Check out the resources below to hone your skills for this years season.

• Things Not To Do While Fishing

• Fishing Tackle for Beginners

• Artificial Bait

Some friendly reminders while jockeying for position on the lake.

• Be courteous to your fellow anglers – I have had many days ruined by an obnoxious fisher.
• If all your peers are floating bobbers on the top, don’t run a crank bait over their lines. That’s just rude!
• Be sure to refrigerate the worms and the beer. Not sure which is worse, warm beer or smelly dried up worms.

Below are some pics of our 2016 season.

Don was nice enough to share a recent fishing story with fishingforbeginners.net recently.  Thanks Don for sharing your fishing story with us.

“The fish you see is a smallmouth bass that was caught from Wildcat Lake in Boulder Junction Wisconsin.

Wildcat is one of three lakes in a chain. The others are Big and Little Kitten Lakes. They’re found just north of Boulder Junction on County M in Vilas County. Although these lakes are all Class A muskie waters, Wildcat is good for smallmouth bass. Largemouths can be caught on all three of the lakes. Crappies are very good there.

I look for rocks. Typically, smallies relate to the rocks while the largemouth relate to the weeds.   Another key to success there is to find rocks near deeper water. The smallmouth will move from deeper water up to shallower water and use rocky drop offs for their travel route.

I fish for these hard fighting fish with plastics. Tubes, beaver baits and wacky worms work well. If I had to choose one of the three, I’d go with a 5 inch Strike King Ocho or Shim E Stick worm fished wacky worm style. Keep in mind though that day by day will depict what these fish want. Wacky worms seem to work the best most often on these relatively clear lakes.

If I’m fishing shallow water, less than 5 feet, I’ll just use an octopus hook and no weights. If I’m finding fish on the drop offs and deeper water, I’ll use a wacky worm jig.

I enjoy fishing these lakes and so many others in the Boulder Junction area. Within 10 miles of town one can find 194 lakes to fish. There are no excuses for a bad day on the water. If one lake is not on, pull the boat out of the water and go down the road to another lake. You will find active fish somewhere be it on a large or small lake.

The smallie in the photo was caught at mid-day in late May on a wacky worm in about 15 feet of water near a rocky drop off. It was a pumpkinseed colored worm. Water temps were still pretty cool, in the low 60s and clear. You could tell the difference between a nickel and a quarter in 5 feet of water.

I fish the Boulder Junction area spring, summer and fall. In that it’s only about 6 hours from my suburban Chicagoland home, it’s an easy drive. And as I say at the end of all my TV shows, that means “Great fishing is not that far away/” tm.”

Don Dziedzina
Illinois Outdoors, Inc.

I am looking forward to wonderful 2015 fishing season this year.  I plan to add many more articles over the next coming months, that I hope are informative, educational and possibly humerus as well.  I also plan to post many more videos this year with some new technology that I have acquired.  If there are any articles or topics that you would like to read about please feel free to email me at adam@fishingforbeginners.net.

So far the topics that I have lined up this year to write about are as follows.

• Best fishing locations for the 2015 fishing season
• Expansion of fly fishing techniques
• Expansion of striped bass fishing techniques
• Expansion of shark fishing techniques
• Expansion of cooking recipes

Keep your comments coming in.  I love to hear your feedback.  Looking forward to the spring and posting many trophy fish photos soon!

I speculate that we have reached a point in our evolution of mankind where the “need” to fish is no longer present.  However it still reminds us that we are connected with nature.  So what are the benefits that we still get out of fishing even if we go home empty handed?  There are numerous health benefits that I will discuss in this article.

Fishing is one of the most relaxing sports at times.  It gives our bodies and minds a chance to relax and rebuild form our stressful lives.  Fishing offers us a time to de-stress from all of the concerns and worries we have in or professional and family lives.  It gives us a chance to recapture memories from our youth and be reminded of the joys we had fishing as a child.

Some fishermen may actually persue fishing for the exact opposite reason.  Seeking excitement from a boring week at work.  Looking to break free from society and get the adrenaline rush of hooking into a big Bass or Trout.  Either way it offers stress release and an opportunity to get more in tune with nature.

Just being out in the sun and fresh air for a few hours has a very powerful impact on ones health.  Sunlight is an excellent source of vitamin D and being surrounded by Trees in the woods provided a high oxygen intake.  Getting away from the air pollutants of the inner cities and taking a step away from industrialized society can do wonders for the mind and body.

Fish is also a great source of lean protein.  My mother always used to say “fish is great brain food” and she was absolutely correct as it was not until we as human beings begin to consume large amounts of protein were we able to develop such large brains.  Our brains require a large protein intake and what better way to get it than catching one of natures best sources of protein. 

Fishing also is a great light exercise.  It is not very strenuous, unless you plan on going deep sea fishing.  It is a simple and good upper body workout, especially if you plan on casting a fishing rod all day long.  If you are planning on fishing just to get some light exercise you may want to incorporate a stretching routine into the start of your fishing day to make it even more of a beneficial experience for your body.  Bluegill fishing or Perch fishing provides fast paced action that keeps your body active for long periods of time.

Maybe your idea of a successful fishing day is just getting away from society, your family and all of your troubles.  Fishing is a great way to just mentally relax and acclimate yourself to the slow pace of nature.  There are numerous studies that indicate the great health benefits of meditation and relaxation and fishing is a great time to practice meditation or another form of mental relaxation.  It is a wonderful feeling to be completely relaxed only to be waken up by the drag of your fishing line screaming with a big fish on the line.

Another great health benefit of fishing is that of family health.  It gives a father and son or mother and daughter or the entire family a chance to reconnect with one another.  It’s slow pace provides an ideal opportunity to talk and catch up on life’s challenges and excitements.  Being surrounded by a peaceful setting also helps to take the edge off of talking about a serious issue that your family may be facing.  Some of the absolute best advice and guidance has come from my parents while fishing. 

All of this being said, I would highly recommend spending a day fishing this summer, not just for fun but for the numerous health benefits it provides as well.

I have seen some Striper fisherman near the electric company however,  you may get lucky and land a stayover bass inside the hurricane barrier.  Another option would be to head north to Vermon, New Hampshire and Maine where the ice fishing has started, just be sure to call the local DEM office first, before you head out onto the ice.

Most species metabolism has slowed down, however some of the larger Bass and Pike may be heading into shallower waters finding comfort in the shade that is provided by the ice.  If you can find a decent hole in the ice it may be worth the effort of droppind a live shiner or grub to see what is arround.

Some decent size Pike have been landed around this time of the season close to shore using live bait whith no weight or bobber.

One may speculate that fishing is an activity that links us to our more primal beings providing for our families as hunters and gatherers, as we must have performed this action of fishing for hundreds of centuries.  It must be ingrained in us all, the activity is built right into our DNA.  We must feel this connection with fishing as the matter that is of fish is the matter of us.  We are the fish and the fish are us.  They are made of the same atoms and carbon as we are, not just because we may have all descended from a common ancestor, but because we have been feeding on the species for thousands of years. 

We truly must respect the fish as if it was not for them providing us high levels of protein we would have never evolved into the thinking species we are today.  Fishing is truly an act that links us with our past in a very biological and chemical way.  I know when I am fishing I feel extremely connected with all that is around me, it almost places me on another plateau of consciousness.  Maybe it is just because I force myself to be self aware of my surroundings, but I deeply feel there is something else on a spiritual level.  The ironic thing is that when I feel spiritually connected with the activity of fishing I catch more fish.  When I really think about the fish/nature and what they are providing  for me I have successful fishing trips.  On the contrary when I am just eager to catch fish I generally go home empty handed.

It is only when I have a deep level of respect for nature and for fishing do I catch fish.  The strangest part of this is when I reach this level of relaxation and connectedness I could care less even if I do catch fish.  Like many things in life it is like taking a leap of faith.  If you are just eager to catch fish, you probably wont.  But if you take the time to fully understand nature you will.  But by the time it takes you to fully understand nature you may not want to disturb the tranquility of what it is. 

I always try to keep a high level of respect for the fish and nature while fishing.  I only take what I need to provide for myself and for my family.  When you catch your first fish you cannot help but feel excited, but I am sure that every veteran fisherman has had to make the decision to keep or throw back.  I feel that it is at this moment you are making the decision to respect nature or not.  I urge all fisherman to respect nature and only take what is needed for you and your families and not to be wasteful.  

I also urge all beginner fisherman to take the time to realy understand nature and your surroundings.  Do this not to catch more fish, but to experience fishing on a whole new level of enjoyment.  Catching fish is just one small piece of the entire experience.

Good Luck and Tight Lines.

According to Samantha Joye of the department of marine sciences that is some places on the sea floor there is still oil as much as two inches thick on the sea floor.  This cannot be good for the micro-organisms and other small life forms on the sea floor.  I am sure that this will have an impact of the species higher up in the food chain.  I honestly care less about my little recreational fishing trip and fear more for the commercial fisherman that live and work in that area.  I have read that the local fisherman in that area are concerned that they will make their customers sick.  Even though that they have been told that it is safe for them to return to work. 

It was only on July 15’th when the oil spill was capped.  Which means that it has only been three months since it was capped.  There are still many questions from local and recreational fisherman in terms how this will affect thier industry.  Unfortunately a disaster of this magnituted has never happened before so unfortenately we will just have to wait and see the affects of this incident.

Another concern of mine, which I hope has been considered is that if the oil is collecting on the sea floor and the local shrimp fisherman are allowed to return to work, wont this just “stir up” the oil that has been collecting on the sea floor.  Not to mention if the oil is collecting on the sea floor.  Isn’t this the same place that shrimp live?  I have a hard time believing that shrimp of all things would be safe to eat in the near future.  I hate to say this because I would hate to put any shrimp fisherman out of work,  as they are some of the hardest workers I know.   At least it was good to hear that many of the shrimp fisherman were hired by BP to collect oil using the booms and skimmers.

On the flips side of the story however the Gulf coast seafood may be the most heavily tested food in the country at the moment.  I am sure that all of the catches are going through even more extensive testing due to the oil spill.  

The underwater plooms that have been seen just suspended in the water could also be a concern for fisherman.  The krill and/or other smaller organisms that are a key component to the food chain live in this area of the water.  Smaller bait fish also must be swimming through these plooms.  The European Space Agency has reported that as much as 20 percent of juvenile tuna may has been killed by the oil spill.  On a Macro level that is an amazing statistic.  If this spill is affecting tuna at this level how will it affect the smaller species of fish in this column of water.   It has been said that the tuna population has decreased as much as 80% over the last 30 years.  This oil spill is the last event needed for the fishing industry. 

I am hopefull that much of the oil has been collected before it enteres the loop current thant many eastern fisherman are concerned about.  If the oild does enter the loop current it may travel as far north as Maine. 

Unfortunately I and many others have more questions than answers on this subject as a disaster of this maginitude has never happened before.  I just hope that this does not have a negative impact on the recreational fishing industry, but I hope even more that this does not have long term enviremental effects.