Fishing hook color is easy to overthink. Walk through enough tackle aisles and you will find hooks that appear black, bronze, silver, gold, red and even fluorescent colors, often with anglers claiming that one catches more fish than another. The truth is less dramatic. Fish can perceive color, and the appearance of an exposed hook…
Do glow in the dark lures work? Yes, they can—but not because fish are automatically attracted to anything that glows. A glow finish can make a lure easier to detect when natural light is limited, including at night, in deeper water, and during other low-light situations. Whether that extra visibility produces more bites depends on…
A 6000 vs 8000 reel comparison looks simple until two actual reels are placed next to each other. An 8000 sounds like it should automatically be much larger, stronger and better suited to big fish, but fishing reel sizes do not work that neatly. The number is primarily a manufacturer’s size designation. It can give…
Finding a few worms while digging in the garden is easy. Finding enough when you actually need fishing bait can be a completely different story. If you want to know how to get earthworms out of the ground, the biggest factor is not how hard you dig. It is choosing damp ground where worms are…
Why are tiger nuts banned on some carp waters when they are sold everywhere as fishing bait? The simple answer is that tiger nuts are not universally banned. They are a perfectly legitimate carp bait on many waters, while individual fisheries and angling clubs prohibit them completely or place restrictions on how they can be…
Choosing between a chatterbait vs spinnerbait can be confusing because the two lures occupy much of the same territory. Both are moving reaction baits, both use metal blades to create attraction, both can cover water quickly, and both can catch predatory fish in surprisingly similar conditions. But they do not behave the same underwater. A…
Do fish hooks dissolve when they are left inside a fish? Not exactly. Fish hooks are made to survive water, abrasion and the pressure of fighting fish, so the idea that a hook simply “dissolves” can be misleading. Some fish also get rid of retained hooks before the metal has completely corroded. Others can carry…
Choosing between a flat bottom vs V hull boat is really a choice between two different sets of strengths. A flat-bottom boat is normally at its best where the water is shallow and relatively calm, while a V-hull becomes increasingly valuable as waves, wind and boat wakes become part of the equation. For anglers, that…
A fish finder can be mounted almost anywhere there is enough room for the display, but that does not mean every location will work well on the water. The best fish finder mounting ideas keep the screen easy to see and reach, hold it steady in rough conditions, leave controls and fishing space unobstructed, and…
Fish biting but not getting hooked is one of the more frustrating problems in fishing because it means fish are interested, but something is going wrong between the bite and the hook taking hold. Feeling repeated taps, seeing a float disappear, or watching a lure get hit without actually hooking a fish usually means the…