Bass Fishing

     Bass are one of the most sought-after sports fish in the United States. They are freshwater fish and found in lakes, ponds and sometimes rivers. They require a little different fishing gear then saltwater fish. You will need a light action spinner rod. There are a few different types of bait you can use for bass. You could either use live bait or artificial bate. For live bait, worms work best. You want the worms to be sitting in the middle of the water, and not sink to the bottom. To avoid them sinking to the bottom you have to use a bobber. Attach the bobber about 5 feet in front of the hook. Now all you have to do is wait for the bite. When you see the bobber start bouncing in and out of the water you will know you have a fish. If you have a circle hook you do not need to set the hook because it will set itself, just start reeling. If you have a regular hook, set the hook with a quick upwards jerk of the rod. 

How to Throw a Cast Net

     Cast nets are used to catch baitfish; Baitfish usually live in schools making cast netting very effective. Throwing a perfect cast with a cast net takes some practice. Cast nets consist of net, lead sinkers, and a long string. When the cast net hits the water, the lead sinkers sink to the bottom. When you pull the cast net towards you to bring it in, the sinkers all merge together trapping the fish inside the net.

     Cast nets come in many different sizes, from three feet to 25 feet. If you are a beginner, it is easier to start off with a smaller size. The first thing you are going to want to do when throwing a cast net is to tie the end of the string around your wrist so you don’t loose the cast net. After you have done this, in the same hand, put the extra string into 4 or 5 loops and hold it. Next you take your free hand and grab a sinker at the bottom of the cast net. With that same hand, grab every third sinker until you have 4 or 5 sinkers. Then take your other hand with the string in it and grab a sinker at the opposite end of where the sinkers in your other hand are. Finally, you need to spin your hands back 270 degrees and throw the cast net releasing it when it is out in front of you. Also, make sure to let the sinkers sink for at least a few seconds before pulling it in. 

Catfishing

There are many different types of Catfish. Fortunately, most catfish are scavengers and feed off the bottom of the lake, river or ocean. The best way to catch catfish is to attach a chunk of bate onto the end of the hook. Use a 3/0 to 8/0 hook depeding on the size of catfish you want to catch. The best thing to do is be patient and wait for the bite. If you don’t want to hold the rod the whole time you can make a rod holder. Good material for this are plastic pipe shells or medal holes. When you do bring in a catfish, be fevy careful. They have barbs on the sides of them that could do some serious damage to you. 

Marlin Fishing

Marlins are one of the biggest fish in the ocean, and they put up a hell of a fight too. These fish are endangered so you cannot keep them, making them one of the most valuable sports fish. To catch these fish, you will need some heavy fishing equipment. Huge open reels and strong pound test. There are two ways to fish for marlin: trolling and live bait. Live baiting is the more effective way. Good live baitfish for marlin includes small tuna, dolphin, and bonita.  To make sure you don’t kill the live baitfish when hooking it, you have to hook it in the right spot. The live batfish can be hooked in a few places: the top of the nose, the top of the eye socket, the very top of the back, and at the start of the tail. Throw the fish out and let some line out, keeping the drag loose. Kites can also be used to help keep the bait at the surface and visible.

The other way to marlin fish is trolling, for this you will have out 2-8 lines. Big lures as well as dead baitfish can be used for bait. These fish will have you fighting them for hours so make sure you being a fighting belt and a fighting chair. 

Swordfishing

     Swordfish are prime targets for many fishermen worldwide. Sword fishing is a little bit more complicated than some other types of fishing but can still be done by anyone. Sword fishing is primarily done during the nighttime. They usually stay between 500 and 2000 feet, but do occasionally come close to the surface. You need to be about 15 to 25 miles offshore as well. Swordfish can get hundreds of pounds in weight so you will need heavy deep see rods and reels along with heavy pound test.  On top of heavy pound test you will also need about 200 feet of mono leter. If you take a trip to your local marina or bait store they will have swordfish rigs already hooked up and ready to buy. This will save you the trouble and time of making them yourself. Swordfish’s favorite food is squid so that is the suggested bait to use. Two things that are necessary for sword fishing are a luminescent lights (can also be found at local marina or bait store) and balloons or water jugs. Since you are fishing at night, the light is needed to make the bait more visible.

     The balloons or water jugs are used as bobbers. This way you can easily see if a swordfish has hit the bait or not. You can put up to 4 lines out at once, but you have to make sure they are all at different depths to avoid tangles and to cover more area of where the swordfish or swordfishes may be. After all four lines are in the water, you sit and wait with the boat engine off. Make sure to keep the drag on the bail really loose, so that the line is basically about to fall off the reel. Once you get a hit you want to jump on the rod as fast as possible. Tighten the drag and reel. If you have a new, sharp hook it will set itself as the line tightens. Make sure you bring a fighting belt with you because it can take hours to reel in some swordfish. Good luck and have fun!

Lobster Diving

   

     Lobster diving is a fun, but dangerous, thing to do. To do this with scuba tanks, you must get certified first. There are two ways to diver for lobster. They are to free dive and to scuba dive. Free diving takes place in usually between 10 and 40 feet. Divers can only hold their breathes for a short amount of time before having to come back up to the surface. But with scuba diving, you can stay underwater for hours.

     To catch lobster, there are a few forms of equipment available. One way to catch lobster is with a net and a tickle stick. The tickle stick is a long metal pole used to draw the lobster out of his hiding spot. The idea is to lure the lobster out of his hiding spot and into the net. Make sure to bring a bag to put all your lobsters in. The other way to fish for lobster is with a looper. A looper is a metal pole with a metal loopp attached to the end of it. At the bottom of the looper stick, there is a little lever that can control the size of the loop in the front. What you do is wrap the medal loop around the lobsters tail and quickly pull it tighter. Be sure to bring a measuring stick with you in the water so you can measure them on the spot and not have to worry about bringing them up to the surface.

Yellowtail Snapper Fishing

Yellowtail are one of the most allusive snapper there are. They are found in most warm water, tropical environments. There are a few ways to fish for them. One way is called bottom fishing and the other is known as flat lining. Bottom fishing is where you drop a piece of baits or baits to the bottom of the ocean with a lead sinker. Typically, you want to bottom fish over reefs since thats where most snapper hangout. There are a few different types of bottom fishing rigs, many of which can be bought at any fishing store. Depending on the current, you will want between 1 and 6 ounces of lead weight. A 3/0 to 5/0 hook will work just fine as well. Yellowtail snapper are not too picky of eaters, but the best bait to use for them is squid. Squid is best for not only snapper but most reef fish because it can be cut into small pieceseasily and is durable, plus the fish love it.
     Flat lining is the other fishing method for yellowtail. This technique is a little harder than bottom fishing but can be much more effective. Unlike bottom fishing, flatline reqires little to no lead weight. If there is no current, no weight is needed. If there is a little current, you may want to add .1 to .2 ounces of lead to your line. Fishing shops and marinas sell little lead weights that can be attached directly to your line. Whether you're bottom fishing or flat lining for yellowtail, a small spining rod is all you need.
The lighter pound test you have the better. When the line is thinner it makes it less detectable for the yellowtail. To start flat lining, you need to attach a small hook to the end of your line. Add a small amount of weight if needed. Bait the hook with a very small piece of squid or other type of bait. Flat lining is most effective when you are chumming. Chumming the water will help get the fishes attention.  You make your own chum yourself but i suggest just buying it. Put it in a bag, tie the bag to your boat, and throw it in the water. A line of chum will be in the water. Now you can throw in your bait and flat line. When you throw your bait in the water, keep your bail open. Either let line out yourself slowly, or let it do it on its own. When you get a bite, you will see your line begin to go out at a much faster rate. When you see this let the fish run for a couple seconds then close the bail and start reeling. Yellow tail don't put up too much of a fight but make sure you flip em in the boat quickly before a baracuda or small shark gets them first.