Fishing techniques are the part of the sport that no tackle can buy: the knot that holds a fish the line could have held, the rig that puts a bait where the fish is, the cast that lands it there, and the handling that sends the fish back alive. Four skills, and every discipline from a farm pond to a surf beach runs through them. The sections here teach each skill with the numbers behind it, pull tests for knots, survival studies for catch and release, and one procedure per page that you can practice at the kitchen table before you need it on the water.
The knot that holds a fish the line could have held, the rig that puts a bait where the fish is, the cast that lands it there, and the handling that sends it back alive: four skills, and every kind of fishing runs through them.
Start here
- Fishing knots — which knot for which line and job, each with a numbered tying procedure and the strength tests that exist.
- Catch and release — how many fish survive by species and hook, and the ten-step release that raises the number.
- Rigs — the Texas rig, Carolina rig, drop shot and Ned rig live with the jigs, because a rig is a jig taken apart.
- Catfish rigs — the five bottom rigs the guides use, with sinker weights and hook sizes.
Which technique when
| You want to | Method | Where it is covered |
|---|---|---|
| Tie line to a hook or lure | Palomar on nylon, uni on braid | Knots |
| Join braid to a leader | FG knot; Alberto when in a hurry | Knots |
| Fish a soft plastic through cover | Texas rig, hook point buried | Jigs and rigs |
| Fish a bait on the bottom for catfish | Slip-sinker rig, circle hook, lightest sinker that holds | Catfish rigs |
| Reach fish that will not pick a bait off the bottom | Drop shot | Jigs and rigs |
| Put a fish back so it survives | Wet hands, hook out in the water, ten seconds of air at most | Catch and release |
| Learn to cast a baitcaster without backlash | Spool tension, half brakes, thumb | Baitcaster |
| Spool a reel with braid | Arbor knot over mono backing | Arbor knot |
The disciplines
Fly fishing, ice fishing, surf casting, pier fishing, kayak fishing and trolling are each a world with its own tackle, knots and rules, and each gets a section as the site grows. They share the four skills above and differ in everything else: a fly angler joins tippet to leader with a blood knot a dozen times a day and never touches a baitcaster; a surf angler ties a shock leader with an Albright and casts a rod twice the length of a bass rod; an ice angler’s whole technique is a hole, a jig and a spring bobber. The gear section carries the tackle each discipline calls for, and the species pages say which fish the discipline is for.
Practice before you need it
Every procedure on these pages is written to be learned at a table. Tie the knot with heavy line and a pen for a hook until you can do it without looking, then with the line you fish, then in the dark. Rig a Texas rig on the kitchen counter and pull it through a hairbrush to see why the point is buried. The water is where a technique is used, not where it is learned, and the difference between anglers who catch and anglers who lose fish is mostly what they practiced on dry land.
Topics
Fishing Weather: What Wind, Cloud, Pressure, Rain and the Moon Really Do to the Bite
What weather is good for fishing, ranked by the evidence: light and hour first, then temperature trend, wind and cloud, the moon, and last the barometer.
Ideal Water Temperature for Fish: The Chart for 25 Freshwater Species
The water temperatures where bass, catfish, trout, walleye, pike and perch feed, spawn and shut down, in one chart, with what to throw at each band.