How to Catch Fish
Kevin Felts 07.04.18
Let’s take a few minutes and talk about how to catch fish. According to an article posted on the BBC, the worlds oldest fishhooks date back 23,000 years. If stone age people were using bone hooks to catch fish, then we should have no problem with our wide assortment of lures, reels and rods made from space age materials, right?
While the tools have changed over the millennia, the game has remained unchanged. Fish have a predator/prey relationship just like everything else. In the case of fish, big fish eat little fish. Find the habitat and the little fish that stay in the area, and chances are you are going to find big fish.
Fish Habitat
It is impossible to discuss all aquatic habitat in one article, so let’s narrow it down to perch, crappie and bass.
- Lily pads
- Submerged logs
- Fallen trees in the water
- Tree stumps
- Around the base of cypress trees
Anywhere small fish can hide from large fish. Typically, lily pads grow in water no more than around four or six feet deep. However, some types of lily pads can grow in water up to 15 feet deep.
After Christmas, it is not uncommon to see boats loaded with Christmas trees heading to Lake Sam Rayburn here in Southeast Texas. The trees are submerged to create habitat, then the people will go back in a few weeks, or a few months, and fish around the sunken trees.
Then there is water temperature.
Bait For Catching Fish
Not only do fish eat smaller fish, they also eat a wide range of bugs, worms, crawfish, and just about anything that fits in their mouth. With that in mind, what should the bait look and act like?
Then there is motion. I have always heard fish like to eat bait that looks healthy. This good bright colors and good motion.
Some colors seem to work better than others:
- Pumpkin seed colored artificial worm.
- Plum colored artificial worm.
- White tube – for crappie in dirty water.
- Crawfish colored crankbaits.
- Chartreuse colored crappie jigs and tubes.
Only to name a few.
Do people still use live bait? Of course they do. People still fish with worms, minnows and perch on trotlines. Old timers swear the best bait for catch trotlines is live perch.
Final Thoughts
Fishing is no different than hunting. It revolves around habitat and the predator/prey relationship. Find the prey, such as bugs and minnows, and chances are the big fish will be nearby.
Then again, luck has a lot to do with it. Being at the right place and at the right time helps out a lot. It seems like some days fish hit everything that hits the water. Other days, it seems the fish will not hit anything.
We could go on for days talking about details such as the various rigs, top water lures, rattle traps, crank baits. Hopefully the readers will post some comments and share their tips on how to catch fish.
