In-Fisherman

In-Fisherman is for the avid freshwater angler. Each issue provides detailed instructions and demonstrations on catching, cleaning, and eating your favorite species of fish, and reports on the latest scientific studies concerning fish and habitat conservation. This is the source for finding fishing hotspots, new tackle, effective equipment, and more!

In-Fisherman

Book #65 • I remember the day well because I had gone fishing, caught a few, and arrived home to be greeted by my father and a good fishing buddy of his, who would soon drop a copy of In-Fisherman magazine into my young, impressionable hands.

Bits & Pieces • Blending Fishery Science with Everyday Fishing

ADVENTURES • Feature Travel Tips from In-Fisherman Staff & Friends

STAFF Noteworthy & New • New and Unique Fishing Stuff, as Reviewed by the In-Fisherman Staff

KILLER MOVES for LARGEMOUTH BASS • As a kid in New York City, I grew up around aquariums. Brother Tom, a retired fisheries professor, was a keen observer, but the whole family became intrigued by the behavior of fish from around the world. We also enjoyed trips to the Coney Island Aquarium to watch large predators go about their business in this artificial environment.

Smallmouths in the ABYSS: Open-Water Tactics Today • Pre-fishing for the Canadian Bass Fishing Championship on Rainy Lake many moons ago, I discovered an alley between long, narrow islands with gravel bars, rock reefs, stony points, and boulder fields everywhere. I hooked a smallmouth on every feature, each bass followed by a dozen or more others.

Jerkbait WALLEYE Programs SNAP, STOP, SET THE HOOK! • Time to momentarily shift attention from shaking and swimming soft-plastic minnows, to a classic bass lure still underappreciated by most walleye fans. If you like baits that put the power in your hands, that use their talents at hovering patiently in the strike zone, only to shoot off in any random direction—among the deadliest of walleye moves—your time to pick up a hard, suspending jerkbait has arrived.

Asphalt Gators —Drive-To Canada’s Top Pike Fisheries— • As long as I can remember, the storyline of trophy pike fishing has been tethered to the hum of a Pratt & Whitney engine and the pontoon of a Beaver or Otter floatplane. We’ve been told forever it seems—maybe even brainwashed a bit—that the only way we can crack the 40-inch gold standard, never mind the 50-inch platinum mark, is by venturing beyond the end of the road.

PRIVATE WATERS, BEASTLY BLUE-GILLS • No surprise, some of North America’s biggest bluegills are found in private waters, where some fish, left to their own devices, grow to magnum status untouched by the masses. Indeed, that’s often the key—little or no fishing pressure; limited harvest. Some of those fish might exceed the 10-inch mark and top 1.5 pounds, which is almost top-end size for bluegills across the continent.

Trending for FLATHEAD CATFISH Fresh Tactics, Fisheries, and the Status Quo • “The times, they are a changin’…” in flathead country. From rivers born in the Appalachian Mountains, across the walleye waters of the Upper Midwest, all the way to rivers and irrigation canals in the Southwest and Southern California, flatheads are showing up in unexpected fisheries, pursued by anglers using variations of traditional baits in non-traditional ways.

F+L+P Patterns Sans Sonar When Instincts Eclipse Electronics • Mirror images of lake homes reflected on the flat calm surface of a lake equally endowed with largemouth and smallmouth bass. Under a cloudless sky, coruscating glare hid a gorgeous mid-lake reef. Which was producing zero bites.

Factoring Fishing Pressure • Black bass remain the most popular freshwater sportfish in America. Not only are more anglers fishing for bass, but...