Antique Fishing Lures

As you become an avid fisherman and even in the early stages, there is one type of fishing that is sometimes even more rewarding than catching the large mouth bass itself. By this I mean "fishing " for the ever elusive antique bass lure. This is an art among itself.

If you ever wanted to be a treasure hunter and a fisherman, looking and searching for antique lures can be a most rewarding experience. Lures have been used for many, many years and the availability of antique lures is becoming scarcer and harder to find. Fishing as a hobby is one that is enjoyed by various people, searching and collecting antique fishing lures can be enjoyed by both the fisherman and his family, son or daughter.

New fishing lures are developed to be the state of the art and "new" technology, one must keep in mind that in days of old, there were only the lures of the day, and believe it or not, Large mouth Bass were caught even then without all of the new gadgetry.

The new era fishing lures are designed and developed to be sleek and take on a live bait appearance, the antique lures have a different look and feel all together. Even the materials that they are made out of are different in many aspects. While the new lures have a polymer design, many of the antique lures were made in a time before all of these new composite materials were even developed, therefore many are made of wood.

Over time, the wood will wear and the bright colors will fade and the enthusiast collector of antique lures will surely have a great find to come across a lure in perfect condition having never been deployed and still with the original wrappings.

Finding and buying on antique lure is challenging at best, nonetheless, that is the excitement of the hunt when you can locate an antique lure in places unexpected. There are many places to search for these antique lures, and once you become good at searching you will be the great fisherman in both bass fishing and catching the elusive antique lure.

Some of the best places to search in an easy way, is on line in auctions. Besides the standard auctions that we are most aware of on the Internet, there are local auction houses in your neighborhood that may have the occasional fishing tackle up for grabs.

Don't be surprised if there are others in the water looking for the same treasure as you, so be prepared to go up against the best of fisherman who have been at this for years.

Antique fishing lures tell a story and many collectors have had their lures passed down in the family for generations and were there to see and tell the story of their grandfather using a particular lure to catch the "big one" when they were just a child.

There is a personal attachment to these lures and if you have someone you know that may be a little older and was at one time an avid fisherman, you may just want to ask them if they still have their old equipment, you just might be surprised if you listen to the old fishing stories, that you may be rewarded for your attentive listening ear and valuable time by giving an "old timer" a chance to reminisce about the "good ol' days, and find yourself walking away with a relic to call your own.

3 Things Every Small Fishing Boat Must Have

Are you in the market for a small bass boat? Small bass boats can be a very affordable and effective way to go fishing, but there are some things that every small fishing boat must have. This article is about those things. As a matter of fact, this article will list 3 of the most important aspects every small fishing boat needs to have.

Although a small boat is much less expensive than a traditional boat, you can still expect to pay from three or four hundred dollars to upwards of five thousand dollars for a quality boat. Small bass boats can come in many forms from canoes and kayaks to pontoons and float tubes (both inflatable and hard plastic). These boats can be great for bass fishing. Before you make a purchase though, make sure that you small boat has these 3 things.

• Plenty Of "Leg Room" - Many small bass boats don't have any room to store rods, reels, tackle, and/or bait. Make sure that your small fishing boat isn't made for people who don't fish. Many inflatable canoes for example are made for shooting whitewater, rather than fishing. Some inflatable pontoons have very little room for tackle, whereas some have plenty. Just make sure there is room to maneuver for your style of fishing.
• Maneuverability - Make sure that the small fishing boat you choose is easy to maneuver. For example, some small pontoon boats (both inflatable and hard plastic) are very difficult to maneuver. Maneuverability is very important when it comes to small bass boats. You want to be able to easily get to where the bass are.
• Quality Workmanship - This is probably the most important aspect of any small fishing boat. Of all of the small bass boats on the market today, Sea Eagle makes some of the best. Buying your small fishing boat from a quality manufacturer is of the utmost importance. Outcast is another company known for their quality workmanship. The bottom line is that when it comes to investing in small boats, purchasing a quality product is key. A high quality small fishing boats will last for a lifetime.

Make sure that whatever small boat you choose has the 3 features and you'll be happy with your decision for many years to come. When it comes to small bass boats there are many things to consider, but these are three of the most important.

Hook,line and tarpon

Hook, Line and Tarpon Saltwater
Live bait for tarpons with threadfins. Circle or modified circle hooks are popular for this duty; most use short shank livebait hooks, 5/0 or thereabouts, in 2X or 3X strong. The main leader is four to five feet of 60-pound clear mono, the shock leader 12 inches of 100-pound-test fluorocarbon, chosen mostly because it's a lot harder than most monos and therefore more resistant to wear on the rough jaws of the fish. Microfiber lines are the hands-down favorite for those using spinning tackle these days; 50- to 80-pound micro spools flat and casts a mile. Even more importantly, when you start pulling on a fish that's 100 yards out, the micro acts almost like a steel cable; there's no stretch, and all your effort goes directly into whipping the fish. This is not only good for the angler, who does not want to sweat for hours in the humid, calm air, but also for the tarpon; the quicker a tarpon is whipped, the more likely it is to avoid sharks while on the hook, and the more energetic it will be after release. I personally like PowerPro and Fireline, but there are many other good brands of fiber lines. Most anglers prefer an 8-foot spinning rod with a heavy butt and whippy tip. Reels capable of holding 250 yards of 50- to 80-pound microfiber are the ticket. Revolving spool reels also do the job, but casting is so much more challenging with these that all but the old pros are switching to spinning gear-particularly since the fiber lines have made it possible to spool heavy tests. Spinners make it possible to cast small crabs without added weight, a big advantage. And they also do a pretty good job of tossing artificials. It's not easy to get beach tarpon to take any sort of lure in clear water, but early in the day they will occasionally inhale a plastic shrimp or mullet. They can also be caught on the usual streamer flies, for those who can make the necessary long casts.

How to catch tuna

Chunking for Tuna Saltwater
Chunking for Bluefin involves archoring on a good fishing spot known to hold bluefin. Once anchored, top crews deploy chunks, stick baits and live baits suspended on ballons at different depths. Most captains have their crew position the baits where at the depth they mark tuna fish on their fish finder. Many top captains use Gamahastu Live Bait hooks. In determining the hook size, it is important to match the hook to the size bait that you are using. You shouldn't use a hook that is too large, because it will detract from the presentation of the bait. All top crews use fluorocaron leader. Leader varies from 150-lb to 220lb, with many crews fishing light gear (150-180) to get bites when they are hard to come by. Most crews start off with a long leader (say 15 feet), so they can cut back and recimpt the hook on if their leader gets nicked up by dogfish or other pests. Many crews using light fluorocarbon also use H crimps instead of G crimps for their 150 or 180 fluoro. The lower profile H crimp must be done carefullly, preferably using the Jinkai crimping tool. They also use these crimps to attach a small wind on swivel. This way, the leader can be wound all the way on the spool, protecting the flurocarbon during storage, ensuring clean decks, and allowing the angler to reel the fish as close as needed to harpoon it. All crews attach the sinkers and ballons using rubber bands. Sinker weight is selcted based on the spped of the current and the desired depth that you are trying to fish.

Nyamping technique and Strike indicators

Dead drifting a nymph on the bottom and fishing a nymph on or near the surface, either by itself or in tandem with another fly, are the two most productive methods of nymph fishing. Dead drifting simply means figuring out where the fish are holding on the bottom, weighting either the fly or the leader enough to get the fly down to where the fish are, and drifting the fly through the holding water until a fish takes it. Recognizing the take and setting the hook follow. Sounds simple, right? It is, until you consider such questions as, how do you know if you are deep enough, and how do you recognize the take.

The answer to the first question is easy. If you are getting hung up on the bottom and losing an occasional fly, you're deep enough. To answer the second question opens up one of the big debates currently in fly fishing -- are strike indicators nothing more than bobbers and an open acknowledgment that the fly fisher hasn't mastered his craft?

Most of my customers use strike indicators to recognize takes when dead drifting a nymph. Strike indicators are simply something the angler can see under any condition. They are attached to the leader far enough away from the fly so that they can be seen on the surface as the fly drifts on or near the bottom. The strike indicator telegraphs to the fisherman the fact that the nymph is no longer drifting. The angler must then quickly set the hook before the fish spits the fly out. Strike indicators are a valuable aid to increase productivity. As a fly shop owner, I make and sell indicators, and I consider them a valuable source of revenue for the shop.
The other method of nymphing used most often on Rock Creek is fishing a nymph unweighted either as a wet fly on the swing or as a trailer to a dry fly. To fish a nymph on the swing, simply cast across the current and start stripping line slowly in as the fly starts swinging below you. In most cases the fish will hook itself.

A technique that is becoming increasingly popular is to fish an emerger imitation in tandem with a dry fly during the hatches. A section of tippet is attached to the bend of a dry fly hook. The tippet section is from 16 to 18 inches long, and an emerger nymph is attached. The dry is drifted and catches fish in its own right as well as acts as a strike indicator for the trailing nymph. This method is proving itself deadly and increases in popularity every year.

Tip to start fishing

Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish. It is an ancient and worldwide practice that dates back about 10,000 years with various techniques and traditions and it has been transformed by modern technological developments.

Fishing continues to be a favorite pastime in the United States, in 2001, 16% of the U.S. population 16 years old and older (34 million anglers) spent an average of 16 days fishing. Freshwater fishing was the most popular type of fishing with over 28 million anglers devoting nearly 467 million angler-days to the sport.

Practice Good Stewardship of our Waterways:

You can help to take care of our lakes, rivers, and other waterways so that others may enjoy these areas for years to come by practicing some of the following actions:

• Don't Litter... take along a trash bag or other receptacle for collecting your trash so that you can deposit it in the proper trash receptacle. Use proper dumping stations instead of tossing refuse into the water.
• Make sure that you use the correct type of bait and fishing gear permitted in that area. There may also be limits on the number, size, and kind of fish that you can keep. Check with your destination ahead of time to see what the local regulations allow. If you use a boat or watercraft when fishing, check to see what kinds of watercraft are allowed at the body of water where you are going to fish.
• Pay attention to local procedures and cautions for cleaning your watercraft after you leave the water so that you don't encourage the spread of npn-native species, such as the Zebra Mussel, to the next body of water you may visit with your boat.
• Don't fish in areas where it is not permitted. These areas have been declared "off limits" to fishing to protect wildlife, vegetation, or for your safety.

Safety While Fishing:

• If using a boat to fish, wear your life jacket and make sure that your passengers wear theirs, too !
• Use caution when baiting and removing hooks
• Do not fish on unauthorized waterways
• If operating a houseboat, be careful of carbon monoxide build-up around the boat
• Obey the posted speedlimits and wake warnings if using a watercraft when fishing
• Bring along extra safety items such as water, flashlights, maps, and a cellphone or radio