How Do You Carry Live Worms While Fishing?

This may sound like a silly question, but I always found carrying live worms while fishing was a big pain in the butt. That was until my fishing mentor showed me how to solve this problem with an old piece of clothing. Yes, I said an old piece of clothing. You know how there always seems to be an extra sock hanging out in your sock drawer? Well, my mentor came up with a use for that old sock. That's right, a worm carrier.
Before you start to think I'm crazy, just hear me out. Simply take the old sock and grab a hold of the end that your toes would go in. Now simply measure four or five inches down and cut the sock off. You now have a worm carrier. A little bait bag, if you will. Simply use a safety pin and pin this little "pouch" onto the front of your fishing vest.
When you're ready to go fishing, simply take the live worms out of their Styrofoam container and put them into your new bait bag. Just the worms, no dirt. A sock holds about a dozen worms depending on their size. The beauty of this concept is that the worms don't crawl out! They simply sit in their new carrier and wait to be used. Once you begin using a worm carrier such as the one described here, you'll wonder how you ever fished without it.
The one downfall to the sock carrier is that a sock carrier is pretty small and certainly less that esthetically pleasing. If you're interested in the same concept, just bigger and much better looking, just check out JRWfishing. The bottom line is that whether you make your own or purchase a cool one, a worm carrier such as the one described here, is essential to your angling success. As I said, once you try it, you'll wonder how you ever fished without it.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country.....Montana!
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How About A Little Bottom Bouncing?

Whenever you wet a line in a river in an attempt to catch any fish, whether it's a trout, a small mouth, a walleye, or whatever kind of fish you're attempting to catch, the bottom is your friend. This fact is often overlooked by anglers, and it shouldn't be. My mentor used to say, "If you're not getting snagged, you're not fishing in the right place." I have found this point to be true in almost all river fishing situations. When I say river fishing situations, I'm referring to wading in a river attempting to fool a fish into biting your offering. I'm not referring to sitting in a boat trolling, although that fact was probably self explanatory.
When you are wading in a river doing what I described above, the goal is to have your bait bounce off of the bottom as it flows naturally downstream. And too accomplish this; the angler must adjust the amount of weight that is used. Too much weight and the offering will get snagged on the bottom. Too little weight and the offering will simply float over the bottom as it flows downstream, and look anything but natural. In the second case the angler never gets snagged, but catches very few fish as well. This is the reason that my mentor would say, "If you're not getting snagged, you're not fishing in the right place."
This is exactly why I say the bottom is your friend. Although in reality, the bottom is not only your friend, but also your worst enemy. Because when you go through those stretches when you've gotten snagged and had to break off and retie six times in a row, the bottom seems like anything but your friend.
The important thing to remember is that like most things in life, nothing remedies getting snagged like practice. The more 'bottom bouncing' you do the better you will get at it. And the better you get at it, you will not only get snagged less, but you will also catch more fish. Once you figure out the little nuances of 'bottom bouncing' you wont believe how effective the technique really is.
Bouncing the bait off of the bottom in a river or stream fishing situation is as good a technique as I've ever seen. If you really sit and think about it, it's as natural a presentation as there is. I've been using this technique for years and it flat out works!

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country... Montana!
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Have You Ever Shut Your Car Door On Your Fishing Rod?

Here's the scenario: You've just arrived at your fishing destination, ready for a morning of hard core fishing. You put your waders on, grab your fishing vest, and almost as an afterthought, you grab your fishing rod. At this point you're so excited about wetting your line, all you can think about is that flowing river in the background. As you start to shut the door, you remember that you need to lock the doors. You quickly lock the doors and slam the door shut. As the door is closing you see it happening. It's as is the whole scenario were in slow motion. When you grabbed your rod earlier, you leaned it up against the vehicle and now the tip of the rod is resting in the door jam. It's all happening too fast to stop it, and the next thing you know, the tip has been snapped right off of your fishing rod.
This exact scenario has happened to me on more than one occasion, and the result is always the same. You're rod has to be replaced. Oh sure, you can buy a new eye, and superglue it on the end of your rod, but the rod doesn't perform the same as it did. The rod is now effectively ruined because of your own stupidity.
Actually it's a good idea to carry an extra eye tip in your fishing vest just in case something like this happens, but replacing the eye is just a quick fix. It may save a day of fishing, but the action of the rod is so much different after losing it's tip that you're going to want to replace it.
Hopefully a scenario such as this has never happened to you because it's no fun to experience, believe me. And hopefully reading this article will remind you to slow down and take your time, so you don't do what I seem to like to do. This scenario is also the reason that I don't spend more than 50 bucks on a fishing rod. That way it doesn't cost me much to replace it when I break it. I came to the realization that a car door doesn't care if your fishing rod cost $50 or $150. The car door will snap that fishing rod just the same.

Trevor Kugler Co-founder of JRWfishing.com Trevor has more than 20 years of fishing experience and currently raises his 3-year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country... Montana.
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You Won't Be Disappointed

What do I mean by ultra light? Ultra light fishing simply means fishing with lighter gear, lighter gear than you may be accustomed to. That's it, there's nothing crazy about it. Basically, ultra light fishing means matching your fishing gear to the type of fish that you're fishing for. I've seen all to many anglers that use one rod and reel setup for all of there fishing expeditions, rather than having different set ups for different types of fish.
This is madness, unless of course you only do one type of fishing, in which case having only one rod and reel setup is all good.
For example, I use a four-foot rod and ultra light reel spooled with four-pound test for most of my trout fishing. I fish medium to small rivers and lakes and the biggest fish that I would catch in such waters is six to seven pounds, and that would be an outright monster. Many people see me fishing with my setup and think it's too small, but it's absolutely not. Think about it, four-pound test line is strong enough to hold four pounds of weight without breaking, how often do you catch fish this big when trout fishing? Besides, I've personally landed a seven-pound fish on four-pound test. I don't say that to be braggadocios, I simply want you to realize that most anglers use line that is entirely too heavy for the fish they're trying to catch. Using line that's too heavy will result if fewer bites as well. So as you can begin to see, ultra light fishing makes sense all the way around.
It also makes sense to use ultra light equipment by adding more "sport" to your fishing. Honestly, how much fun is it to winch a fourteen-inch trout out of the water with medium action gear, spooled with eight-pound test line? To me, that's no fun, but on ultra light gear that's tailored to the type of fish I'm attempting to catch; a fourteen-inch fish is a lot of fun.
So give ultra light fishing a try and I promise you won't be disappointed. If you ever have any questions about ultra light fishing, you can contact us at JRWfishing.com.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country.....Montana!
Gang Hooks Tied & Ready To Fish: http://www.jrwfishing.com/gang_hooks.asp
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Gang Hooks Simply Catch More Fish

For those of you who have never heard of the term "gang-hooks", it's probably time for you to take a closer look. A set of gang hooks is fairly simple to tie yourself, or you can buy them, the choice is yours. What's important is that you begin using them for all of your live bait fishing. A set of gang hooks is, by far, the most natural way to present a worm.
Gang hooks are simply two small hooks tied in tandem. Hooks that are probably much smaller than you may be accustomed to. I personally prefer size 10 hooks. My preference is 2 size 10 hooks tied on four pound test. And I catch BIG fish with a setup that's this size. I consistently catch Smallmouth Bass up and Rainbow Trout up to five or six pounds on gang hooks setups exactly that size.
The only downfall to a gang hook setup is that some state regulations don't allow them. So check your state regulations before fishing with gang hooks. I know from experience that in Montana and Pennsylvania gang hooks are perfectly legal. Check your local regulations before using them though, just to be safe.
So how do you get a hold of gang hooks? There are two ways. First you can do a little research on knots, and tie them yourself. His is obviously the most inexpensive way. Research the "Snell knot". The other way to get a hold of gang hooks is to just buy them. Go somewhere like JRWfishing and you'll be good to go. My theory has always been, that you can make a hamburger yourself to save money or you can just go to McDonald's and pick one up. The choice is yours.
The bottom line is that if you begin employing a set of pre-tied gang hooks into your live bait fishing, you'll simply catch more fish. The natural presentation that gang hooks provide can't be beat. The days of the "worm ball" and threading a worm onto a hook are gone the moment you begin using gang hooks. With gang hooks, you simply hook the head on the worm into the top hook, the hook the second hook into the worms' body. Now your worm is rigged and looks exactly like it would if there were no hooks at all. It's a beautiful thing. Give gang hooks a shot, I promise that you won't be disappointed.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country…..Montana!
Gang Hooks Tied & Ready To Fish!!!: http://www.jrwfishing.com/gang_hooks.asp

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Fishing In Northwest Montana

Fishing in Montana is much like fishing anywhere in North America, other than the fact that the scenery is probably as good as it gets. Oh, I'm sure you could find various areas throughout North America that would offer beauty that would rival Northwest Montana, but I seriously doubt it would be better. And the trout fishing is as good as I've seen anywhere. There are some very large trout in the state of Montana.
I personally live within ten miles of Flathead Lake. Flathead Lake is easily one of the best lake trout fisheries in the country. The guides and locals in the area regularly catch twenty to thirty pound lake trout. Between the lake trout in Flathead Lake and the rainbow, cutthroat, and brook trout in the rivers flowing through Northwest Montana, this area is truly a trout paradise.
In fact, if a person ventures over to a little town called Libby and the Kootenai River that flows within miles of the town, and goes into any gas station along the river, they will see pictures of truly unreal Rainbow Trout that have been caught. I'm talking about Rainbows in the twenty-pound class. Yes, I said twenty-pound class! The first time that I witnessed these pictures, I couldn't believe my eyes. I honestly thought I was looking at Steelhead. But everyone assured me that they were Rainbows, caught out of the Kootenai, below the dam. When I checked the area directly below the dam, it looked like an area you would see in upstate New York where big Steelhead or Salmon could be found. Old salmon eggs everywhere and old line that was heavy enough to land....... well a twenty plus pound raibow! It's quite a scene, but then so is a rainbow trout that big!
There's also some decent pike and largemouth bass fishing in the area. There's also quite a nice population of Lake Superior Whitefish in Flathead Lake. They run from one to five pounds and are delicious. And, in all honesty, they're fairly easy to catch. Once a person gets the hang of the little nuances, it's simple in fact.
So all in all fishing opportunities are quite abundant in Northwest Montana. The biggest drawback is that you only get about six months to enjoy them. The rest of the time it's too cold for all but the heartiest of anglers to spend much time chasing fish. And when it's not too cold to fish, the run-off kills another three or four months.
There are definitely ice fishing opportunities, but let's be honest about it. Does anyone really enjoy ice fishing? Sure the actual act of catching fish is fun, but I find the lead up to fish while ice fishing to be, well, painful (or at least just a pain in the butt). But yes, for those of you who actually know what you're doing or have the inclination, there are plenty of opportunities to sit on the ice and stare through an eight-inch hole. Errrrrr........ Spend some time ice fishing.
All in all, fishing in Montana, at least Northwest Montana, is pretty much as good as you'll find anywhere in North America, and the trout fishing is better. So if you have some time to kill, and like to spend your spare time fishing, Montana is not at all a bad idea.

Trevor Kugler - Co-founder of JRWfishing.com and founder of yourmoneyconnection.com Trevor has more than 20 years of fishing experience, and raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country....Montana.
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Fishing Etiquette - Where Has It Gone

Fishing etiquette, sometimes I have to wonder if anyone's ever heard of such a thing. The word etiquette is defined as: The forms required by good breeding, or prescribed by authority, to be observed in social or official life; observance of the proprieties of rank and occasion; conventional decorum; ceremonial code of polite society.
So why is it that as soon as I get on a river, I invariably end up fishing near someone who has never heard the above definition? It seems as if as soon as people get into a fishing situation, all rules of society are thrown out the window and it becomes a free for all. I mean it says, right in the definition, 'ceremonial codes of polite society'. When it comes to fishing, especially on a river, one of those 'ceremonial codes of polite society' is to allow other anglers there personal space just as you would afford them in any other social situation. I mean, for God's sake, just because were out on the river fishing it doesn't mean that we have to become complete inconsiderate idiots, does it?
I'm of course referring to a situation that I got caught up in, not too long ago, on one of my local rivers. I had been fishing along a very nice stretch of water for about twenty minutes, when a couple of other fishermen came walking along the river. They kept there distance as we exchanged friendly glances, and they began fishing about fifty yards from where I was.
This is how things are supposed to work when two anglers meet on a river. But then I caught a fish. Then another one and this second fish was quite nice. A nice eighteen to twenty inch Rainbow. I released the fish and went on about my business, continuing to fish this nice stretch of river, which incidentally was no bigger, the average driveway.
The next thing I knew, the other fishermen were in my freakin' back pocket! I mean these guys surrounded me like I was trying to do something horrible to one of their children. Then the interrogation started. What are you using? How big was that fish? Do you always catch fish here?
This is what I'm talking about when I speak of fishing etiquette. When I'm out on the river, and I'm sure most people would agree, I want to relax, enjoy nature, and if I can mange it, catch a few fish. I don't need to give a fishing lesson to anyone. And, as far as I'm concerned, no one needs to give one to me. If I see you on the river and you catch a nice fish, good for you. I might give you a thumb's up or something, but that's all the information we need to exchange.
I've never understood why people think that if a fish is caught out of a spot, that's the only place on a given stretch of water that contains fish. And the spot or area that they're fishing doesn't! That's the only explanation as to why these two guys muscled up on me like a bully on the smaller kids in the schoolyard. They had to think that they had a better chance of catching a fish where I had just caught a fish than where they were originally fishing. And just to clear the air, this is not the case. It's a fallacy, and this kind of behavior needs to stop.
Give other anglers the space they need to fish when you're out on the river. Using a little fishing etiquette out on the water will make our sport better for all of us. As I eluded to earlier, just afford people the same courtesy you would on a busy elevator. Just because were standing in a river, it doesn't mean we can't practice basic etiquette.

Trevor Kugler - Co-founder of JRWfishing.com Trevor has more than 20 years of fishing experience, and now specializes in ultralight trout fishing.
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