Lake Fishing Techniques
For many years my fishing was concentrated from the flowing waters of rivers and streams, so I thought, time for a change, so I tried my hand at lake fishing. On the whole I found lake fishing simpler than river or stream fishing, having said that, the two styles are quite different. Lake fishing can be divided into two main categories; that is shore fishing and fishing from a punt or boat. These two category types are quite different. Here are some lake fishing techniques for both types.
Lake Fishing From The Shore:
The choice of most anglers is to fish from the edge, or shore, of a lake due to, mainly, the costs involved in hiring a boat. There are various methods that can be employed when fishing from the lake shore, one of which, and probably the most popular, is "still" fishing. When using this method you bait one or more hooks then employ a slip sinker. A barrel swivel or other such stopper is added to the fishing line to prevent the slip sinker from making its way to the baited hook or hooks. This assembly or rig is cast into the lake and allowed to sink. Any slack line is then carefully wound in. I have found that using multiple hooks or gang hooks rather than, facilitates more effective fishing using this method. One other technique while fishing from the lake shore is to walk around the shore line casting different lures and baits as you go, however, this is not always practical due to obstacles on route.
Lake Fishing From A Boat:
This can be a more tranquil method of lake fishing although can still yield many fish. Probably the most common way to fish from a boat or punt is to use the trolling method. This entails just towing one or more lures from the stern of the craft that you are in. There is also a method called back-trolling, as the name suggest it is the reverse of trolling in as much the boat is traveling backwards while your line is dragged from the pointed end of the boat or bow, unless you are in a punt, of course where the is no discernable difference, however, using this method while in a boat with a sharp end and a blunt end tends to be a much slower affair. Some vessels are actually equip with trolling motors to facilitate slow and silent traverse of the lake. I have to say, however, that when a trolling motor is employed anglers tend to cast away from the boat to their target fishing area. Using a boat is quite an exciting way of lake fishing. You may save some money by using an inflatable or punt rather than a fully fledge motor launch.
I enjoy lake fishing as much as river and stream fishing so give it a go. Let's face it, at the end of the day, to coin a phrase, fishing is fishing and sometimes a change is as good as a rest.
