TACKLE BOXES

Flambeau Saltwater Box

Dual lid access to top compartment has a place to hold 2000 series boxes and a removable bait hanger. Includes 1-7004R Double Deep box and 2-6004R boxes. Zerust corrosion proof. 21" x 12.25" x 14.5"

ELECTRIC REELS

Electric reels are designed for fisherman to the full enjoyment of fighting the fish and feeling the pull without the hard work and tiring effort of cranking. The angler still sets the drag depending on the line choice and fishing conditions and has the choice of playing the fish by letting the drag hold on the up stroke and winding in on the down stroke or in allowing the motor to do all the work.

WHEN TO FISH

Spring/Early Morning

Fish aren't biting. The water is cold and doesn't heat up because the sun is low and the rays bounce off the water. But don't go home yet, because winter is over and fish are hungry and spawning. Best to wait until a week or so after thaw, as spring turnover takes time for the water temperature to even out to 39.2 degrees.

Spring/Late Morning-Early Afternoon

Fish are biting off and on. The water begins to warm up because rays begin to penetrate the water. Remember to fish the downwind shoreline, as the winds will push the warmer surface water along with surface food into that area.

Spring/Afternoon-Early Evening

Fish are eating a lot because their metabolism and digestion are cranked. Water is warm because the sun is directly overhead.

Summer/Early Morning-Late Afternoon

Fishing is excellent from before sunup to just before mid-morning. At this time of year there is abundant food and cover for fish, so finding hungry fish can be a challenge.

Summer/Late Morning-Early Afternoon
Fishing is poor for most of the day. Fish move to deep water to cool off.

Summer/Afternoon-Early Evening

Fishing is excellent from early sundown until dark as the waters cool and fish rise up from the depths.

Fall/Early Morning

Fish aren't biting much from sunup to early morning. The water is cool because the sun is too low to penetrate the water.

Fall/Late Morning-Noon

Fish are biting off and on in warmer, shallow water. The water is generally cool due to the season.

Fall/Afternoon-Early Evening

Fishing is excellent. Sun is directly overhead for several hours and the water gets more comfortable near the surface. This makes for seasonally good fishing because fish are putting on weight for the winter. Look for bait schools where bigger fish are more likely to be.

SETTING THE HOOK

Setting the Fly Hook In Running Water
When you're fishing across and downstream, your line will be tight and you will recognize how the current feels against your fly. Set the hook as soon as you feel anything different on the line. But don't go crazy. Just a quick wrist movement should do it., moving both the line and the rod back and up. Straight, quick casting makes this technique work.

Setting the Fly Hook in Still Water
Cast your line, pull in a bit of line with your left hand. Hold the line. It's called twitch retrieving. But don't twitch your rod tip. Continue drawing and holding line until you feel the line tighten. Then keep drawing in line until the rod starts to bend on its own. Then hold tight on the line and raise your rod tip.

Setting the Fly Hook in Salt Water
Similar to still water hook setting but everything is bigger. Draw more line with each twitch and tip the rod hard, with both hands. You're using bigger hooks that don't penetrate as easily. And you're trying to hook a bigger fish.

Setting the Fly Hook in Flats
Fish living in saltwater flats don't act like other saltwater fish. You can't really feel them hit the fly. If you can see the fish, wait until it looks like it's changing direction to run away with his catch. Wait a second or two and then pull in about a foot of line. If you feel the fish, set the hook. And several times if need be.

SWIVELS

This is a small device with two or more eyes (rings) and a central swiveling part. They're used between a lure or leader and your line to prevent line twisting or tangling from a revolving lure or a barrel-rolling fish.

FISH HOOKS

The earliest known evidence of the fish hook dates back to Palestine more than 9,000 years ago. Over the centuries, hooks have been made of wood, animal and human bone, horn, shells, stone, bronze, and iron. Today, hooks are manufactured from either high-carbon steel, steel alloyed with Vanadium or stainless steel.

Single, Double and Treble Hooks

Single hooks have a single eye, shank and point. But the eye, shank, point and bend characteristics can be combined to create hundreds of different hooks for different types of fish and fishing methods. Most sport fish are caught on some sort of single hook, whether it's a hook with bait attached, a hook attached to a lure or hook with a fly.

Double hooks have a single eye merged with two shanks and points. They're formed from a single piece of wire and may or may not have their shanks brazed together for strength. Double hooks are molded into some artificial lures and are a traditional hook for Atlantic salmon flies. Otherwise they're fairly uncommon.

Treble hooks have a single eye merged with three shanks and three evenly spaced points. They're formed by adding a single, eyeless hook to a double hook and brazing all three shanks together. Treble hooks are used on all sorts of artificial lures and for a variety of bait applications.

FISHING LURES

The fishing lures are attached at the end of the rod, from the hook, and they can come in all sizes, shapes or colors, depending on the type of fish it is meant to catch. They are designed to attract fish, resembling their natural prey in movement and appearance. If wrongly placed they can have the opposite effect: scare the fish away.

The rate of catching fish decreases greatly without a fishing lure. They hugely varied from the classic rubber worm to glowing in the dark lures to chameleonic little high tech creatures. The hook (or hooks – some have 3) is/are close to the lure so that the fish will bite it and get stuck. That’s the moment when the fisher pulls his rod and brings the catch to the surface. Experienced fishermen will cast and pull the rod, sinking the lure to imitate the act of swimming. This way it convinces the fish to approach and bite the artificial prey.

FISHING LINES

Fishing lines are resistant cords used for fishing. They vary in strength, visibility, cast ability or stretch. Additionally some lines are made to submerge and others are meant to float across the surface of the water. Just like baits are designed to work in different environments such as saltwater, freshwater cold or warm waters. Their resistance depends on the kind of fish you want to catch or the method of fishing you choose to employ. They are very durable - some very think for large fish - but they are not unbreakable. Some toxic liquids can damage it so you should be very careful how you preserve it – the best solution is to clean it regularly. Otherwise, a fishing trip can turn into a disaster.

Initially, fishing lines were made out of horse hair, linen or silk covered in a waterproof compound. Today they are made of nylon, polyethylene or Dacron. When a fishing line is made of a single strand it is called monofilament. Some have in their composition fluorocarbon, which makes it less visible to the fish. The drawback is that they get damaged easily, by exposure to sunlight or longer holding under deep waters. There are also Superlines that do not stretch that much and have a smaller span but which are very strong. They are more powerful than steel but are as a result very expensive.

FISHING RODS

Fishing rods are usually associated with the sport of angling. They vary in length from 60cm to approximately 6 meters. The longer the fishing rod, the farther it is the launch and the reach. The types of rods are as many as the types of fishing locations and fish species.

They can be made of carbon fiber, poles which are used in Europe for coarse fishing. They can reach 19 meters in length and a price of over 7000 Euros. Sea rods, as the name suggests, are designed to catch big fish from the seas or the oceans. They are very thick to resist the strain of long matches with huge fish and they usually include extremely heavy systems. Spinning rods vary from 1, 5 meters to 2, 6 meters. They are typically used in North America for sport fishing trout, walleye, bass and pike. Using live bait they can be used in saltwater when they are equipped with elongated grip handles. Fly rod, are used for fly fishing and are thin and very flexible, made of fiberglass or graphite composites. The baits are flies, feathers or other light colorful material. Their size depends on the type of fish you want to catch.

Fishing reels are essential for practicing angling. They launch or retrieve the fishing line that goes along the fishing rod. Some fishing rods are attached directly on the boat. They were invented in America, in 1820, by George Snyder and shortly became accepted by all anglers.

Fly fishing reels are used for fly casting and it consists of releasing line from the reel while launching the rod. These were the most popular, with a simple system that was generally used for catching small fish. New fly fishing rods are very resistant, bearing high temperatures resulted from friction. They can be automatic that use a mechanism which pulls the line at the smallest flick of the handle. They are highly functional but can be too heavy. There are fly fishing reels especially designed for deep waters like the ocean or sea, usually saltwater. They are massive in construction and can hold heavy catches of big fish or in case of long retrieval matches.

FISHING REELS

1: Pick up or bail 2: Reel seat 3: Reel foot 4: Handle 5: Support arm 6: Anti-reverse lever 7: Skirted spool 8: Fishing line 9: Drag adjustment knob

LIVE LINING

Your line is “live” when your boat is anchored in a flowing body of water like a river or stream. Use live or prepared baits and keep them on or just off the bottom. Live lining off the bottom allows your line to drift with the current through holes and rocks where the fish may be holding. Your equipment and the size of your hooks and lures depend on what type of fish you’re after.

CHUMMING

To attract fish or get them biting again, you can throw “chum” into the water where you’re fishing. You can use ground-up bait fish, canned sweet corn, dead minnows in a coffee can (for ice fishing), pet food, even breakfast cereal. Or stir up some natural chum by scraping the bottom with a boat oar. Be sure not to over-chum. You want to get them interested in feeding; you do not want to stuff them before they get a chance to go after your hook. Chumming is not legal in all states. Check local fishing regulations to make sure you are not illegally stimulating the hunger of your future catch.

JIG AND WORM

Attach a worm to your jig hook and use it to bottom hop or sweep through your target area. To bottom hop, cast to the target and let the jig sink. Then reel in slowly, twitching the rod with every third or fourth turn of your reel. To sweep, cast to the target and drag the jig parallel to the bottom while reeling with a fairly tight line. Slow and steady gets the fish when you’re sweeping with a jig and worm.

TROLLING

Most trolling is done using a small electric motor that moves the boat quietly through the water so fish aren’t spooked. But you can also troll by towing a lure while walking along the edge of a shoreline, bridge or pier. The speed of the boat determines the depth of your bait. And the depth of the bait is determined by the species of fish you’re trying to catch. Use a spinning reel or a bait caster for trolling. Some states don’t allow motorized trolling, so check out your local fishing regulations to avoid tangling with the fish enforcers.

JIGGING

Jig fishing is popular and challenging. Why? Because the person fishing is creating the action that attracts, or doesn’t attract, the particular type of fish he or she is trying to catch. Here’s how it works. Cast out and let your jig hook sink to the bottom. Then use your rod tip to raise the bait about a foot off the bottom. Then let it drop back to the bottom. You can jig up and down, side to side or up and down and sideways. Jig rigs come in all sizes, shapes and colors, and can be used with or without live bait.

DRIFT FISHING

Drift fishing allows you to fish over a variety of habitats as your boat drifts with the currents or wind movement. You can drift fish on the bottom or change the depth with a bobber or float. Natural baits work best. But jigs, lures and artificial flies will produce good results, too. You can drift fish on ponds, lakes, rivers and streams any time of the day and year.

BAIT CASTING

Bait casting is a style of fishing that relies on the weight of the lure to extend the line into the target area. Bait casting involves a revolving-spool reel (or “free spool”) mounted on the topside of the rod. Bait casting is definitely an acquired skill. Once you get the hang of the technique (check out the casting animation), you will be casting your lures right on target into the structures where fish are feeding and hanging out.

With bait casting, you can use larger lures (1/2 to 3/4) and cast them for longer distances. To get started, you’ll need a rod with good spring action, a good quality anti-backlash reel, 10–15 pound test line and a variety of specific bait casting lures.

STILL FISHING

Still fishing is a versatile way to go. You can do it from a pier, a bridge, an anchored boat or from shore. You can still fish on the bottom or off the bottom in ponds, lakes, rivers and streams for a variety of species. And you can still fish during most seasons and during any part of the day. Your equipment and the size of the hooks and bait you use depends on what kind of fish you¹re after. But your best equipment for still fishing is patience. You have to wait for the fish to bite.

FLY FISHING

With fly fishing, various materials are used to design a very lightweight lure called a fly. Fish think the fly is an insect and they take the bait on, or just above, the surface of the water. It takes a little practice, but fly fishing is a pure and exciting way to fish.

Unlike other casting methods, fly fishing can be thought of as a method of casting line rather than lure. Non-fly fishing methods rely on a lure's weight to pull line from the reel during the forward motion of a cast. By design, a fly is too light to be cast, and thus simply follows the unfurling of a properly cast fly line, which is heavier and casts easier than lines used in other types of fishing. The angler normally holds the fly rod in the dominant hand and manipulates the line with the other close to the reel, pulling line out in small increments as the energy in the line, generated from backward and forward motions, increases.

SPIN CASTING

We won’t say it’s foolproof, but spin casting is an ideal fishing method for beginning anglers. Spin-casting equipment is easier to use than bait casting. You can use it to cast both light and heavy lures without tangling or breaking your line. Basic equipment includes a 7-foot rod, a spinning reel and 6–10 pound test line for casting 1/16 to 3/4 ounce lures. You can use an open-face, closed-face or spin-cast reel for spin casting.