The Fresh Water Fishing Blog

Today I have a guest post that was written by Elaine Hirsch. Hope you all enjoy it!

Popular Freshwater Fishing Lures

Nothing beats freshwater fishing for yearlong sport. The fishing gets even better in the spring when the fish are beginning to spawn, and if you’re bogged down with work, communicating online, or your PhD program, few things make for a better break. There are many great fresh water lures you can choose from to catch the big fish. These are just three of the most popular ones:

Topwater
Early in the morning or late in the evening and the water is still, pull out this lure at your favorite lake or pond. These lures come in many varieties. Some topwater lures rattle when you jerk the line, some have spinners on the tail section that vibrate and spin when reeled in, and still others will zigzag from side to side while you reel. Whichever you choose, all of these types of lures are designed to attract fish to the surface of the water where they will hit the lure first before taking it down.

Soft Plastic Worm
Using a worm in combination with a Carolina Jig or a Texas Jig will keep the fish biting all year long. There are a variety of colors and even scents that come with this kind of lure. The reason for this is that fish are attracted to one particular color or scent more than another depending on where you’re fishing or even what time of year it is. Use a weedless hook with your worm so you can get your lure where the fish are, in the weeds and under the logs.

Diving Jig
Another popular freshwater lure is the diving lure or jig. This particular lure usually comes as a minnow or a grub and will dive down to a depth or your choosing before slowly ascending back to the surface. When you first cast this lure it will remain floating at the surface. Quickly reeling it in will cause it to suddenly dive below the surface and descend until you stop reeling, when it will rise back to the top. This very closely mimics the behavior of many fishes’ natural prey.

These lures should be good ones to start with, and are worth a try for experienced anglers who haven’t used them before. Use them to take your first steps into the sport, or to expand your repertoire of fishing techniques. Either way, happy fishing!

Technorati Tags: Big Fish, Fishing Lures, Fresh Water, popular fishing lures, soft plastic worm, texas jig

Our family packed up the car and headed out to the NJ Wild Outdoors Expo last Sunday (September 18th).

It wasn’t that bad of a drive, out route 70 and up rte 539 for a bit.

The event was well organized and lots of folks were there for the event. They had a huge parking area and lots of great exhibitors and displays. We walked around checking out the vendors area as well.

There was a civil war era group that had a real cannon which they set off about once an hour – shooting blanks, but boy was it loud! Scared my wife when it went off the first time.

My 8 year old son, loved watching the cannon go off!

I have pictures from the event that I’ll post later.

One thing that surprised me was my son’s interest in fly fishing. He kept talking about it on the drive there and as luck would have it, there was a fly fishing casting exhibit where you could get a quick lesson on how to cast with a fly fishing outfit.

So my son and I signed up for the class and gave it a go. He was a little confused about the reel since he’s used to casting with a spinning outfit. But after a few minutes, he pretty much had the hang of it.

I have read lots of fly fishing books in my downtime, so I understood the concept. But this was the first time I actually got to cast with a fly fishing rig. And it was fun! Lots more exercise than using a spinning rig! (not sure if that’s good or not!)

The instructor was very patient and easy to understand, so the whole group did pretty good by the end of the class.

We bought some lures and some excellent food from the vendors! All in all we had a great time.

Kudos to the NJ Wild Outdoors Expo staff for a job well done on an excellent event!

Looking forward to attending next year’s event!

Catch you later!

Technorati Tags: cannon, fishing outfit, fishing rig, fly fishing rig

Hey – what are you doing on September 17th and/or 18th?

If you don’t have any plans, I HIGHLY recommend you get your family together and go check out the “free” 2nd annual NJ Outdoor Expo!

I attended one of these events before they officially named it the “Wild Outdoor Expo” and took my wife and sons. We had a blast! Lots of fun things for everyone to do.

Check out their official flier here – 2011 Expo Flier

If you need directions – you can get them here – Directions to NJ Wild Outdoor Expo

Make sure you bring a camera – you’ll want to geet some shots of the kids in action!

If you go, come back here and post a link to your photos?

I hope to be there too.

Catch you later!

Technorati Tags: fun things, NJ fishing, NJ hunting, NJ wild outdoor expo, NJ wildlife

I haven’t posted much lately – guess you may know I’ve been very busy.

I did get to go fishing with my younger son a couple times this summer and the last trip was on Labor Day!

Did we catch anything? Sure we did!

I caught a nice largemouth bass! Check it out:

I caught the bass using my “Bass Krusher Rig”! Check out how to make this on my video:

So did my young son catch anything? Sure he did! He was using real worms for bait. He caught some very large sunnies!

Here are a couple pictures:

I hope your Labor Day was filled with fun and relaxation. And I hope you got to do more fishing than I did!

Catch you later!

Technorati Tags: Bass Krusher Rig, Labor Day, largemouth bass, Sunnies

I am going fishing for bass and catfish in a pond in the morning about 6 or 7. I am going to use night crawlers on the bottom and bread at the top for the catfish (4 sum reason bread always seem to work for catfish in this pond) and I am going to use top water lures like the torpedo and the popper for the bass. Any ideas or tips is really appreciated thanks.

for the bass. if you are going that early in the morning try a plastic worm or lizard near the bank. i use a tequila sunrise 7" worm by Berkley you can find them at your local wal-mart catfish try to use some liver, stink bait, hot dogs, bream, and bread like you stated i don’t know what it is that attracts them to bread but i have caught them on bread also if the person who owns the pond feeds the fish that may cause them to eat bread but i don’t know

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Technorati Tags: Bass Fishing, Berkley, Bream, Catfish Fishing, Fishing Tips, Going Fishing, Hot Dogs, Liver, Lizard, Night Crawlers, Plastic Worm, Popper, Quot, Stink Bait, Sum Reason, Tequila Sunrise, Top Water, Torpedo, Wal Mart, Yahoo Answers

I received a message from a rather anonymous poster here on my blog.

I usually don’t bother with these since most of them prove to be spam and I just delete them.

However, this one seemed a little different … so I went ahead and checked it out.

It turneed out to be an ad message about a new electric motor for boats that has just been invented. It’s called the “Walking Gander V3″.

It’s very unique and can go where other electric motors can’t – due to its unique design.

Check it out and let me know what you think?

Technorati Tags: Anonymous Poster, Blog, Electric Boats, Electric Motors, Environmentally Safe, Gander, Motor Boats, Nbsp, New Boats, New Electric, Unique Design

Well, we had a chance to go fishing again, and had a beautiful afternoon on a local lake.

I didn’t catch anything, but had a few pickerel on the line.

My son however, caught a painted turtle! He was using dough balls for bait and there were lots of turtles in the lake.

I warned him to be careful but …

Fortunately I was able to get the turtle off of the hook without harming him.

So I promised some pictures from our last fishing trip and here they are!

The first is a sunfish my son caught and the second is a roach fish.

Had a nice afternoon both times!

Hope you get some time to get out and catch some nice fish as well.

Take care and catch you later.

Technorati Tags: Dough Balls, Fish, Fishing Pictures, Fishing Trip, freshwater fishing, Hook, Nice Afternoon, Painted Turtle, Pickerel, Roach, Turtle, Turtles

Finally had a chance to go fishing last weekend!

First trip this year, so it was important that my 7 year old son had a successful trip!

We stocked up on some worms and took a few lures as well. Checked over the rods and reels and everything looked good!

We were ready to go. So we headed over to our local stream and began fishing. Since there is a current in the stream, I gave my son a few pointers about fishing with a bobber and live bait and letting it drift while keeping the line fairly tight. After a few casts, he had his first fish! Caught a “roach” fish.

A few worms and casts later and he had his second roach. It was late in the day so we didn’t stay real long, but it was still fun for both of us.

Yeah … Dad caught a small roach and a sunny as well.    But most of all, Dad got to spend some quality time with his son!

I’ll post some pictures of the fish next post.

Hope you all have successful fishing trips this year!

Catch you later.

Technorati Tags: Casts, Dad, Drift, First Fish, First Trip, Fishing Bobber, Fishing Trip, Fishing Trips, freshwater fishing, Live Bait, Pointers, Quality Time, Roach, Rods And Reels, Worms

Hi folks,

Just received an e-mail from the NJ Dept of Fish and Wildlife and thought you all might like to read it. So here it is:

When it comes to bass fishing, the Garden State may very well have the nation’s greatest diversity of bass waters and bass fishing opportunities. Mike Iaconelli, a Jersey boy who made it big on the B.A.S.S. pro circuit, credits much of his success to the many different types of New Jersey bass waters he fished as a kid.

Backwoods Angler TV came to New Jersey last summer for bass fishing on two very different bass waters, the Salem Canal in south Jersey and north Jersey’s Lake Hopatcong. The show’s host, Blaine Mengel, fished with NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife fisheries biologist, and B.A.S.S. tournament angler, Chris Smith. Chris knows where the bass are in New Jersey and knows how to catch them. The New Jersey Bassin’ show is a must see for serious bass anglers to hear and learn what our state bass fishing expert knows.

Backwoods Angler TV’s “New Jersey Bassin” show can be viewed on their Web site at http://www.backwoodsanglertv.com/Web_Broadcast.htm.

There’s no better way to spend time in the outdoors than enjoying the fabulous fishing New Jersey has to offer. Don’t miss out this year! Visit http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/fishing_fresh.htm  for freshwater fishing information and to buy and print your fishing license online.

So what are you waiting for?    Go check out that bass fishing show now!

Catch you later!

Technorati Tags: Backwoods, Bass Fishing, Bass Waters, Biologist, Chris Smith, E Mail, Fish And Wildlife, Fishing License, Garden State, Hi Folks, Lake Hopatcong, Many Different Types, Mengel, Mike Iaconelli, Nj Dept Of Fish And Wildlife, S Lake, Salem Canal, Tournament Angler, Water Bass, Wildlife Fisheries

So you’ve caught your favorite freshwater fish – congratulations! How are you going to cook it? Well …
If you’d like some tips on how to make your fish taste as good as it can, I think you’ll like today’s guest post by Benjamin Castillo!

10 Cooking Tips for Freshwater Catches

According to the American Heart Association, two servings of fish per week provide omega-3 fatty acids, which can prevent plaque buildup and may help reduce triglyceride levels in the blood. While this comes as good news to seafood lovers, many others are apprehensive about adding fish to their diet, simply because they don’t know how to prepare it in such a way so it will taste good. However, this can be remedied without having to take classes at one of the many cooking schools found online. Read on to discover some tips that will help you get the most flavor out of your freshwater fish.

1.) Make sure the fish you’re using is fresh. Fresh fish should not smell fishy, and should have a moist, shiny appearance with rosy pink gills.

2.) Be careful not to use too much water when cleaning your fish, as this tends to firm the meat.

3.) Consider the type of fish you are preparing. The color of the meat, its flavor and its texture all play a role in determining the best cooking method. Fish with lighter meat, such as catfish, should be broiled or poached, while darker, firmer meats, like that found on trout, can benefit from the enhanced smokiness of the grill.

4.) Know when to say “when” during the cooking process. Fish is done when it is white in color and is flaky. If you overcook your fish, you will end up with a tough and flavorless piece of meat.

5.) If you are considering frying your fish, stick with a dryer fish, like trout, rather than one that contains a lot of oil, such as salmon. Fish with a lot of oil will stay too moist for any breading to properly adhere and crisp, resulting in a soggy mess.

6.) Deep frying is a popular method for cooking catfish. However be sure that whatever oil you decide to use will not smoke or burn at or below 375 degrees, as this temperature is required to properly deep fry your fish.

7.) When grilling meatier fish, consider using indirect heat. This will slow down the cooking process, allowing the center of the fish to cook without burning the outer skin.

8.) A common mistake that people make when cooking fish is turning it too many times. If the fish is less than a half-inch thick, no turning is required.

9.) Cooking fish in the microwave can be problematic, due to the inability to constantly view the fish. A good rule of thumb is to cook fish for about eight to ten minutes per inch of thickness.

10.) One of the best parts about cooking fish is that any leftovers can be frozen. Leaner fish can last up to six months, while fattier fish only last about three months. Regardless, leftover fish should be thrown away when the meat becomes mushy.

Clearly freshwater fish are an excellent addition to any diet. However, cooking a delicious meal using these fish doesn’t have to be a mysterious process. With a little research and practice, anyone can create a delicious, nutritious meal for their friends and family!

Thank you Benjamin!

Hope that helps give you some better tasting fresh water fish on your plates!

‘Til next time, I’ll catch you later.

Technorati Tags: 3 Fatty Acids, American Heart Association, catfish, Cooking Method, Cooking Schools, Cooking Tips, Fish Stick, Fish Taste, Fresh Fish, Freshwater Fish, Gills, Omega 3 Fatty Acids, Piece Of Meat, Plaque Buildup, Salmon Fish, Seafood Lovers, Shiny Appearance, Soggy Mess, Triglyceride Levels, Trout