Good Instructional Fishing Books

[thedorf]

I was wondering if anyone knows any good books that can really help a person catch more fish. Specifically, I'm talking about all fresh water game fish (no pan fish)except for trout, salmon, and muskies. I do fish for these last three species but am mostly concerned with smallmouth/largemouth bass, northern pike, bottom feeders, walleye, and white bass in that order. I may have left something out as well. Anyway, i do almost all of my fishing in either Wisconsin or Minnesota and lately the vast majority of it has been in south central wisconsin. I'm not looking for fishing stories or entertaining literature but rather pure strategy stuff like lure selection, depth, etc. The kind of stuff you'd find in InFisherman magazine but more in depth. I would say that I do pretty well fishing but I also know people who seem to catch fish even when other people aren't and was hoping to improve my ability. I'm always on the lookout for experienced fisherman to befriend but they all seem to be back in my hometown. Haven't met many where I'm currently living. any help would be appreciated.

dorf

P.S. I'm almost completely a catch and release fisherman. I keep maybe 2% of the game fish i catch every year and that is either when I'm fishing with a friend who needs something to take home to his wife, or i'm spending a week in the boundary waters where fish is the staple in my diet. So don't worry about a dwindling fish population once i get all the new knowledge under my belt.

[Dan R]

One site you might want to check out for fishing is: http://www.lake-link.com/

If you go to fishing reports, people post about fish activity on all lakes across the midwest. You might be able to meet some people in your region of WI there, or ask them for better ideas on books. I basically just read InFisherman, and a couple of other magazines occasionally, and watch some of the TV shows. The Linder Brothers now have their own company called Angler's Edge or something, you might want to check that out. I got my dad a couple of their DVDs last year for Christmas that were good.

Also maybe check to see if there are any fishing clubs or sporting clubs in your area, you might meet some people to befriend there.

[roxtar]

http://www.amazon.com/Roland-Martins-101...TF8&s=books

Most of the fishing he talks about in the book is in the southern U.S. but the pattern strategy he talks about in the book I think are pretty universal. I think you could put Roland Martin on the moon and he'd be able to catch bass.

[I.Rowboat]

Although his book is aimed more at the structured reservoirs we have in the western states, Bill Murphy's In Pursuit of Giant Bass is quite good, with lots of tips and techniques, most of them subtle improvements to things you probably already do. For example, his technique for "stitching" plastic worms across the bottom -- essentially walking the bait at a very slow speed -- is very, very good. He has a lot of other excellent tips, many of them the sorts of improvements that, say, separate a good poker player from a recreational poker player.

[tedtodd]

I do alot of fishing in Maine, mostly for Trout and Salmon. The biggest help I've experienced is reading local fishing journals or checking with local bait shops. A lot of times they have information on what the fish are hitting, whether it's a certain bait or lure (type/color), and they often post the depth the fish are at. That is very important when fishing for salmon and trout who tend to be at deeper depths based on the water temperature.

I also tend to cut the stomach open to view the contents when gutting the fish, usually it's different types of bait fish or worms. But it's a helpful and simple task.

[thedorf]

[ QUOTE ]
I do alot of fishing in Maine, mostly for Trout and Salmon. The biggest help I've experienced is reading local fishing journals or checking with local bait shops.

[/ QUOTE ]
i've done a fair amount of salmon fishing in the great lakes, and i don't know if it's just a midwest phenomenon or what but tackle shop owners on the great lakes seem to always know where the fish are but the local shop owners seem to never have a clue about where the bass are biting.

[thedorf]

[ QUOTE ]
One site you might want to check out for fishing is: http://www.lake-link.com/

If you go to fishing reports, people post about fish activity on all lakes across the midwest. You might be able to meet some people in your region of WI there, or ask them for better ideas on books.

[/ QUOTE ]

this sounds perfect. maybe even a bit like the 2p2 of the midwest fishing scene. thanks a lot and thanks to everyone else who posted. can't wait to get my hands on some of this literature.

[Shoe]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
One site you might want to check out for fishing is: http://www.lake-link.com/

If you go to fishing reports, people post about fish activity on all lakes across the midwest. You might be able to meet some people in your region of WI there, or ask them for better ideas on books.

[/ QUOTE ]

this sounds perfect. maybe even a bit like the 2p2 of the midwest fishing scene. thanks a lot and thanks to everyone else who posted. can't wait to get my hands on some of this literature.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, lake-link is great for wisconsin lakes. You can learn new ideas from books and stuff, but basically you are going to have to learn by trial and error what works for you and your lake(s) that you fish on.

One good source is usually the local area baitshops. They are usually aware of what baits/techniques are currently working on the local lakes.

[Alobar]

dont know of any books, but there are lots of good magazines on the subject. Just go to the local B&N and pick some up