Fishing-Hacks.com

Welcome to Fishing Hacks!

Welcome to Fishing-Hacks.com - an information aggregator that provides useful fishing tips, suggestions, and other things fishing for ease of reference by our Readers! 



Enter a keyword to search for archived posts.

Popular posts from this blog

How Do We Clean and Cook Trout?

Image
Question from one of our Readers asking, “How do we clean and cook trout?” In answer to the question, we provide a summary of the different ways we clean and cook trout! Depending on the size of the trout, we clean and cook them as follows: Stocker size trout (9″-13″ in size) : We cut their heads or remove the gills (“gilling”), and then we remove the guts. Not sure why we opt to cut the head off versus “gilling” them; just seems to go one way or the other from trip to trip. When cooking the Stockers, we season them with salt and pepper (sometimes add Season Salt), and then pan fry them in oil for about 5-8 minutes each side. For larger trout in the 14″ – 18″ range: We clean them like the Stockers but will split the fish (butterfly). We then cook them on a cedar plank (see Grilled Plank Trout Recipe ). For trout going 19″+ in size: We gill them and remove the guts, leaving the head in place. Then, we stuff with lemon slices, onions, butter, and sprinkle Rosemary in the body cavity. Nex...
Read more

Fly Fishing Presentations for Trout Fishing...

Image
Had a request from a Reader asking us about the fly fishing presentations we use. We looked at past videos of trout fishing trips to the Blue River, Lower Mountain Fork, Turner Falls, and Possum Kingdom and collated short clips into the video posted below. The video shows examples of what has worked for us in the past; however, we are prepared to adjust to a given situation as needed to catch fish! Once the Trout Stocking Season starts, will plan to create a follow-up video that better illustrates the fly fishing presentations we use when fishing for Rainbow Trout!
Read more

Over-Lining Our Fly Rods

Image
Not sure when we started doing this, but we tend to over-line (go up one line weight) on our 4-Wt and 5-Wt fly rods. I think we did this by accident when we used whatever fly line we had at the time we picked up a new fly reel. So far, have been good with the casting results by going up a weight. That said, was not aware of a debate about this, until I saw an article online by Field and Stream – “ Is Over-Lining Fly Rods Good or Bad? ” For the most part, would agree with Field and Stream that there are no set rules. Would go on to say, “whatever works best for you”!  
Read more

What Kind of Spinning Gear and Do We Use a Swivel?

Image
Received two questions from a Reader in response to our post on “How we fish a Super Duper”: “What kind of spinning gear are you using (rod length & power, reel size & make)?” “Do you use a swivel with Super Dupers or Kastmasters?” Below are the answers to the questions and pictures added for ease of reference. Thanks again for your questions! Sincerely, The Field Team For the first question, “What kind of spinning gear are you using (rod length & power, reel size & make)?”, the spinning gear we use are: A 4′-8″ Ugly Stik Ultralight Rod with a Shakespeare 20 Ultralight Spinning Reel (USP225A) 6′-6″ Berkley Medium Light Lightning Rod with a Pinnacle Tiny Deadbolt Spinning Reel(DUL20). Lately, when using fluorocarbon, we have switched the reels between the two rods, and mainly been using the Berkley Medium Light Lightning Rod and the Shakespeare Spinning Reel. The Pinnacle Spinning Reel tends to uncoil while casting ultralight lures after 5-10 casts. Shakespeare ...
Read more

Question: How Do We Attach a Line to a Tenkara Lillian?

Image
Question from one of our Readers asking how we attach our line to a Tenkara rod’s lillian. We use a loop to loop connection to attach our line. One loop is formed by the lillian; the other loop is from the braided line that we use when fishing with a Tenkara rod. When we use a level line, we attach a 10″-12″ piece of monofilament line to the level line with a nail knot, and then form a loop on the other end of the monofilament using a perfection loop knot. To better illustrate the loop to loop connection, we have posted a video below. Do check it out!    
Read more

What is the Best Setup for a Beginner.... #flyfishing

Image
We received a question from a YouTube Viewer asking, “What is the best setup for a beginner who wants to get started in fly fishing?” Expanding on the question, we learned they would be fishing for freshwater fish like Bluegill and Largemouth Bass as well as saltwater fish like Redfish and Speckled Trout. Subsequently… Fishing both freshwater and saltwater threw us a curve. At first thought, we leaned toward two rod/reel combos – one for freshwater and one for saltwater. But, then we put our brainstorming hat on and came up with one rod/reel combo that would work for both situations. When we came up with our one rod/reel combo we biased the outcome with our personal preference in fly rods. That is, we like fast action fly rods that we overweight (also over-line) one line size… not sure why but it seems to work for us! (see more on over-lining a fly rod) Additionally, since it was tough to describe in generic terms a rod and a reel, we provided the actual ro...
Read more

Stripers below PK

More development on PK, hope it's good news! spacemonkey: Re: Stripers below PK Tpwd was called yesterday by a friend of mine. They told him it was unlikely algae because the water temps are still cool enough, but they were supposed to send out a biologist yesterday to see. They said it could be due to fertilizer runoff as well. Retrieved from http://texasfishingforum.com/forums
Read more

Blue River Catch and Release Information | Questions and Answers | #fishing #flyfishing #blueriver

Image
Question from the Texas Fishing Forum that we follow... "Now I have some questions on the Blue River in Oklahoma. I am a bit out of that loop. 1) That parking on the E side of the Catch and Release (off 7) - is that just for parking, and there is still a hike up to the high point of the C-n-R? 2) I think the C-n-R is barbless? Kind of silly if you ask me, but my memory banks are full! 3) Are the stockings good in the C-n-R area? Still a mystery easter egg hunt? Anybody been there lately?" Answering the mail, we provide the following: "1) That parking on the E side of the Catch and Release (off 7) - is that just for parking, and there is still a hike up to the high point of the C-n-R?" The parking on the East side off Hwy 7 is just for parking.  It is designated as a walk-in area only and no camping. Refer to Blue River Map below. It is a 2+ mile hike to the Catch and Release area from the parking area on the East side of Hwy 7. For a shorter hike - about 1.3 miles, ...
Read more

COAF Field Team Vlog #18 – “Back to LLELA!”

Image
Made it back to Lake Lewisville Ecological Learning Area. Used the 6wt Switch Rod and fished downriver from the tailrace. Caught a Bass and several Longear (we think they were Longear). A Bass and one Longear went for a Clouser Minnow. Other Longear went for the Near Deere and GRHEN Tandem Rig that we used in the Red Zone on the Lower Mountain Fork several weeks ago. Lost a number of fish while reeling them in. They were able to throw the hook as soon as any slack in the line happened. Forgot the rig we were using was barbless per the Red Zone requirement. Overall, had a great time… at times had a section of the river to myself. Also, met another fly fisherman and a some good fishing things to talk about as well as a Bald Eagle flew by us! Cool stuff especially in the middle of the DFW Metroplex!  
Read more

Green Foam Grasshopper This Round! #flyfishing

Image
Able to get a round of fishing in this evening. Caught Bass, Bluegill, and Sunfish while fly fishing at Bethany Lakes. Went with a Foam Grasshopper to get them today! Hoping the colder temps are done, and we can get back to kayak fishing!   Able to wet a line and go #fishing this evening. #bass #bluegill #sunfish went for a green #foamgrasshopper …opted for the 5wt #flyfishing this round! #flytying A post shared by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on May 1, 2017 at 7:26pm PDT
Read more