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Fresh Water Fishing

Fresh water fishing is fishing in lakes, rivers and streams that have minute quantities of dissolved salts. Freshwater sources are precipitation or melting ice and snow. There are hundreds of fresh water fish species, but the most popular are bass, catfish, pickerel, pike sunfish, trout, salmon, muskellunge, sturgeon and walleye.

Basic freshwater fishing equipment includes a fishing rod and reel, fishing line between 4 and 10 pound-test, a variety of sinkers, a variety of hooks (sizes 6 to 10), floats, bait and in most locations, a fishing permit or license. There are a wide variety of both live and artificial baits that work well for fresh water fishing.

Live bait works well for fresh water fishing. Freshwater fish feed on a variety of prey, including earthworms, insects, insect larvae, frogs, minnows, chub, shad, crayfish and small fish species such as smelt. Freshwater fishing bait such as earthworms, crayfish, frogs, minnows, chubs and shads can be caught in its natural habitat. Look around piers and in shallow water. Freshwater bait can also be purchased from your local bait and tackle shop.

Artificial bait is manmade bait that attracts fish to bite or strike. It includes plastic worms, insects, flies, small jigs, lures, spoons, streamers, flies, spinners and more. Artificial bait can be purchased at fishing tackle and bait shops or online. Some anglers prefer to buy the supplies for these types of baits and make their own.

There are a wide variety of prepared baits that you can use for freshwater fishing. These include kernel corn, bread balls, cheese balls, egg bags, liver, cereal balls, chicken entrails. Here is just a short list of some freshwater fish and the bait that attracts them.

Bass - earthworms, insects, insect larvae, frogs, minnows, crayfish, spoons, Mepps, spinners, artificial worms, jigs, streamers and spinners.

Catfish - earthworms, liver, chicken entrails, hotdogs, frogs, tadpoles, crayfish and most lures. At times you can even catch them on shiny hooks that have no bait.

Learn how to make your own fishing lures for only a few cents each. Click here to read more.

Pickerel - earthworms, insects, insect larvae, frogs, minnows, crayfish, spoons and Mepps, spinners, artificial worms, jigs, spinners and streamers.

Pike - earthworms, frogs, minnows, shad, all types of small fish species, crayfish, chub, spinners, spoons and egg sacs.

Sunfish - earthworms, bread balls, kernel corn, insects and insect larvae, as well as small, shiny lures.

Trout - earthworms, flies, insects, insect larvae, kernel corn, egg sacs, crayfish and minnows.

Salmon - flies, spinners, spoons, egg sacs, shrimp and large plugs.

Muskellunge - small fish species, frogs, Mepps, spinners, jigs, minnows, plastic trailers and rapalas.

Sturgeon - frogs, freshwater clams, lamprey, eels, smelt, salmon eggs, shad, shrimp, egg sacs, yarn flies, brilliantly colored and silver lures.

Walleye - shad, frogs, real or artificial minnows, worms, maggots, spinners, spoons, jigs, plugs and small fish species.

If you wish to learn more about freshwater fishing, ask an experienced angler to give you some tips. This can be a family member, a friend, a fishing guide or instructor or a staff member of your local bait and tackle shop.

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	Fishing superstar disqualified from BASS tournament If you are going to fish professional bass tournaments, you had better know the rules and learn how to control your temper. In the second major disqualification in the past month, the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society reports that fishing superstar Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., has been disqualified from competition this week at the CITGO Bassmaster Elite Series event on Santee-Cooper Reservoir in South Carolina. VanDam is the top-ranked angler on the Elite Series Power Index. In accordance with Rule 12, Non-boaters are only allowed to drive the boat in emergency situations in both practice and competition with the exception of loading and unloading from trailers. "We had another professional call us and tell us that he had witnessed Kevin on the front deck, while his co-angler was running the motor," said Trip Weldon, Bassmaster Tournament Director. "The professional said that it appeared as if Kevin was looking for spawning beds." Weldon noted that Rule 12 had been changed two years ago to prevent this very practice that gives an edge to a professional angler who has a co-angler running the boat for him while he looks for spawning bass. VanDam was contacted about the incident and readily admitted to what had been reported, saying that he was not aware that he had violated any rules. The inadvertent infraction resulted in both VanDam and Stawiarski being disqualified from the tournament.