Seasonal Fishing

When you go fishing, if you want to catch a fish, it’s really important that you put your bait where a fish lives. That might sound very basic, but the most basic concept of fishing is to fish where the fish are.  You can have the nicest boat around, lots of expensive rods and reels and tackleboxes full of lures, but if you don’t put your lure near a fish, all that other stuff is going to do you no good.

The passage of Labor Day weekend suggests to many people that the end of summer is near, and to some anglers, that means it’s time to put the boat and other fishing equipment into storage. Anglers who quit fishing when summer exits are missing out on what some say is the best fishing of the year. If the thought of catching fish and having the water to yourself is appealing, here’s how you can extend your fishing season.

It’s late November as I write this and I am in a reflective mood looking back on the 2023 fishing season. The prevalent theme that comes to mind is how good the fishing was. I don’t say that in a boasttful way, but rather in a manner recognizing that we are fortunate to live in an era where our fisheries are very healthy and we have great equipment and technology at our disposal to target the fish living in those waters.

You can feel it in the air and you can see it in the sun.  Nights are getting cooler and the days are getting shorter. Fall is closing in on us. While some folks mourn the passing of summer, a good number of anglers are looking forward to autumn.  And many of those anglers are looking forward to catching crappies.

Jeff Sprague shows off the new Lew’s HyperMag Speed Spinning Reel and how he uses it for finesse wacky rigs and Texas rigs.

For Kevin VanDam, crankbaits are among the most efficient tools to find and catch big pre-spawn bass as they prepare to move up. See his top picks for pre-spawn crankbaits and stay tuned for part II where KVD covers his ideal cranking rod/reel setup.

Mark Davis shares his favorite moving baits for pre-spawn fishing when the water is still cold, and the fish are first starting to move up.

Mark Davis shares his favorite techniques to catch pre-spawn bass when they start moving up, but the water is still cold.