A Different Kind Of Catch Catching Them The dark, jade water is balmy and warm. In my right hand is a high-powered spear gun. Its mechanism is set in beautifully worked teak. Around 5ft long, it is clumsy on land but once in the water it balances perfectly. A long sharpened spear is powered by thick rubber bands. The trigger of the gun will release a spear that could pin a grown man to the wall. As we alight to the side of a dun-colored reef with knobbled outcrops and fire coral, teeming with fish, the hunt for our supper begins. We are several miles from Key West in the Florida straits, diving from the Discoverer Ketty Lund, a wooden-hulled scientific research vessel on a trip around the Keys. Her captain is Eric Smith, a muscular, salt-encrusted sea skipper and diver with a boyish gap between his front teeth who has piloted his boat and marine scientists around the Atlantic for years. On the long trips down from places like Labrador, Canada, to his home in the Keys, he will jump over the side and go spear fishing for grouper, snapper and tuna to feed himself and his crew. As we descend deeper into the cool depths, he is showing me how to hunt under water. [Read More]

Making the most of your time - Fishing Safety rules everyone should know When you are going ice fishing, there are a lot of safety rules that you need to follow at all times. Unlike the other forms of standard fishing, ice fishing presents a lot of health risks. First, you should never go ice fishing without a well built shack. The shacks provide you shelter while you are ice fishing. Without this shelter, you will be susceptible to hypothermia and other health related problems. The second thing you need to keep in mind at all times is the condition of the ice and the weather predictions. Falling through the ice while ice fishing, especially alone, is a death sentence. Being trapped on the open ice during a blizzard is also extremely dangerous, even with the shelter of an ice shack available. When you are stocking your ice shack, you need to make certain that you have enough wood for the wood stove, or heating device within the shack. This device should also be cared for and watched over at all times, so the ice beneath the shack remains stable or that the shack does not burn. If you keep these fishing safety tips and rules in mind, you should be able to have an enjoyable time fishing without high risk of injury to yourself or others, no matter which form of fishing you choose to participate in. [Read More]

The Difference in Lake Trout Lake trout are a type of fish that are completely different then any other fish. Those that like to go lake trout fishing, know that they are difficult to catch. Unless you know just how to do so, well, your chances are small of actually getting one. Lake trout fish are the ones everyone wants though as their size can be enormous! Lake trout fishing is a great type of fishing, but you will need the knowledge of these fish before you begin to fish them. There are many unique qualities to lake trout. One of the most important is their size. The record weight for lake trout is over 102 pounds! Imagine bringing that in! The average weight depends on what the fish eats. Those lake trout that can benefit from being in a lake with ciscoes, smelt or sculpins will grow to large sizes. These lake trout are called Siscowets or fat trout. Those that don't have this variety of small fish to eat, will eat plankton, insects, and crustaceans. Obviously, this fish is not going to weigh nearly as much. [Read More]

Weekly Fishing Trivia Contest
Last Friday I was notified by About.com that I could no longer run this contest. I have had a lot of fun with it during the past nine years and....

Helium LTA Fishing Rods :: RE: Kistler update....
Author: earthworm77
Posted: Sep.21.06 1:01pm (GMT 0)
Topic Replies: 3

I took 10 on.