Fishing Lesson Sitemap

Foreword - Whether you're a beginner or an old-timer a worm-dunker, plug-tosser or a dry-fly puritan this book will tell you many things you'll want to know to get the most out of your fishing. And it will do it in plain fish-talk so you can't miss.

For example, it will tell you about the most popular kinds of freshwater and dock-side game fish, where to find them and how to catch them.

Large Bass - This big fresh-water tacklebuster is a favorite of anglers because of his savagery when he attacks a lure, and because of his head-shaking, leaping battle when hooked. Due to transplanting, he now can be found in ponds, lakes and rivers throughout the United States, and even in Canada, Mexico, Germany, Spain, France and Africa.

Small Bass - The Smallmouth Black Bass (average weight: 1½  pounds; world record: 11 pounds, 15 ounces) may not be as large as his Largemouth cousin, in over-all size as well as jaw-spread, but he makes up for it in scrappiness. When a Smallmouth feels your hook he will treat you to a dazzling display of acrobatics and headshaking that usually unhooks your lure and tosses it back at you.

Rock Bass - The Rock Bass and Crappie (pronounced "Croppie") are two of our most popular "panfish," so called because most of those we catch are just about the right size for our frying pans—about ½ pound. But 2-pounders are common and the world record Crappie weighed in at 5 pounds, 3 ounces; the largest Rock Bass reported was almost 4 pounds.

Bluegill - The Bluegill, also called Roach and Bream (pronounced "Brim"), and others of the Sunfish family are our most common panfish. These little battlers furnish many of us with our first fishing thrills, and even experienced anglers still find them fun to catch on the right tackle.

Yellow Perch - It's fortunate for us that this little panfish isn't easily discouraged, and that he likes to raise large families, because he's pursued from all sides—by commercial fishermen as well as by sport-anglers. Look in the frozen food bin of any supermarket; you'll find "Yellow Perch Fillets" alongside the Lobster Tails and Shrimp

White Perch - Of the group of fish known as panfish, the White Perch has the distinction of being the most unusual. First, he's not really a Perch although in some ways he looks like one; biologists say he's really a Bass. Second, he sometimes grows so large he's a panfish only if you use a king-size frying pan.

Brook Trout - To biologists he's the Brook Trout, to Canadians he's the Speckled Trout, and to New Englanders he's the Squaretail, but no matter what he's called, to anglers everywhere he's the aristocrat of game fish. His haunts are the purest waters of picturesque mountain streams and crystal-clear lakes.

Rainbow Trout - The honor of being one of the most spectacular fresh-water fighters must go to the Rainbow Trout. He takes a dry fly, or wet fly, or spinning lure without showing as much discrimination as do the Brook Trout and Brown Trout but during the ensuing battle he's out of water as often as he's in it, each time exploding into the air like a submarine missile.

Brown Trout - If there's a fish that deserves more appreciation from American anglers, it's the Brown Trout. He's highly respected in England, where angling first became an art. This Trout is larger than either the Brook Trout or Rainbow Trout; the world record Brownie, taken in Scotland, scaled 39½ pounds, and even in our large streams and lakes 8-pounders are common.

Lake Trout - The Lake Trout has several qualities that make him a fish you'll like to catch. First is his size. A 5-pounder is an infant; 20-pounders are common. The world record Laker taken on hook-and-line was 63 pounds, 2 ounces, and almost 4 feet long.

Pickerel - The Pickerel is the smallest member of the Pike family, which includes the Northern Pike and Muskellunge, but he's no featherweight fighter. His average is 2 pounds and his world record is 9 pounds, 3 ounces. And he's savage enough for a fish many times his size.

Northern Pike - The most belligerent and fearless of all our fresh-water game fish is the Northern Pike. And the hungriest! He devours the equivalent of one-fifth his weight every day. And he is one of the few fish in the world that stalks his prey like an animal. His smaller cousin, the Pickerel, attacks immediately when hungry; the Northern Pike approaches cautiously...

Muskellunge - There are 40 different ways to spell the name of this fresh-water champion. Muskellunge is the most commonly accepted but the Algonquin Indians had the first. They called him "maskinonge," which means "great Pike." And no description could be more fitting.

Walleyed Pike - The Walleyed Pike, also called simply Walleye or Pike Perch, can't be rated among the classiest of fresh-water fighters, but as a game fish he won't disappoint you. When you tackle him, he lets you know you're in a scrap. He's no midget; he averages 4 to 5 pounds and his world record is 22 pounds, 4 ounces.

Catfish - Proof of the Catfish's popularity is the great number of anglers interested in him; they total several million. It is doubtful if even the aristocratic Trout, or the little Sunfish caught in nearly every back-yard pond, claims more attention than this strange fish with the whiskers. Maybe it's because there are more of him.

Carp - Anglers have mixed feelings about the Carp. Most of them don't like him, although he's fun to catch on the right tackle. And he's not bad to eat when he's skinned and the narrow band of pink flesh that runs along each of his sides is cut out before he's cooked. As a matter of fact, as a food item he tops all other fresh-water fish.

Shad - In one respect the Shad is a new fish—he's new to sport-anglers who only recently learned how to catch him on rod and reel. But he's an old friend of millions of Americans who have been dining on him and Shad roe ever since the Indian days.

Porgy - Anglers along the east coast of the United States have the little Porgy to thank for much of their fishing fun. When this hungry denizen of the deep comes along he usually brings a few million of his brothers and the action is fast and furious. As soon as you pull one in, drop your hook and another will grab it.

Flounder - The Flounder and Fluke belong to a family known as "flatfish" because they swim flat on their sides, horizontally, like swimming "doormats" as they are sometimes affectionately called. They're scrappy fighters and plentiful most of the year; you can catch Flounder off New England when it's so cold that icicles sprout from your fishing rod.

SeaBass - The Sea Bass is familiar to salt-water anglers of our Atlantic and Pacific Coasts—and, as a matter of fact, to anglers of almost every coast because his family of more than 400 species roams the tropical and temperate waters of the world. He grows the largest in the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific where, known as the Giant Black Sea Bass,

Striped Bass - The Striped Bass, also known as just Striper or as Rockfish (south of New Jersey), has everything a game fish needs to be a champ—he's big, fights like a mad dog and hits your artificial lures with a wallop like few other salt-water fish. Also, he usually can be counted on for some unexpected trick that will leave you gasping

Weakfish - Have you ever heard of an angler speak of catching "salt-water Trout" ? If so, he wasn't talking through his hat; he was referring to the Weakfish, called Trout by many fishermen along the Atlantic Coast. "Weaks" are only fair fighters but they compensate for this lack of talent by being so numerous that when you find a school you can catch more than you can carry.

Fly-Casting - Think you have to be a magician to cast a fly? It may look that way, especially when you're watching an expert do it. But fly-casting really is easy, although not as easy as spin-casting or bait-casting. And when you've mastered it, it will pay off in greater sport when your fish are the smaller species ..

Bait-Casting - Bait-casting is the fishing method most sportsmen use. It's easy to learn and its tackle is inexpensive. And it isn't limited to catching small fish, as fly-casting and spinning are unless you're an expert. A big cannibal Trout will hit your bait-casting spoon or plug.

Spinning - Spinning is a fishing method that's rather new in this country. Brought here from England shortly after World War II, this method originated in France, where it has been called "light casting" because of the lightweight lures used. At first spinning caused some American anglers, especially the fly-fishermen, to panic,

Spin-Casting - Spin-casting is the newest of all the fishing tricks. It's not the same as spinning, although spinning is casting, too. Spin-casting is a technical term (to anglers) and it refers to a method that's really a combination of spinning and bait-casting. With it you use spinning line,

Still-Fishing - On a famous Trout stream in New England a city slicker with plenty of expensive fly tackle but not a single fish met a barefoot boy who had caught several huge Trout with a bent pin on a piece of string.

"What did you catch 'em on ?" he asked.

Trolling - Trolling is towing a lure behind a moving boat or canoe. Like still-fishing, it doesn't have much appeal to an active angler who isn't content to just "set," although it does give him a change of scenery as he trolls around a woodland lake or river. And if it's just exercise he's interested in, he can always row or paddle.

Ice-Fishing - When winter comes to the Northern states and the lakes and rivers freeze solid, you can try the most rugged fishing sport of all—ice-fishing. Of course you must be somewhat rugged yourself because standing in freezing temperatures and snow squalls for hours at a time isn't anyone's idea of comfort.

Fight a Fish - An angler (he didn't deserve the title!) whom I once met on New York's famous Beaverkill River had just caught a 3-pound Rainbow Trout on tackle that would have made any fly-fisherman cry. His worm-baited hook was tied to a leader of about 15-pound-test, on a fish line too heavy to be called anything but ..

Fresh Bait - These are the baits most popular among anglers of all ages and only a few fish species will pass them by. There are two ways of baiting an earthworm on a hook: (1) put the point into the worm near its head and thread it on, letting the tail hang loose to squirm, or (2) pass the point entirely through the worm behind its head,

Salt Bait - Do you know there's a state in which raising and selling fish bait is one of the leading industries ? Bloodworms and sandworms are the bait, and the state is Maine. Tons of these fish-getters are shipped annually to salt-water anglers along the Atlantic Coast. They're big worms, as thick as pencils and about 6 inches long,

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