The Essential Fishing Handbook: 179 Essential Hints

by Joe Cermele

Overview

This compact yet comprehensive guide includes all the essential fishing information that novices and lifelong fisherman need, from the best lures and flies to hints for landing a wide range of fresh- and saltwater species.

Gear guide: Get the lowdown on the most recent, old school and high tech gear, what you need and what’s not worth the money.

Tips and Tricks: Fresh or salt water, deep sea or the nearby stream, in a boat or on land, find all the top tricks for every setting.

Hook’em: Striper, sea bass, salmon and every species in between, all the need-to-know information per species.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681881072
Publisher:	Weldon Owen
Publication date:	06/14/2016
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	134,447
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 6.50(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Joe Cermele was named Fishing Editor for Field & Stream in 2011. His writing appears monthly in the magazine, he blogs weekly on Field & Stream's website, and also hosts and produces Field & Stream's "Hook Shots," an award-winning web-based fishing show with a punk-rock edge. Cermele has fished all over the country and abroad, but when he's not traveling on assignment, you can find him on his boat chasing tuna and striped bass off the Jersey coast, pitching tubes to smallmouth bass on the Delaware River, or fly fishing for trout in New York's Catskill Mountains.

Read an Excerpt

Tip 40: Make the Ultimate Ice-Fishing Bucket
 
GET A BUCKET Start with a standard plastic 5-gallon bucket with a lid to haul gear and provide a seat.
 
ADD BUNGEE CORDS Wrapped near the rim, they secure jigging rods and tip-ups to the side of the bucket.
 
ORGANIZE Stash all nonmetallic items with a small tool belt fastened around the bucket. Now you’ve got a great place to stash things like hand warmers, tissues, plastic boxes, bobbers, and even some snacks.
 
VELCRO IT Attach a cushion or a piece of 3-inch (7.5 cm) foam to the lid. Using Velcro rather than glue allows you to remove the foam easily if it needs to be cleaned or replaced. And it will.
 
GET A GRIP The handle can also be a storage spot. Get a golf towel (one that comes with an attached clip) and snap it on. Tie on other items that you will use regularly, such as line clippers and a bottle opener.
 
GET ATTACHED To create handy holders for metal items, buy an assortment of inexpensive magnets. Attach them to the bucket sides with all-purpose glue, such as Gorilla Glue. Set the magnets wherever needed to keep pliers, hooks, and lures easy to reach.
 

Table of Contents

Tools

1 Use the All-Time 15 Greatest Lures

2 Meet 15 New Classics

3 Rig Me Softly

4 Fish the Top 10 Freshwater Baits

5 Pick the Best Reel for the Job

6 Get Some Guidance

7 Perform Emergency Guide Repairs

8 Let the Rod Do the Work

9 Have a Cane-Do Attitude

10 Know Your Bluegill

11 Put On the Brakes

12 Unravel Backlashed Line

13 Overhaul Your Reel in 15 Minutes

14 Choose the Right Line

15 Lead the Way

16 Tie a Palomar Knot

17 Get into Heavy Metal

18 Adjust Your Bobber to the Fish

19 Change Hooks for Better Fishing

20 Play the Baiting Game

21 Gain Some Weight

22 Tie a Clinch Knot

23 Rig a Slip Bobber

24 Properly Sharpen a Fishhook

25 Make It Snappy

26 Use the Best Trout Fly for the Job

27 Tie a Five-Minute Fly

28 Know Your Bugs

29 Practice Animal Magnetism

30 Jig Your Buck

31 Catch a Trout's Attention

32 Make Flies, Not Bugs

33 Join the Bass Bug Revolution

34 Experience Fatal Attraction

35 Get the Inside Scoop on Fly Reels

36 Understand Your Fly Reel

37 Get in Line

38 Accessorize Your Tackle Box

39 Make an Essential Repair Kit

40 Make the Ultimate Ice-Fishing Bucket

41 Pick the Most Important Tool

42 Know Your Northern Pike

43 Hit the Ice Two Ways

44 Pick a Rod with Reach

45 Drift On

46 Know Your Blue Catfish

47 Know Your Rainbow Trout

48 Tie a Trucker's Hitch Knot

49 Cast from a Kayak

50 Back Your Trailer Easily

51 Know Your Steelhead

52 Protect Your Trailer Lights

Techniques

53 Crank Up Your Spring

54 Catch Bass Without a Boat

55 Get the Bass Bugs Out

56 Do Some Heavy Lifting

57 Know Your Largemouth Bass

58 Wake 'Em Up

59 Strike in the Night

60 Make the Perfect Pitch

61 Thaw Out a Trout

62 Spot and Stalk Trout

63 Perfect the Parachute Cast

64 Master the Mend

65 Fly in the Cold

66 Dredge a Fall Steelie

67 Follow the Crappie Highways

68 Slide a Grub

69 Get Into the Grass

70 Catch Your Biggest Bluegill of the Year

71 Drop In on Spring 'Gills

72 Tag-Team Winter Perch

73 Take a Shot in the Dock

74 Get Post-Ice Air

75 Go Long, Wide, and Deep for Walleyes

76 Fish a Weed-Cutter Rig

77 Weed Out Trophy Walleyes

78 Know Your Walleye

79 Do a Fall Minnow Double-Take

80 Land a Pike or Muskie from Your Kayak

81 Pack the Pliers

82 Hook a Hard-To-Catch Trophy Pike

83 Lure a Big Bad Pike

84 Read a Pike Bay

85 Know Your Chain Pickerel

86 Go Shallow for Postspawn Muskies

87 Strike Quick to Get That Muskie

88 Dog a Muskie

89 Mesmerize a Muskie

90 Flip a Muskie the Bird

91 Know Your Muskellunge

92 Use the Right Cat Rig

93 Go Bullish on Bullheads

94 Catch a Reservoir Cat

95 Feed the Kitty

96 Go Bobbing for Cats

97 Skin a Tasty Cat

98 Score a Midsummer Striper

99 Give a Dam

100 Pull Big Live Baits

101 Work the Inshore Hit List

102 Dance the Jig

103 Bob an Eel

104 Rig an Eel for Stripers

105 Go from Pond to Bayou

106 Get the Gaff

107 Work a Pencil Popper

108 Sting a Flattie

109 Snap Some Rubber

110 Know Your Striped Bass

Tactics

111 Beat the Weeds for Fall Trout

112 Find a Secret Fishing Spot

113 Know Your Crappie

114 Avoid Double-Haul Mistakes

115 Unstick Yourself

116 Know Your Cutthroat Trout

117 Master 8 Minnow Tricks for Trout

118 Play to a Surface-Feeding Trout

119 Drop Right In

120 Know Your Brown Trout

121 Fish with Your Eyes

122 Hook More Rising Fish

123 Know Your Flathead Catfish

124 Drift and Dredge

125 Get the Drop on Bass

126 Pull Bass from Beneath the Boards

127 Keep on the Grass

128 Know Your Smallmouth Bass

129 Take It to the Slopes

130 Cast the Cranks of Spring

131 Knock on Wood

132 Throw a One-Two Bass Punch

133 Know Your Yellow Perch

134 Learn Deep Secrets

135 Take the Long Shot

136 Catch Walleyes Six Ways

137 Get a Big Yellow

138 Catch Nighttime Smallmouths

139 Know YOUR Brook Trout

140 Find Trout in the Dark

141 Know Your Carp

142 Flatline for Crappies

143 Adjust the Contrast

144 See a Cat in the Dark

145 Power Up

146 Know Your Chinook Salmon

147 Cherry-Pick the Trees

148 Beat the Draw-Down

149 Reign in the Rain

150 Cover the Cover

151 Go Slingin' in the Rain

152 Give In to Blind Ambition

153 Know When You're on Thin Ice

154 Jig Big Lakers in Skinny Water

155 Be a Walleye Puppet Master

156 Drill Down on It

157 Catch a Shad-Mad Cat

158 Get a Jump on Stealthy Snook

159 Know Your Red Drum

160 Find Stripers in the Dark

161 Pop On Over