The Art of Landing Trophy Fish

(Blake Russell photo

Landing smaller fish happens to be quite a bit easier than getting larger fish into the boat. A trophy fish is larger, meaning they have more leverage to throw a hook or break your line. This all may seem like a no-brainer, but in the heat of the moment, it can be easy to forget what we've learned.
Quality Line/Quality Knot
You never know when that fish of a lifetime will come around. Every cast will require you to be prepared. To prevent line breakage while fighting a trophy, making sure you have new, high-quality line on your reel and a quality knot tied will help you elimination one area of potential weakness. Get in the habit of checking for line nicks, and retying often.
Have Your Drag Set Correctly
We've all been in the situation where we've lost a big fish because our drag was too tight. Make sure you have your drag set in such a way that it allows for a good hook set but also will allow for a bigger fish to take line when they go on a run.
Stay Calm; Don’t Get Too Excited
Trust me, I know a big fish on the end of your line gets you excited. Perhaps the most important thing to do is stay calm and let the fish do what it's going to do. If you have a quality knot, quality line, and your drag is set properly, the odds of landing the fish are good. Getting too excited often results in rushing things, which usually results in heartbreak.

Freshwater Fishing Tips

• Black Bass
• Panfish
• Striped Bass, Sunshine Bass and White Bass
• Catfish
• Butterfly Peacock Bass
• Safety tips for getting outdoors (PDF; 495KB)
• Catch and Release, and Fish Handling

Black Bass

The largemouth bass is the best known and most popular freshwater game fish in Florida. Found statewide, largemouth bass have excellent growth rates, particularly in the productive waters of central Florida. Historically known for huge bass, Florida remains an outstanding destination to catch a trophy.

Spring is the best time of year to catch bass, when fish move into shallow water to spawn. Spawning may occur as early as January in extreme south Florida and as late as May in the panhandle, but March and April are peak months. Most large bass are taken at this time; after spawning, many large females move to offshore areas.

The best live bait is a golden shiner, fished under a float or free-lined. Typically, the shiner is hooked through the lips or back with a large hook, 2/0 to 5/0. A medium to medium-heavy rod with 14- to 20-pound test line is preferred, particularly when fishing in areas with thick vegetation or cover.

The plastic worm is the most dependable artificial bait for largemouth bass. A weedless "Texas- or Carolina-rigged" worm is effective for fishing Florida lakes with heavy plant cover. Worms come in a variety of colors and scents, and bass may favor certain types depending on light conditions; be sure to have both light and dark colors available, as well as several sizes of tapered worm weights from ¹/₈ to ounce. Purple "metalflake" or "red shad" worms with twirly-tails are popular, and plastic lizards can be effective as well.

Most plastic worms are worked slowly along the bottom or through cover by raising the rod tip a few feet, then allowing the worm to sink. The line should be kept fairly tight to feel the strike. Typically an angler will feel the bass "tap" the worm once or twice lightly. By lowering the rod tip and waiting only until the slack is out of the line before setting the hook, anglers greatly lessen the chance of injury to the fish due to deep hooking.

With active bass and dense underwater vegetation, "jerk worms" are an excellent bait. Rigged without sinkers, these worms are jigged rapidly over vegetation, with brief pauses to let the worm sink slowly. Bass hit these baits hard, and an instant hookset is recommended.

Spinnerbaits are very good in the spring, usually fished slowly around drop-offs and cover. If a slow retrieve fails, try "buzzing", i.e., retrieving the spinnerbait rapidly so the blades ripple the surface.

Crankbaits typically imitate baitfish or crayfish, and a straight retrieve is usually effective. The design of the plastic lip determines how deep the lure dives, and anglers can adjust their choice of baits based on water depth. Popular colors are white, shad, firetiger (green striped with orange underside) and crayfish.

Topwater baits are exciting to fish because the angler can see the strike. Topwater plugs that imitate wounded baitfish may be twitched to entice bass. Others are designed to make noise, and a faster, erratic retrieve may antagonize a bass into striking. Topwater lures are most successful during early morning or late afternoon. Stay ready for a surprise strike and set the hook immediately.

Although the largemouth bass is by far our most common black bass, other species are found in Florida. The smaller Suwannee bass occurs in the Suwannee River and its tributaries, and in the Ochlockonee River. Favoring rock outcrops and moving water, Suwannee bass prefer crayfish to many prey items of largemouth. Crayfish-imitating crankbaits worked through deep-water bends will attract these hard fighting fish, as will plastic worms, plastic lizards or crayfish. The Santa Fe River is another good spot, and trophy-sized Suwannee bass up to three pounds can be found in the Ochlockonee River north of I-10.

Vacation Planning

About Air Travel:What's the best way to fly there? This site will help you find out. You'll find the best fares and get inside tips about the ups and downs of air travel.
El Monte RV: El Monte RV is America's premier nationwide RV rental company. El Monte RV is known for its commitment to offering quality recreational vehicles and services to those looking to rent a motorhome.
FamilyTravelFiles.com: An online family travel magazine featuring family vacation experiences, destination information, deals and bargains, fresh ideas, and expert advice about family trips and getaways.
Fishing in National Forests: Here you'll find detailed information about fishing in national forests from the USDA Forest Service.
ReserveAmerica: The largest provider of campsite reservations in North America. More than 17 million campers use ReserveAmerica each year to research and plan trips.
See America: Check out the travel planning center!
Traveling by RV: Learn about the benefits of RV family travel, how to buy or rent a RV and how to locate great places to stay on your journey

Fishing With your Family

Great Ideas About Kids and Fishing

Involve your kids from the beginning

Kids enjoy feeling included, and what better way to instill some responsibility in your children. Depending on their age, give them small things for which they are responsible, such as ensuring thateveryone has a personal floatation device, or teaching them to coil aline.

Keep them busy

Kids like to stay active. Plan an outing on the boat that includes water activities such as snorkeling, tubing, looking for wildlife or learning how to fish. Introduce your child to fishing.

Teach them new skills that will last a lifetime

Being on the water provides an excellent opportunity to teach kids about their environment, and boating, fishing and safety skills. Try to incorporate these teachings into fun activities and gradually introduce your kids to new things as they are ready. For example, you might want to create a game that teaches nautical terminology such as port,starboard, stern, and bow. Once your kids master this terminology, help them learn how to safely drive the boat or cast a fishing line. Boating and fishing provide unlimited learning—learning that lasts a lifetime

Plan family outings and include others

Use this time to gather as a family and create lifelong memories.Plan short outings such as a picnic on the boat or let the kids find anew creek or lake on the chart and plan a picnic at that destination.This creates a sense of adventure and allows valuable family time together. You can let your kids invite a friend or relative along to share in the fun!

Tips for Fishing with Kids

Avoid the kid’s stuff

An ultra-light spinning or spin casting rod and reel combo is usually easier for kids to use.

Small hooks = big catches

Avoid hooks larger than size 10 (hook sizes run backwards—size 12 is smaller than size 10). Fish won’t readily take large hooks unless they are feeding voraciously.

Most of the time, a subtle presentation is needed to catch wary fish.Tiny hooks also allow small fish to “inhale” the bait, rather than nibble at the hook. If a fish swallows the hook and you want to return it to the water, simply cut the line as close to the hook as possible and release the fish.

Lighten up your line

Light line will do the job, preferably 6-pound test line or less.Unless you’re targeting monster catfish or marauding muskies, light line is your best bet.

Bag the big bobbers

Bobbers (or floats) are used to suspend your bait in the water and alert you when to set the hooks. The harder the bobber is to pullunder, the harder it will be to hook a fish. Small floats will help convince the fish to take your tasty bait and run. “Slip” bobbers workwell for kids. Slip bobber rigs cut down on the amount of line needed at the end of the rod and are easier to cast. Small ice fishing bobbers can provide a light touch any time of year.

Sink it with shot

Sinkers help get your line down to the fish. They can also create“zero buoyancy.” Ideally, you want your bobber to just barely float onthe top of the water. Squeeze small BB-sized split shot sinkers onto your line one at a time until your bobber nearly sinks from the weight.Since there is very little resistance when the fish takes the bait, it is more likely to bite the bait and run.

Great big gobs of worms won’t do

There’s no need to use whole whopping-big, writhing night crawlers on your hook. Keep the bait approximately the size of your hook. Livebait such as worms, bee moths or crickets work best. Cut the bait tofit your hook.

Content provided by the Indiana Division of Fish & Wildlife.

Fly Fishing Equipment : Fly Fishing Tippets

Share on your social media pages

Fly leaders are tapered monofilament strands that connect the fly fishing line to the fly. They're designed to cast (present) flies the way the fish expects to see food items.

Fly Leader Sections

Fly leaders have three sections: butt, midsection and tippet. Fly leaders are tapered from the thick, heavy butt to the narrow, thin fly tippet to help turn the fly over in casting. Fly fishing leaders are either hand-tied, with segments between knots; or they are knotless with a continuous taper from butt to fly tippet end. The packaging will give you specific information about the fly leader and how it will perform.

 

Tippet

What Fly Leader to Use

The right fly leader is the one that suits the fishing situation. For example, when you're fishing small flies on flat water for trout or panfish, the fly leader should be small in diameter. The fly leader must have a relatively soft fly tippet for soft presentation of the fly, and it must be long enough to assure that the fish is not spooked by the line hitting the water during the cast.
In general, the smaller the fly, the smaller the fly leader diameter at the tippet (end); the larger the fly, the larger the fly leader diameter. Also, the smaller the fly, the flatter the water and the more easily spooked the fish are, the longer and thinner the fly leader needed to fool them. Some spring-creek trout are so finicky that you may have to go lighter, while on salt water the fly tippet may have a breaking strength of 20 pounds with a shock tippet of 100 pounds tied in.
Fortunately, leader manufacturers have labeled their products to help you choose the right fly leader for your fishing. For instance, a bass fly leader should be relatively short and stiff to turn over the large flies you will use. Saltwater fly leaders will be relatively stiff, strong and very abrasion-resistant to withstand the large, sharp teeth of saltwater fish and the powerful runs made by those fish.

Fly Fishing Tippets

Connecting Fly Leader and Fly Line

The connection you make between your fly leader butt and the fly line is important. If you decide to use a knot, the easiest is the tube or nail knot. The needle nail knot is the most secure of all the leader/line connections, but it takes more time to tie. (The needle/nail knot connection is recommended for saltwater fishing.) A good fly shop will set up your line and leader for you.

The Right Leader Length

A standard fly leader for stream trout, bass and panfish is 9 feet. Some fly leaders may run as long as 22 feet, and spring-creek fly leaders are often 12 feet or longer. As the wind rises, casting these leaders becomes more and more difficult, so experienced fishermen shorten the fly leader to aid in turning the fly over in the wind.

Fly Fishing Fly Line

 

The right line makes everything possible.

In spin fishing the weight of the lure being cast pulls the monofilament line off the reel. In fly fishing the weight of the fly line being cast carries the fly to the fish. The fly line you cast and the way you cast it creates the "presentation" of the fly. To catch fish you must present your fly in the water column the way the fish expect to see their foods. The right fly line makes that possible.

Fly line

Selecting the right fly line will help you get to where the fish are. Your local fly shop is the best place to get advice on fly lines, especially in choosing the right line for your fishing needs. Nothing "sinks" a fishing trip faster than arriving with the wrong fly lines for the fishing situations.

Considerations when choosing a Fly Line

Shape and construction: These determine how the line delivers the fly. In fly fishing you want to deliver the fly where and how the fish expect to see their food. So, you must choose the fly line that is designed with the proper length, weight, taper, color, specific gravity and coating for the fishing you want to do.
Length and Weight: A fly line's weight is distributed throughout its length - from 90 to 105 feet or more - but its weight designation (1- through 15-weight) is determined by the weight of the front 30 feet of the fly line. Fly line weights range from a 1-weight to a 15-weight.
Tapers: The way fly lines shoot, turn over a heavy fly, present a small fly delicately, or cast efficiently at long or short distances is through the taper design. The fly line's taper (its outside dimension) is designed by varying the thickness of the line coating. Notice the way a fly line is described - tip, front taper, belly, rear taper, head and running line. All these elements can be varied to change the casting performance of the line. Fly lines are broken into five design categories: the seldom-used level (L), the highly popular weight-forward (WF), double-taper (DT), shooting-taper (ST), and specialty tapers. The fly lines you will use the most are weight-forward, double-taper and specialty.
Color: Some fishermen prefer a brightly colored fly line so they can see where their line is in the air and on the water. It helps them in casting and in knowing where their fly is at all times. Others prefer fly lines that blend in with whatever background they are fishing. Fish see colors, they reason, so why spook them with colors they are not used to seeing? You must decide what color fly line works best for you.
Coating: Fly lines float because they are designed by the manufacturer with tiny air bubbles in the line surface. If instead the manufacturer adds lead or tungsten to the fly line's coating, the line will sink.
Fly lines are constructed of a core, a taper design, and a coating (usually polyvinylchloride). These basic elements are varied to make form follow function. In other words, by changing the core, coating or tapers, the manufacturer can make fly lines that perform best under any fishing situation.

Sinking Fly Lines

Since more than 90 percent of a fish's feeding occurs beneath the surface, you need fly lines that get your fly down, sometimes slowly and at other times very fast.
Full-sinking fly lines are best suited to fishing in still waters. They are designed to get flies down to the level where the fish are feeding. So you need to match the sink rate of the fly line to the fishing conditions.
Fly lines that sink uniformly (evenly) or head first are the best lines to use for fishing still waters (lakes and ponds), because they provide better strike detection. Some sinking fly lines tend to belly in the middle because they do not sink uniformly. The belly creates a sensory disconnect between the fisherman and the fish, so the fisherman fails to detect the strikes before the fish can reject the fly. The uniform-sinking fly lines provide a straight-line connection to the fly, allowing you to detect a high percentage of strikes and catch more fish.

Sinking-tips (best used in moving water)

Sinking-tips are sinking portions of fly line (usually 8 to 15 feet) connected to the front of floating lines. They are excellent for shallow and deep nymphing, for mending fly line to create a drag-free float, and for turning over and sinking very large streamers in river-bank and pool fishing.

Basic Gear Rules

To sum things up:

• For the best advice and choices, buy your fly lines at a fly shop where you can describe your fishing needs and receive the counsel of experienced fishermen.
• The weight of your fly line must match your rod - 6-weight lines for 6-weight rods and so forth.
• The larger the fly, the larger the fly line (and fly rod) needed to cast it.
• Fishing the water column from top to bottom requires both floating and sinking fly lines. As water depth and flow increase, the heavier the sinking fly lines you will need to penetrate it. If you cannot penetrate it to where the fish lie (near bottom), you cannot present the fly in the level at which they are feeding, and you will not catch them.
• Match the type of the fly line to the fishing conditions for which it is designed.
• Take care of your fly line, and it will take care of you.

If you see a line marked "Trout," "Bass," "Bonefish," "Big Game" or the like, you know that it is designed for that species. Fly line designations are indicated on the side of the manufacturer's packages as in these examples: "WF8F" means weight-forward, 8-weight, floating; or "Wet Tip V 13'" means sinking-tip, very fast sinking, 13-foot tip). Then the length of the fly line is given: 90ft./30 yd./27.4m. Each tells you something important about the function of the fly line.

Fly Line Care

Fly lines should be washed in mild soap and water and wiped dry or cleaned with a line cleaner after use, because they accumulate dirt and algae on their surface, making casting difficult and floating fly lines sink.
After cleaning, allow the fly line to dry in the shade (ultraviolet light from the sun destroys the chemicals in a line), or wipe the fly line dry and dress it with lubricant provided by the manufacturer or with Armor-All. Some newer fly lines require less dressing because they have lubricants in the line coating that gradually weep toward the surface.
When you are not fishing the fly line, detach the fly and wind the line onto the reel until your next trip. Long storage on a reel can create reel-coils in the fly line, but to remove the coils you just need to stretch or cast the line.
At the end of the season clean your fly lines thoroughly and wind them back onto their original line spools.
Always keep your fly lines stored out of direct sunlight. The sun's ultraviolet rays and high heat (a hot car trunk, for example) can cause the coating chemicals on the fly line to deteriorate quickly. With proper care your fly lines should last from three to five years under normal use.

Fly Fishing

To start fly fishing you need a fly rod, a line and some artificial flies. The idea is to catch fish by getting them to bite on an imitation of a bug or bait fish on, or just below, the water. Flies are made using thread, wire, beads, feathers, yarn and hair, and are created to look like insects and bait fish at various stages of maturity to attract trout, salmon, pan fish and carp, as well as marine species such as tarpon, bone fish and striped bass.
Most people think of fly fishing as a sport best enjoyed in mountain streams with catches of trout and salmon. Though these types of waters are great places to fly fish, you can also enjoy amazing fly fishing in the warm waters of ponds and lakes, and in salt water - and catch a broad array of fish. There's probably a body of water you can use for fly fishing not too far from where you live.