ChrisK

I've always been an explorer when fishing on new water and only depended on fish finders to show depth for the most part and the fish come next but thats me...Heres my approach that has put me into fish time and time again on new water. Always look for structure whether its rocky shoreline outcrops leading into deeper water. Weedbeds to deeper weed lines,points,saddles between points and suttle indentations on the shore line. All these you can see as you cruise the lake shoreline in search of productive water. Before fish finders came about that's the way we all did it. Fishing in shallow and then gradually making your way out to deeper water from structure is one of the most basic methods.Once you loose sight of structure under the water weeds or boulders and such and move into open water things might change up a little in your presentations but the fish will still be there suspended or right on the bottom pending on forage. Fish like walleye can show up on shallow weedbeds in the middle of the day if there is food for them or they can be found on rocky drop offs from points into saddles near the thermocline usually found in and around 20ft pending on how far the sun is penetrating into the depths. You may also find large predators that feed on the walleye that are feeding on the smaller bait fish in deeper water like,pike or muskie so be prepared. Fish also live in specific areas different times of the year so you will have to keep that in mind as well. So much to consider when you pull up to a unfamiliar lake to fish. This is where a guide realy comes in handy even if its only for a half day or a couple hours. You will pick up a lot of know how in this small period of time or the other scenario, spend many visits to lake going home empty handed and frustrated.

I put that dye into a pond I had years ago in my back yard and most of the fish died. Thinking I put to much ???

When all is uncertain I usually match the hatch with a contrasting color(more visible) to the water. Fish will attack and eat what they can see for the most part..In dirty stained water I will go black for a start and then see what happens. Good Luck !!

Excellent !! Hope Dev doesn't read this post..

Dude,you should see his fly box now. Remember what it used to look like ?? He's been busy !! Josh if your going to get him some hardware he does need fluorocarbon tippet material,shot,swivels,floats,hooks and a good sharpener

Thanks Art..I was begining to second guess myself into thinking I was a bit of a roughhouser when it came to handling fish That doesn't go to say you can't teach an old dog new tricks right Us old farts well, sometimes we get stuck in the old ways of doing things or just plain forget that there are other ways of doing things so its important to keep an open mind. The new generation of anglers coming up behind us have much to offer like Josh for instance,never seen a guy so in tune with the river and Dev our young steelheader who is amazingly focused and determined for his age .

Nip, Sorry to here about your Granpa. My condolences...

Josh, Glad to see you finally made it to OFC bud. Wasn't sure at first if it was the Josh I new or not but I'm glad it is. Remember that pole you gave Dev ?? I put a float reel on it for him this summer and got him tying fly's at the trailer as well. He's got new waders too so we should be seeing a hole new Devin on the river this fall Good on ya for pinching down those trebles on your baits Josh. Its probably the best thing to do for the fish unfortunately from what I can see from the crowd down there not many people are doing it including myself New years resolution effective as of right now ..."Pinch barbs down on Pingatee and Fire Tiger Flatfish and any other treble bait used for trout on said Huron trib"

One more pic... This is a picture of a slightly smaller hen. Actually she was caught minutes after the bigger buck in my previous pic but on a different bait of course. Her head was smaller than the rigorously well developed kiped out buck so a different hold was in order. Notice this time hand under the pectoral fins cradling the fish. Every fish we catch is handled carefully but when theres treble hooks involved or even singles for that matter special care must be taken not only to ensure the fish's survival but to ensure your safety most importantly of all.... I personally like to remove trebles out of trout more carefully than most which sometimes means having your partner do the removal while you hold the fish if need be.

Lots of room on a big fish like that. It may look like my figures are buried in the rakers by the picture but I'm actually holding the cartilage of the gill plate itself so no need for worry. Handled hundreds of these over the years.

Joe, Now thats a clean looking ride. Must have a lot of giddy up !!

Art, If ya wer a real southern boy you would be noodlin forem like this fella

Smaller trout are more delicate fish. You have to keep them wet and your hands wet as well not to remove excess body slime or they may go into shock and die. You have to be very gentle with them when removing hooks. They do have teeth but the mouth is small so I doubt you'll cut yourself on a small trout. Here's a couple pics of a little cutie that took one of my flies.

Theres just something about taking a picture of a rainbow beside your float rod...I think its the natural beauty of the fish and the photogenic qualities of the float reel itself.You got to admit Dan,they sure do look perdy together..

BillyBob, I would wait until you get her home and name her after she shows you some personality and perhaps a little attitude...Looking forward to seeing some pics

If you make them yourself your going to end up with a good high quality leader. Its actually quite fun to go out and buy yourself the best snap swivels and spool of your choice floro material or mono and spend an evening building leaders to your own specification. My personal preference is 80lb mono but its up to you where you want to go with this because there are pro's and con's for both.... There have been many discussions on this topic here in the past so if you use our search engine you should be able to come up with a lot of good information on the subject.

Most of the time on the river I find a nice place to beach the fish and then just reach down with a pair or forceps and give the hook a tug and nine times out of ten it pops out without even having to handle the fish. If its a treble you may have to gently hold the fish by the gill plate while its laying on the bank in the water and work the treble free. Once again most times the hooks will come free with little pressure. If the trout is deeply hooked it may become dinner. For some reason or another most rainbows I have caught in the river never have taken a bait that deep to create issues on release ...Heres a picture my partner took of a big buck I caught and he removed the treble for me after the pic Good Luck !!

Nice brookies Dan. One of these days we are going to have to come up there and pay you a visit

It looks like a 20 incher..I say 3.5 pounds

Welcome aboard !!

Welcome to our site.... Everyone is entitled to there opinion when it comes to ethics. Keep what you want as long as its in your possession limit.

Gettin there Curtis. Can you put a couple of willow leaf blades on the last two and leave the rest of the colorado blades. That will give it some serious thump. Also run silver beads up the wire to the eyelet to give it even more bling....

Nice bucket !! Looks to me like he's just trying to stay out of the sun..... http://www.basspro.com/Glacier-Glove-Dr--Shade-Sun-Gloves/product/99068/-1393720?cmCat=CROSSSELL_PRODUCT

I have a light action combo that I use mono on. . Mostly toss spinner baits and smaller crankbaits with it but all the other heavier action combo's have braid on them.