From: Falcon
lfks64a@prodigy.com

Topic Area: Fishing Tips

Subject: Catching The Big One,..Being One With Nature

There is a right way to catch fish and there is a wrong way. It is
arrogant presumption to think that your gear and determination is
going to get the big one. To be successful, you must first be "one
with nature." This was taught to me by an old and wise Mikasuki
Indian in the Florida Everglades.

Go to the land and look around you. You see a water moccasin,
cricket, a number of frogs, snails, cray fish, and small silvery
brown fish darting around the water's edge. Now, you are ready to
fish.

You fish from the bank or by boat, it doesn't matter. You select
your bait by that which you saw. You choose a dark or black, rubber
worm. Your fishing for a snake eater. Especially true for Bass or
Chain Pickerel etc. You must now be one with the victim. (bait) You
must make the bait move like the real thing,..slowly,..carefully.

Wait until you feel a tug on the line. I'm not going to use the word
"Hit". A big fish will swim up and gently grab the bait. Don't snap
the line to set the hook. You will most likely come up empty.
Carefully, release the bailer on the reel and let the line free.
Fish are like people. If you shoot a rabbit, do you eat it right
there?.... No....you take it back to camp, skin it, and cook it at
your leisure. Fish are the same way. It will gently grab the worm
and start to swim off. He'll swim until he finds safe haven and then
swallow the worm. Be patient,...and above all, be quiet. Sound
travels down the line like a Tin Can Telephone. The fish can hear
you.

Watch the line slowly leave the spool. When it stops, the fish has
found a place of safety. Once it starts moving again, he has
swallowed the worm. Now, you set the hook. You can be sure,..you
have him.

Remember, the younger, smaller fish will be aggresive and snap at
their food. After you cast, gently hold the line between your
fingers. You will be able to feel how big the fish is by the
strength of the strike. One time, I felt just a gentle pull. It
didn't even feel like anything,...more like the line snag.
Instinctively, I released the bailer and watched. I watched for
maybe ten or twenty seconds,....the line didn't move at all.

I was just about ready to reel in, when very slowly the line began
to peel off the spool. I was now getting worried because I was
starting to run out of line. Finally, it stopped. After a few
curious minutes, it began to move again. I set the hook, and had the
fight of my life on the line. After about five minutes of fighting
and increasing the drag slowly, I came up with a nine pound, large
mouth bass.

Being one with nature, patience, and faith will aid you in your
survival. Remember, no big fish ever got big by being stupid.

                                                         Falcon
Subject: Fashioning Hooks and Jigs

Hooks

Hooks can be fashioned from almost any item made out of steel wire.
Barbed wire fence, Springs, Etc.
A single spiral of any small, steel spring can be fashioned into a
hook. They are strong enough to do the job well. One spring can
yield a dozen or more hooks. Spiral note books, toys, your car,
broken electronics units. The sources are almost endless.
Sharpen the tip on a file, stone, rock, then carefully bend it into
shape.

Jigs:

Use your imagination. Almost anything around you can be fashioned
into a jig or lure. Metal from cans, using a nail to punch holes.
Berrys from bushes, buttons from your cloths, beads from jewelery,
spoons, knives and forks from the kitchen, Christmas ornaments.
The list is almost endless. I have even used the styrofoam peanuts
used in packing materials. They make great floaters, and they work.

Rubber Worms:

The rubber weather seals around your house doors,..the rubber seals
around your car doors and trunk will work as rubber worms.  There
is always excess material on the seal that you can strip without
losing the integrity of the seal itself.  Just cut off a little.
Use your imagination, and you can come up with almost anything.

                                                         Falcon