoy most and why? I've never fished and would like to understand your passion better. That made me stop and think. Why did I spend so much time with a line in the water? Or reading about fishing? Or watching fishing TV shows and videos?...

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The visibility of the line was good. As we were using 2 green lines, a yellow line plus a blue line on this day, it was easy to pick out. I am sure it would be just as easy to pick out among any other line as it picked up the light very easily and reflected a golden colour very useful in a tangle. Casting was no different than any other line we were using once the line had been cast once or twice to bed it down on the reel. We never had any problem with memory as there seemed to be very little compared to Berkley Trilene or Diawa Tournament which we were also using at the time....

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If you're coming to experience Hawaii sport fishing, youhave one heck of an adventure awaiting you! Anglers from allover the world journey to these deep blues waters teemingwith trophy fish. This is where you come to get the bigones. In fact the biggest fish ever caught on rod and reelwas a blue marlin caught just off Oahu, weighing in at ahefty 1805 lbs.! Hawaii is so legendary among sport fishingenthusiasts that several "big-game" tournaments are heldhere every year, including the granddaddy of them all, theHawaiian International Billfish Tournament, luring fishermenfrom all over the globe....

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Now that we've covered what nymph fly fishing is all about, let'snext take a look at what sort of fly fishing gear you're going toneed to do it. While nymph fly fishing uses pretty much the samegear you use when dry fly fishing, there is a few small itemsthat any successfully nymph fisherman will want to have. Theseitems are strike indicators, some small weights, and a good pairof fly fishing sunglasses. Strike Indicators for Nymph Fishing First, you will need some strike indicators. Strike indicatorsare generally bright orange, ungodly looking things that get puton your leader well above the fly or on the fly line itself, atthe junction of the fly line and leader....

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An angler should therefore become familiar with the three main senses a trout uses. These are: Smell: Trout have amazing powers of smell. For humans, trying to understand smell underwater is rather difficult since we can't do it. However, trout have no difficulty smelling underwater, so it is worth an anglers time to make sure that they aren't introducing foreign smells into a trout stream (which can warn a trout to a lurking danger such as a fisherman.) When fly fishing for trout, do your best to avoid any artificial smells that are completely foreign to a trout stream....

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It is easy to get intimidated by world class rivers. I guess the Henry's Fork was a little intimidating to me. With the old rule of thumb being that "eighty percent of the fish are caught by twenty percent of the fishermen", I was pretty much convinced that at least for this trip I might fall into the "eighty percent" of fishless fellas category. Nonetheless-- being the supreme optimist that I am-- I was up at 4:30 a. m. and heading upstream to Box Canyon. This is a stretch below Island Lake Reservoir, that is classic "tailwater" and a good place to fish with nymphs....

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Originally published in Procats Online Magazine Summertime angling for trophy-sized blue cats on huge reservoirs can be tough. Peer across an expansive lake and the sheer vastness will seemingly swallow you whole. Where do you start? Do you just go out and look around with a good locator and hope to see some arches and begin fishing? Based on past experiences you know two things. Sometimes you have to drift. Other times you'll have to anchor. How do you know which to do first and what types of structure are you looking for that will hold big burly blue cats?...

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What lures are 4-13" long, been used regularly on the West Coast and have caught some of the biggest bass ever? Yep, Swimbaits. Now a change is happening, these lunker catching baits are being used on the East Coast as well. It doesn't take a 20 pound bass to eat a 12" swimbait. One thing the swimbait is known for is big bass and they will catch big bass in any lake if used right. Some of the swimbaits are pricey to say the least, while some go for $150.00 in the store or more others have been sold on Ebay for $1200....

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When looking for information on how to fly fish, fly fishing tips or fly fishing techniques, many anglers, or anglers to be, who limit their search to books or material written ithin the last few years or decades are short-changing themselves. Fact is, many anglers continue to miss out on great fly fishing information by not reaching back into the rich history of the sport and seeking the advice and wisdom of true fly fishing pioneers. Now when I say pioneers, I'm talking about the guys who didn'thave anyone to learn from - the groundbreakers....

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The overhead cast is the most basic fly cast. Learn to execute it well and you will be able to easily adapt the skill to the side cast and backhand casting. Good casting starts with learning to grip a fly rod correctly and adopting the right stance to maintain comfort and balance. Gripping the Fly Rod The normal grip is with the thumb on top and slightly to the left of center (assuming a right-handed grip) so that the 'V' between the thumb and the index finger is in line with the top of the rod....

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-----SIDEBAR------------------------------------------ Older fly fishing classics contain a wealth of knowledge for the beginner fly fisher as well as the experienced angler. The following is an excerpt from Practical Fly Fishing, by Larry St. John (1920) -----END SIDEBAR---------------------------------- WADING A STREAM Ideal Fishing The ideal way to fish a bass stream, if its depth and bottom will permit, is to wade. Some one has said that Art is the beautiful way of doing things. Certainly then, wading the stream is the artist's way of fishing for Micropterus....

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Generally an oceanic species, the swordfish is primarily a midwater fish at depths of 650-1970 feet (200-600 m) and water temperatures of 64 to 71°F (18-22°C). Although mainly a warm-water species, the swordfish has the widest temperature tolerance of any billfish, and can be found in waters from 41-80°F (5-27°C). The swordfish is commonly observed in surface waters, although it is believed to swim to depths of 2,100 feet (650 m) or greater, where the water temperature may be just above freezing....

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Good Fly Presentation Obviously, the goal when casting a fly is to present the fly to the fish in a realistic manner. You are trying to simulate nature here. If you are going for trout in a stream, for instance, this means a drag-free float of 36 inches over a precise spot that marks the window of a feeding fish. Never randomly cast - you have got to pick a spot and hit it. Throw tight loops that put the fly on target. One important method that can be used is to overcast the target and stop the line short while it is in the air....

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Should you approach the fishing industry for sponsorship? Can you imagine having that job? After a few days of employment wouldn't all the resumes start to look the same? How about all the product or financial donations requests, wouldn't they all start to look the same too? Of course they would. How would you know which one to support or sponsor? Don't think I made this example up - I didn't. The fishing industry as whole, whether it is manufacturers of: lures, line, rods, reels, boats, motors, sunglasses, hooks, tackle boxes, etc....

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Small stream nymphing is a very productive form of fly fishing. At times, you will not rise a fish to a dry fly. Yet there arefish feeding actively below the surface. So, you put the fly(nymph) to the fish. Nymph fishing is probably the most challenging of all fly fishingtechniques. Since the fly is underwater and is often extremelysmall, nymph fishing can test the abilities of any angler, andoften leaves the beginner angler extremely frustrated. Yet, theability of having a good nymph fishing technique is essential forproductive trout fishing....

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