Full-length instructional articles
It’s amazing how many more fish you catch if you have good craft control. To see the difference, let’s look at how a typical day of fishing goes, either with or without a well-rigged boat and good craft control. I’ve seen each of these scenarios many, many during my lifetime of river fishing and […]
Your New Year’s resolution for 2018 should be to fish more. I’ll tell you why, and also how to make this happen. First of all, why. That’s easy, fishing is good for you. It’s much healthier physically than many other pastimes. This is especially true for river smallmouth fishing, which requires plenty of physical effort […]
One of the most frequently asked questions I get every year is “What kind of craft should I get and How do I Rig it For Fishing?” Sadly, there is no one perfect boat for river fishing, since what to get depends on the type of waters you fish and your physical abilities. However, lots […]
Why Use the Tiny Torpedo for Smallmouth? An editor for Field & Stream magazine once asked me for information on how to catch big smallmouth, for a special “Trophy Hunters” feature story. One thing they wanted to know was what one lure I would use to catch big smallies. That was tricky. Of course, there […]
In fishing there’s no such thing as “Fall.” There are actually 3 different falls. “FALL FISHING FRENZY! SUPER FALL ACTION!” Over the decades, I’ve seen a multitude of magazine articles with titles like these, raving about fall smallmouth bass fishing. And it’s true. At times, fall can offer some of the most spectacular fishing of […]
Using some simple techniques and looking for certain things you can still enjoy productive smallmouth bass fishing. One of the most challenging situations for the smallmouth bass fisherman is when streams and rivers get low and extremely clear. The hot, dry days of summer can take their toll, causing stream flows to drop off significantly. […]
In prime smallmouth bass hotspots, it’s often best to fish on foot, to thoroughly cover the area and cast to all the active smallies. Many anglers truly enjoy wade fishing, too, includng fly folks coming from stream trout backgrounds. But on bigger smallmouth streams, floating by watercraft is often the best way to really cover […]
Rocks and smallmouth bass . . . they go together like lily pads and bluegills, right? Not necessarily. While rivers generally need lots of rock to have high numbers of smallies, river sections with only a little rock can have more big smallmouth bass than many realize. There are a couple key reasons why some […]
With just a rod, some lures, and a set of legs you can head out and fish. This is truly simplified angling. It was a warm July afternoon and I was waist deep in a gravel-bottomed stream. The warm water felt good, since wet wading is a little like swimming while you’re fishing. More important, […]
My affair with limestone goes back a long way. Growing up around steep hills and rocky ridges, some of my earliest smallmouth bass fishing was in the local limestone-laden streams. In love at first sight, I was immediately captivated by the look of these streams as they twisted past golden bluffs and rushed over ragged […]
