Species-Specific Angling
The many water environments offer wonderful fishing opportunities for anglers of all ages and skill levels. But some anglers find it more wonderful than others.
As in all fishing, understanding the biology of the water you are fishing gives the knowledgable angler an edge. Too often anglers just "go fishing." They do not understand the nature of their quarry and become frustrated with their lack of success.
Fish are creatures of habit, economy, and sensitivity; and although most fish have much in common, each species has its own peculiarities. Fish are not known as great thinkers; but they do survive and thrive by being great responders to changes in their environment. A moving shadow, a color, darkness, light, current speed, and a rock pile can be signals of danger, food, or sanctuary. Understanding how a fish responds to its environment is essential to consistent angling success in inconsistent situations. As an angler learns more about the fish and its environment, choices of gear and presentation can be refined to fit the moment.
Basics to consider are water temperature, oxygen-saturation levels, season, lighting, time of day, structure, barometric pressure, and current seams. Even the acidity or alkalinity, moon phase, and water color influence fish and their food chain.
Sounds daunting, doesn't it? But, for the most part, to have a successful and enjoyable time on the water, some very basic approaches will result in increasing your odds of catching fish. These basics will be discussed in each section of "Freshwater."
Fishing is a grand puzzle, partly solving with angling experience. However, it defies complete solution as we well know, because even the most experienced angler can sometimes be outfished by a novice who has discovered a new piece of the grand puzzle -- or was simply in the right place at the right time. The combination of skill and chance is what makes angling so addicting to many of us. Join us on these pages in trying to learn more of the grand puzzle.