Freshwater Fishing
Mentoring new hand-grabbers
Over the years, Parker has been a teacher and guide for others wanting to feel the rush of pulling a big catfish from below the surface with nothing more than natural strength. […]
Sidebars
Freshwater Fishing
The hand-grabbing season
The hand-grabbing season coincides with the spawning period for blue cats and flatheads. In natural conditions, these fish will spawn in hollow logs, caves and recesses created by fallen trees or jammed debris. […]
Freshwater Fishing
Hand-grabbing regulations
Jerry Brown, a fisheries biologist for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks said the fact that blues and flatheads are cavity spawners accounts for their willingness to enter man-made boxes during the spawning season. […]
Freshwater Fishing
Bomber crankbaits still a top producer
Although “Mr. Ken” Franklin agrees the newer crankbaits look good and catch a lot of crappie, he’s a member of the original “Bomb Squad” and prefers to pull plugs made by the Bomber Bait Company. […]
Bass Fishing
White bass go crazy for drop-shot rig
Terry Bates started experimenting with the drop-shot technique on Lake Ferguson a few years ago. He was looking for something that might entice white bass. […]
Crappie/Bream
Crappie tactics defined
Maybe more so than any other species of fish, crappie anglers have a language all their own when it comes to how they fish for their favorite quarry. In fact, some tactics go by different names depending on what part of the state or what part of the country you’re standing in. […]
Bass Fishing
Liven up the ledges
As long as the fish remain on the ledge, it’s a safe bet that they’re still in the food mood — so it’s just a matter of keeping an easy meal there for them. […]
Freshwater Fishing
Stump roots on gravel bar also ideal spawning spots
Although cracks and crevices along the craggy rock banks that line the shores of Pickwick Lake are great places to find spawning catfish this month, catfish guide Phil King says those aren’t the only places that attract fish this time of year. […]
Freshwater Fishing
Fly rods provide pure entertainment value
Pickwick catfish guide and champion catfish angler Phil King loves using light tackle for battling feisty Pickwick channel cats. […]
Freshwater Fishing
Artificial offerings look like real worms
One of the things that kids probably love most about catching catfish is pinching a big night crawler in half. While this gory little chore spurs their imaginations, most of us have something better to do than continually wipe worm guts off our hands. […]
Bass Fishing
Color games
Ponds has a few basic colors of frogs he’ll throw, but he feels like the color is a preference more important to the angler when fishing pads or thick vegetation because bass usually strike at movement. […]
Bass Fishing
Pete Ponds’ basics for fishing with frogs
Basic equipment:
Rod: 7-foot, 10-inch heavy Boyd Duckett Rod in thick cover with braid or 7-foot, 3-inch medium heavy rod when fishing open water. […]