News & Stories

Let’s Talk Fishing!

By Mike Frisch

Let’s talk fishing.  Recently, I met an intelligent, insightful lady who reminded me that the basics (the fundamentals if you will) of any activity are key to success.  With that in mind, this blog will be a review of some fishing fundamentals that are, and always will be, important to angling success!

The first fundamental is the importance of locating fish.  At every School of Fish class I teach, the statement, “you have to put your bait in front of fish in order to catch one” is made.  That sounds simple.  Yet, sometimes I think that we, as anglers, get so caught up in new lures, new lure colors, and other “gadgetry” that we forget that the prettiest lure or most expensive rod/reel combination won’t catch fish if there are none around. 

For that reason, School of Fish classes focus on teaching students to find “fishy” areas and the importance of moving to new spots when fish aren’t “biting.”  I say “biting” a bit tongue in cheek because I believe there are always some fish willing to bite, we just don’t always find those biters!

Finding fish is key, but so is mastering the basic fishing skills used to catch them.  Fishing skill development is something that gets much less attention than some trendy lure or a new technique.  For example, I often hear people say, “we pitched jigs and minnows too but we didn’t catch any” when their neighbor caught walleyes and they didn’t.

Fishing a jig and minnow successfully is one technique that requires skill development that happens over time.  Time on the water spent pitching and retrieving a jig that is.  Knowing the right jigging cadence the fish want on a particular day, developing the ability to make the jig fish at that cadence, and then having a sense of feel for when a fish bites are just some of the fundamentals important to successful jig fishing.  And, that knowledge, skill, and sense are developed and honed over time. The reason some folks catch more fish than others when pitching a jig has more to do with skill developed from time on the water and attention to detail than it does with jig color or particular fishing line being used.  

Developing the ability to find fish and the skills needed to catch them are important fishing fundamentals.  The last topic to discuss here (and one intertwined with the previous two) involves the importance of spending time on the water and honing your fishing instincts.  

Time on the water gives you experience locating fish, hours to practice and master skills, and it also allows an angler the time to develop that “sixth sense” if you will, the instincts that veteran anglers develop from hours and hours spent on the water.

For example, recently I was heading to a fishing spot A and, while passing spot B, I suddenly was “drawn” to spot B.  Time on the water has taught me that trusting my gut is important.  So, I abandoned my plan and, instead, turned the boat toward spot B.  As we pulled off plane, I told my guide clients, “I’m not sure why, but something tells me there’s some biters here.”  

Six casts and five bass later, my instincts were proven correct.  Certainly, trusting my instincts doesn’t always work, but the more time I spend outdoors, the better my instincts become, and the more successful I become as well.

You want to catch more fish this summer?  Master the fundamentals by becoming your own “fish finder,” honing your fishing skills, and trusting your instincts.  But above all, spend time on the water!

As always, enjoy your time in the woods and on the water and remember to include a youngster in your next outdoors adventure!

Mike Frisch hosts the popular Fishing the Midwest TV series.  Frisch also is a co-founder of School of Fish, one of the country’s premiere fishing education programs.  Visit www.fishingthemidwest.com  to learn more about Fishing the Midwest and School of Fish. 

Photo – Mike Frisch followed his fishing instincts to help catch this largemouth bass!

Catch more fish!

By Mike Frisch

As a fishing educator and TV show host, one of my goals is to help people find and catch more fish.  With that in mind, I am constantly researching and experimenting with new fishing equipment and cutting edge fishing techniques, as well as staying on the lookout for good bites that materialize across the Midwest.  This process has revealed some suggestions that I think can be useful for other anglers looking to “up their game” this fishing season.

See the fish, catch the fish!

For years, hardcore anglers, walleye anglers in particular, used their “down looking” sonar units to search for “marks” on those units’ screens that indicated what appeared to be walleyes below.  When found, a marker buoy was pitched near the marks and the fishing began.

That process still works and produces lots of fish – though marker buoys have been replaced with electronic marks on a GPS screen.  To really “be in the game” now, however, anglers may need to take advantage of the various sonar technologies available that “look” off to the sides and around the boat.  Many of today’s top tournament anglers, for example, are catching money-winning fish using these technologies.  

I must admit that I am still learning this game, but found it enlightening in recent seasons to “see” cover and fish out away from my boat, pitch baits to them, and actually catch them at times!  Simply put, the underwater world and its potential for producing fish is a lot bigger than what we used to see when we focused mostly on what was below the boat and ignoring, or maybe better said “not knowing,” what was around the boat!

Fish the Ned Rig

Much of my bass fishing when guiding over the years involved throwing what were then called “jig-worms.”  These were 4 to 7 inch plastic worm style baits threaded on light (often 1/16- to 1/8-ounce) jig heads.  We’d slowly work down deep weed lines in good bass lakes casting and slowly working the baits along those weed edges. 

Several years ago, however, smaller plastics fished on similar jigs came to the forefront, known as Ned Rigs.  These baits are often in the 2 ½ to 3 inch size range making for a much smaller, more finesse style bait.  And, they work!  Clearer waters and increased bass fishing pressure on many lakes appear to be, in fact, ideal conditions for fishing them.

The past two summers a bunch of largemouth and smallmouth bass have fell victim to Ned Ochos and Rage Ned Cut-Worms fished on 1/8-ounce jigs by my guide clients.  This year, a new Rage Ned Craw is available that I can’t wait to try as well.   

If you like feeling the tug of a fish pulling back, a Ned Rig fished on the deep weed line will probably produce bass, northern pike, panfish, and maybe even a walleye or two! 

Fish “smallies”

For whatever reason (I suspect clearer waters to be the cause), smallmouth bass populations have expanded and exploded in many lakes.  That’s a good thing because smallmouth bass are extreme fighters and acrobats that are flat out fun to catch!

Mille Lacs Lake in central Minnesota has developed into one of the premier smallmouth lakes in the world.  There are, however, expanding populations in a bunch of other lakes, both big and small, all across the Midwest.  The good news is that a stop at a local bait shop may be all it takes to find lakes with good smallmouth fishing as it seems anglers are more willing to share details about their good smallmouth catches than they are to give up where the good walleyes are being caught, or details on a big crappies!

Mike Frisch hosts the popular Fishing the Midwest TV series.  Follow Fishing the Midwest on Facebook for more “fishy” information!

Photo – The author with a nice bass largemouth bass from last season.