When launching a boat at the ramp, does it seem like the whole world is watching your every move? S.D. Game, Fish and Parks and BoatU.S. offer ten tips to help your time at the ramp go smoothly:

• Prior to backing down the ramp, have everything that needs to be transferred from the tow vehicle placed in the boat. Trailer boaters who wait until their vessel is in the water cause delays and get nasty stares.
• Unhook the boat from the winch after the vessel is in the water, not before. Once your boat is splashed, secure it to the dock while you park your tow vehicle and trailer, leaving the ramp open for the next launch.
• Don't make others wait while you're having a discussion with others on where to go or else those waiting in line behind you will happily offer suggestions.
• Offer assistance if someone needs help. If you have never backed down a ramp, practice in a large parking lot prior to launching.
• If you're on the ramp and would like help, be succinct. This is not the time to ask questions about bleeding the brakes or to debate the advantages of bias ply tires.
• Trailer parking spaces are for tow vehicles and trailers only. Guests should park elsewhere.
• Get into a routine at the ramp and use a checklist. It will make your life easier.
• When returning to a ramp, drop off the person who will get the tow vehicle and trailer from the parking lot first and wait for them in an out-of-the-way location while they retrieve the vehicle.
• Once the boat is on the trailer, secure the safety chain to the bow eye and move up the ramp. Secure the remaining tie downs and transfer stuff back to the tow vehicle when you get to the parking lot - not on the ramp.
• If you'd like to talk to other boaters about launch ramp etiquette, your experiences at boat ramps or other boating related issues, go to the messages boards at BoatUS.com.

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About The Author

Author: BoatU.S. Web Site: http://www.boatus.com/ Details: BoatU.S. - Boat Owners Association of The United States - is the nation's leading advocate for recreational boaters providing its 600,000 members with a wide array of consumer services. For membership information visit online at www.BoatUS.com.

he thrill of any fishing adventure begins with finding the right place to wet your line. Fish finders allow anglers to quickly identify key targets and structure, as well as fish. A fish finder is a subset of a group of instruments called sonars. A Sonar consists of a transmitter, transducer, receiver and display. In the simplest terms, an electrical impulse from a transmitter is converted into a sound wave by the transducer and sent into the water. When this wave strikes an object, it rebounds. This echo strikes the transducer, which converts it back into an electric signal, which is amplified by the receiver and sent to the display. Since the speed of sound in water is constant (approximately 4800 feet per second), the time lapse between the transmitted signal and the received echo can be measured and the distance to the object determined. This process repeats itself many times per second.

Display

The display shows a history of the received echoes. The user can make a number of adjustments to tailor the display to his or her preference, such as sensitivity, the depth range and chart speed. Displays use a variety of technologies, provide different resolutions and number of shades of gray or color. Each display is made up of a number of pixels, which are little square blocks that make up the images. The more pixels and shades of gray or color the better resolution and image clarity.

Fish Targets

Echoes from fish within the beam will be shown on the display by illuminated pixels. What image appears on the display depends on a number of factors: the sensitivity setting on the fish finder, the cone angle of the transducer, the speed of the boat, and the size, depth, speed and direction of the fish. A fish that is swimming directly beneath the boat, it will create a consistent echo that will cause a continuous line to appear on the display. A stationary fish caught in a narrow beam transducer appears as a single point on the screen as the boat passes above it, whereas under the same conditions the fish appears as an arch if a wide beam transducer is used.

About The Author

Author: Andrei Loskoutov Email: info@bystore.org Web Site: http://www.bystore.org/

One of my neighbors is getting a new boat. My preseason strategy learns more toward new line for a few reels. The idea is the same, even if the investment is not. It's time to start the countdown to a new fishing season. Even with mid-March snow blanketing much of Iowa, sunny days and thawing temperatures are giving anglers the itch. Ice is receding and the gulls are moving in on the backwaters. A few warm days in a row might push the 'ice out' catfish anglers into the shallow bays to hook a few gorging cats.
Whether you are pushing the ice or just waiting for May's crappies, it's better to get caught up with your preparations now, rather than five minutes before you toss your first line in the water. "One of the most important things is fresh line on your reel. That's the thing that breaks off first in the spring, when you catch that big fish," advises Don Kline, fisheries biologist for the Department of Natural Resources. "I like to clean my reels; sometimes take them apart, take a little oil, grease the gears and get those all ready to go." From there, a lot of it depends on what condition your tackle box was left in.
A variety of hooks, jigs and lures at hand give you plenty of choices, as you survey water conditions, and guess what's going to work on that particular day. I talked with a sauger fisherman a month or so ago who had almost every color worm or jig under the sun. And he swore by particular colors, depending on the day. Hey, it worked for him. Once the care and feeding of your tackle box is complete, Kline addresses the 'where' factor. "You can get a fishing guide and look at some of the state lakes, maybe the smaller public lakes," suggests Kline. "I usually check within 25 to 50 miles of home and I can find probably 10 or 11 places, some of them brand new, where I haven't even fished, yet." He likes to look at relatively new lakes. For one thing, that usually means fish have been growing well-and fast. For another, not many anglers might have heard about them, yet. "If that's the case, I can almost be assured of catching fish in a hot spot like that," proclaims Kline.

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About The Author

Author: Joe Wilkinson Details: Joe Wilkinson works for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

 by Jeremiah T. Bagwell In virtually every sport that is played in this country, you have some form of defensive play. Whether it is the mind numbing quarterback sack in football or the bone jarring hip check in hockey, there is always some method used to prevent the other team from scoring. In each and every sport, these preventative actions are acceptable. Why should defensive fishing be any different? During a recent television interview, one of bass fishing's biggest money winners admitted that he went out during his pre-fishing period and stuck every fish he could see. Most of us know that this is something that you normally do not do in practice. The reason being, you don't want to make your fish skittish and prevent them from biting your bait during the tournament. In this angler's case, he did want to prevent those fish from biting during the tournament. The only problem was the fish he was setting the hook on, were not the ones he was planning to hunt during the competition. He was trying to keep the anglers in the earlier flights from getting on the easy bed fish bite. Although this is well within the rules, many are expressing a lot of displeasure with his actions. You can read more of the article at Defensive Bass Fishing. author: Jeremiah T. Bagwell

by Jeremiah T. Blagwell While browsing the internet fishing message boards as I frequently do late at night, I came across an interesting post. An angler wanted to know if in the event a Largemouth bass was caught in California that exceeded the weight of George Perry's record fish, should it be considered a world record? Sounds like there should be an obvious answer, but the guy had a valid point. The fish in California are distant relatives of the original group of Florida strain largemouth bass that were placed in a small reservoir to reproduce offspring with a trophy class bloodline. These fish were then, for the most part, hand fed trout their entire lives. Growing at nearly double the rate of a bass in Florida, these bass get big in a hurry. Ok, so it does seem a little unfair that California is pretty much a guaranteed lottery ticket for catching a bass over the 22 pound 4 ounce mark set back in 1932. Oh well, there isn't too much left in life that is fair. I don't care if Barry Bonds grew a 30 pound bass in a pond behind the BALCO laboratories. If he catches that fish in accordance to the law, it is a world record. Just because the fish had been fed some "I didn't know they were illegal" steroids, does not make it an illegal catch or any less of a world record (unless there is some anti-doping rule that I am unaware of). As much as I wish Perry's bass would maintain the record forever, I know it won't happen. Someday an angler in sunny southern California is going to be casting a 4 pound, 20 inch swim bait and he/she will catch a 25 pound bass. You can read more of the story at: It's a World Record.

Hi all just thought I would share a story about a recent trip we had in Utah. We went to Flaming Gorge over the weekend. We had a blast, we fished 150

By Tim F. Richardson

Fishermen hate to miss out on the latest edges to improve catches. But it really is better to solve problems by beginning with the study and observation of fish behaviors and not with the latest tackle and bait adverts first! With details of many big fish captures by the author over the years, this articles shows you how and why this is so very important!

I remember a time years ago now, when the famous UK Woburn Abbey cats adapted to very intense fishing pressure from anglers by switching-off from all previously successful ‘conventional baits.’ They refusing to take them, relying for their survival upon natural food items instead. Using observation it became clear they were preying upon small zander in the margins of the lake. Therefore when small zander were used as bait, immediate success followed after weeks of struggling using popular recommended baits.

Using baits which arouse zero or as little suspicion as possible (ideally with the maximum stimulation) has always been the biggest point about fishing baits (as well as the hook!) Yes, catfish adapt to fishing pressures and can change their dietary habits to rely solely on natural food; which has not yet been exploited as bait that is! Very often, they will only take baits they are prepared to take the risk to fed on, just like carp. And just like carp, catfish can become much easier to catch as you progressively use smaller and smaller baits. I’ve only ever live-baited for catfish once, so all my catfish catches have been on homemade baits and altered and adapted commercial ones.

Also just like carp, tempting very big catfish is most often no push-over; indeed far from it! (Using live-baits is completely unnecessary and strictly for sadists in my book!) I’ve had thirty catfish over sixty pounds in the UK now on homemade baits and I’ve watched over the weeks and years how their bait preferences and the effectiveness of various baits has changed. Often this change is incredibly fast and even sudden after a good catch. Then you need…..you can read more of the story from Tim F. Richardson at Free Fishing Secrets

Article

If you are planning to wear a backpack for any length of time you need to pay attention to several important design features to minimize discomfort, back pain and aching shoulders.

It is always best to try and be on the same side as to avoid a full-blown confrontation in the first thirty minutes of your date, but if she’s actually up for laser tag, anything goes. Scuba Diving If you’re both certified, why not scuba? Even if you’re not certified, snorkeling isn’t a……you can read more of the story at Small Mouth Bass Fishing

Blue gills, crappie were plentiful
story ROBERT L. BRODIE

THE SUN HERALD

Fishing coastal rivers this time of the year can be extremely rewarding for crappie fishing; even better than your favorite fishing lake.

Besides the diverse species of fish available, the scenery is magnificent with all sorts of trees and shrubs busting out in blossoms.

The beautiful red seeds of the red maple, and blossoming wild plum, pink honey suckle, dogwoods - and soon purple and yellow iris - will all delight the eye as anglers fish the river’s edges.

Of course, the fishing can deliver a mixed bag of beautifully colored fish as well, and bluegills, goggleeyes, shellcrackers, crappie and bass all add to the excitement of river fishing.

With each drop of a bait or lure, one never really knows what might create the next bend in the rod. And that wonderment is what draws many anglers time after time to these fish-filled freshwater systems.

Wednesday was a classic example of a great afternoon on the Tchoutacabouffa River.

Doug Carson of Wiggins had invited me for a shot at catching crappie on jigs, and by the time the day was over, the small jigs would produce a number of bonus species.

Slipping off into a small oxbow lake, tiny jigs fished under small slip corks were our tackle employed, and limber 12-foot jig poles were used to flip the jigs under and near logs, stumps, treetops and various other shoreline structure.

Our original mission was to fool…you can read more of the story at SunHerald.co

The picture of the whopper crappie is Guide Ken Riddick. Make sure and visit Ken’s Website at Crappie Action Guide Service for plenty of other pictures of big crappie caught almost exclusively on Big Head Jigs.

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The catfish season officially kicks off at all Urban Fishing Program lakes and ponds in the Phoenix and Tucson areas on Friday, March 21 when all lakes will receive deliveries of 15- 20-inch channel catfish. Two large trucks will be used to bring over 7,500 catfish to 19 waters throughout the day. Warming spring temperatures signal the stocking changeover from trout to catfish. Nearly 14,000 pounds of Arkansas farm raised catfish will be delivered and stocked into Urban Fishing Program lakes every two weeks from now through the end of June. Traditionally, as we change fish suppliers from winter trout to spring catfish deliveries, anglers are given the specific day of stocking. For all other catfish stockings, only the stocking week (Mon.-Sat.) is announced.

Here are a few things I have noticed over my many years as a fishing guide. "How many fish can I expect to catch in a day?"...... is totally depende

Hello, I am a novice fisherman who took up the sport last spring to spend more time with an older brother. i am looking for some advice on the best

We've been seeing a lot of big fish in the 5 to 8 pound range. Two here, two there along the shoreline..... but they just fade off into the deep wat

[img]http://www.bigfishtackle.com/images/gforum/fish-on.gif[/img] A fisherman myself, I was sitting there one uneventfull day, I live 100 feet from a

It is too cold to fish and well I am going insane and I don't ice fish. The ice is too thin anyways. I am going to go and see what the lake looks like

I make and sell these out of my home in Kansas City. They were in Field and Stream a few years back I have sence taken that idea and improved it to ma

Smelt fishing of lobb rd was awesome for our shanty, but heard mixed reviews from other fisherman. Bourbot was also awesome in about 90 ft of water. I

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This is the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s fishing report for March 5. If there is a body of water you would like included in this report, please call or e-mail us with information on possible sources for that lake or river.

Weekly Fishing Report
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Randy Zellers (501)223-6406, e-mail: mailto:rdzellers@agfc.state.ar.us

Feb. 27, 2008 Edition
This is the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s fishing report for Feb. 27. If there is a body of water you would like included in this report, please call or e-mail us with information on possible sources for that lake or river.

This is the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s fishing report for Feb. 20. If there is a body of water you would like included in this report, please call or e-mail us with information on possible sources for that lake or river.

HOT SPRINGS - All U.S. Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds at lakes Ouachita, Greeson and DeGray will open March 1 with modified services. This cooperative agreement is a result of meetings between the Corps' Vicksburg District and federal, state and local interests.

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Game and Fish Commission crews stocked over 207,000 fish in Arkansas lakes and rivers during January, according to Mike Armstrong, chief of fisheries. The total stocking of fish weighed in excess of 69,000 pounds.

This is the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s fishing report for February 13, 2008. If there is a body of water you would like included in this report, please call or e-mail us with information on possible sources for that lake or river.

LITTLE ROCK – The latest edition of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s fishing guidebook is now being distributed to AGFC offices and license dealers around the state. The guide is free and contains a few changes from the 2007 guide.

It is with great pleasure and excitement that I have the opportunity to present the inaugural issue of MARLIN WORLD.

LINK TO MAGAZINE: http://viewer.zmags.com/showmag.php?mid=pgptf

1. Click anywhere on the screen to ZOOM in and read.

The idea for Outdoorsman Exchange came about in an instant, but in a way it was sometime in the making – we just didn’t realize it at the time.

For years my husband, Paul, has wanted to go on an elk hunt. I’ve encouraged him many times. He and his brothers talk how they should all go elk hunting out west with their Dad before age took its toll on him. Pursuit of that dream sounded good but there was always the financial reality check that held my husband back. He couldn’t justify spending money on a guided hunting trip and felt a guided trip was the only way to go for a successful hunt. This voice inside kept telling him - we need to save money for more sensible things like kids braces, college funds, etc. Most everyone can relate to these thoughts, unless you’re an heir to a fortune.

Fishing Tip: The 26th Annual Arkansas Marine Expo at the StatehouseConvention Center will be held this weekend, Jan. 18-20. Larry Hurley from Poorman’s Guide Service will be giving fishing seminars throughout the weekend at the AGFC aquarium and will be available for tips and tricks at the Trophy’s Corner Booth.

MONTICELLO - The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the University of Arkansas at Monticello began a study this week on the movements of white-tailed deer. The study will take place on 7,676-acre Choctaw Island Wildlife Management Area in Desha County. Commissioners from the AGFC designated Choctaw Island as the agency’s first Deer Research Area in October 2002.