The west coast of North America offers many different types of fishing, from halibut and salmon in the north to Marlin and Tuna in the south. What all fishing along the west coast has in common is, it’s fabulous. One day when you take a break from playing online fishing games look up some fishing video from the west coast.

On the south east part of the Kenai Peninsula, at the head of resurrection bay is the town of Seward, Alaska. Taking a boat from Seward through the bay and out into the Gulf of Alaska you will see some beautiful rugged land and water but you will also find some amazing halibut fishing.

Using huge fish hook sizes it is not unusual to catch a 300 to 500 pound halibut in these waters. The males are a lot smaller weighing only about 25-35 pounds. Even though the halibut doesn’t fight hard, just a small amount of fight in a 500 pound fish is a lot of fight.

Moving south along the cost and up the Chatham strait, through the Lynn Canal, you will find the town of homer Alaska. All along the Lynn Canal, and even up to the taiya inlet, during the salmon run there is some outstanding fishing.

There are Chinook, also called king salmon, Coho, also called silver salmon, and humpback, also called pink salmon. The pinkies are the little guys at 3-5 pound. The kings are the big ones at 25-30 pounds. Salmon fight hard and run out the line when they’re hooked.

Located at the North West corner of Oregon is the mouth of the Columbia River.  From this large estuary and moving upstream is some wonderful fishing. Steelhead trout, after spending a few years in the Pacific Ocean travel up the Columbia to where they were born. Fishing for these big fish is spectacular. 

Probably the best fishing lures for trolling in saltwater are the large jigs available today. These softbaits are designed with reality in mind and the holographic bodies; swim action and durability make them perfect. The jigs seduce big fish, such as halibut, marlin, mahi-mahi and others in very deep waters but the speeds they travel at can occasionally mean the fish miss or knock the baits forward.

Tying on extra fishing hooks by looping one or two under the jig and setting the hooks in the silicon at the tail can improve success more than a single hook jig. Long Magnums and other crankbaits tend to be stiffer in construction with enough hooks to catch fish coming form underneath and behind but are speed dependent so make sure you know the differences and depths they swim at.

If you intend to use live baits such as ballyhoo, then limbering up the bait by breaking the backbone and pushing any waste out the fish out helps it swim more naturally. Make sure the trolling rig you put the fish in is aligned correctly to prevent spinning. If hooks are set to tightly when running from the rig head to the body it can also create spin.

Depending on your prey and where they will be holding, trolling speeds should be between 4 to 13 knots.Better results in saltwater trolling will ultimately depend on your fishfinder. Keeping and eye on the depth and schools of fish is imperative and plotting those spots where there were takers and previous trophies is made more efficiently.Frigate birds feeding and noise from schooling baitfish are always good areas to cover when trolling.

Remember to thoroughly rinse all your fishing tackle, lines, rods and reels to save you time and money.

 Canada is a beautiful country that has thousands of amazing lakes. The first class fishing in these lakes is world famous. In Ontario alone there are so many lakes with such phenomenal fishing that it would take a lifetime to experience all of it.

Colchester is located on Lake Erie just north of the United States border. This part of Lake Erie from Colchester to Pelee Island to Pelee point, offers some amazing fishing.

The harbor at Colchester has everything you need from access for private boats to boat rental, to guide service, to internet access to play online fishing games to fishing maps.

Lake Erie has lots of different species of fish. There are Walleye, Perch, Bass, and Rainbow Trout, Pike, and Garpike. They are also noted for having large Walleyes.

If you are considering fishing contest, there is the annual Walleye derby. It is a very popular contest with good prize money.

Eagle Lake is another great lake. It is over 90 miles long and loaded with many species of fish. Eagle lake generates lots of trophy sized Muskie, Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, and Lake Trout.

The lake has many fingers and coves that make for enjoyable private fishing. It is also surrounded by many smaller lakes that are an easy portage.

Just north of Eagle Lake is Clay Lake. Clay Lake hosts small mouth Bass as well as Pike, Muskie, and Walleye. The lake, which is 28 miles long, has been known to yield 10 pound Lake Trout.

A little farther out is Canyon Lake. Canyon Lake offers very diverse fishing conditions. The lake is 19 miles long. It is three miles across at its widest point and 100 yards at it narrowest. There are many sheltered bays and coves. There are also deep ledges and weed beds to provide excellent cover and exciting fishing.

Canyon Lake is home to a multitude of species. Among them are White fish, Perch, Walleye, and small mouth Bass. The lake is noted for producing Walleyes over 10 pounds.

Crappies probably have more names than they have scales and one of the most common is appropriately‘Papermouths,’ after how easily they tear free when attempting to set our fishing hooks. For this reason alone we cannot fish them on heavy tackle. The tackle you decide will depend on where you intend fishing for them.

Scattered deep cover requires an ultralightspincast combo or similar spinning set up to help you cast precisely. Four to ten pound line works fine and the more invisible the line, the better. It’s down to you if you want to use a pole, but they allow you to hang the baits and jigs over the tangles ofCrappie haunts without too much hassle. Poles also have a tendency to break easy and carrying tools, glue and eyes for any rod is always wise.

Floats suspend your baits and jigs at the right depths and give those visual clues that these crafty fish have sucked our baits off, or not. Keep as many float variations for your baits and jigs, along with a range of sizes of split shot and small hooks.

Jigs have a myriad of shapes, colors, and speciesand are far too many to list. If possible, the best policy is to ask or research fishing videos or other material about your destination.

Hydrographic or fishing maps for your Crappie waters are useful and especially if you are not able to use a fish-finder.

It is always wise to keep any kind of survival kit in your tackle box. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but waterproof matches, a small flashlight and first aid kit may come in handy at some stage of any fishing adventure.For those who like Crappie meals, remember a scale knife.

 Halibut are big, ugly, mean fish and it is not uncommon that people hauling them on to the deck lose fingers. They have a raw power that is craved by sports fishers throughout the world.

They are extremely tasty fish (under 50lbs) and grow over 550lbs, so heavy fishingequipment is needed to get them up. A sturdy boat rod and a reel capable of holding a few hundred meters of braided line at 0.90 diameter,with titanium trace is safe.

One extremely good method is trolling after them with large jigs around 7 to 15 oz. The jigs will entice them in very deep water too, but for trolling you should stay close to the coast and find water depths between 10 to 50 feet deep. During the summer months they come closer to land to breed.

They are clumsy fish on the take, so tie extra fishing hooks by looping one or two under the jig and setting the hooks in the silicon at the tail. This can help catch more than the single hook of the jig alone. Colors that work well are white pearl, fluorescents and dark with glitter speckles running through them.

Long Magnums and Crankbaits are the best fishing lures for Halibut. They are effective in most colors, but the brighter, more florescent, the better.

Trolling speeds have to be slow, between 3 to 5 knots and keep an eye on your depth whenever possible. The shallows can sometimes throw the odd peaks at you unexpectedly.

Halibut prefer lying around in shallow water but they often fly from time to time.  At a glance these Goliath flatfish can reach over eight feet in length by five feet wide and are easily mistaken as schools of fish on fishfinders.

Have you considered a nice leisurely day fishing, but don’t know what tackle you’ll need? Are you thinking about catfish fishing? Well here is some fishing tackle tips that will get you started.

Most people are creatures of habit; they go to the same two or three fishing lakes time after time. However, our country is filled with wonderful lakes located in beautiful regions. Here are a few great lakes you should try out.

Located in south-west Wyoming and north-east Utah is Flaming Gorge reservoir. As western reservoirs go, this one is big. It is located on the Green River and offers some of the best fishing in the west.

If you like to fish from the shore, there are miles of accessible shoreline. If you like fishing from boats, there are good docks to put in your own boat and several places to rent boats. The friendly lake side fishing shops offer lots of free fishing tackle tips. This reservoir has some monster fish so it’s important to use proper fishhook size.

In south Missouri, near Branson, is Table Rock Lake. Table Rock is a fairly large lake with lots of fingers branching out. These fingers make for some amazing Bass fishing. There are several places where you can rent boats and get fishing tackle tips. In the summer, the water is usually very warm. If you are tired or too hot you can go for a swim to cool off or if you have your smart phone you can play some online fishing games.

On the western edge of Kentucky, on the Tennessee River, is Kentucky Lake. This lake is huge and extends into Tennessee. It has many small fingers branching off that are shallow and full of good cover for Bass and shade for Crappie. It is a wonderful lake to fish.

Just a few miles to the east of Kentucky is Barkley Lake on the Cumberland River. These two lakes connect which open up miles of amazing water.

Between these two lakes is an area appropriately named Land Between the Lakes.

This recreation area has camping, boat rentals, and fishing tackle shops that can give you tons of fishing tackle tips. There are several fishing contest’s each year based on this recreation area.

These are just a few of the many lakes you should try. Break the habit, try new water.

With over 250,000 lakes and a myriad of rivers, Ontario has delighted anglers and kept taxidermists busy throughout the year. All seasons see trophies emerge from the shallows, depths and currents of this remarkable fishing trove.

Fishing games enthusiasts looking for a big and challenging catch should travel to Canada to participate in Muskie fishing. As the longest member of the pike family, the Muskie is one of the most sought after fish by anglers hunting rather than catch and releasing. Here is an ICAST guide to catching the Muskie.

Muskie is commonly confused with the white pike, as they look eerily similar to one another. The main difference between the two pike species is that the Muskie has sharper vision. What’s more, the Muskie also has sensory pores under their jaw, which to an extent act like sonar sensors which in turn can help locate food.

In terms of habitat, the Muskie is located in two main regions. Firstly, the Muskie can be found anywhere between the St. Lawrence River in Quebec and the Great Lakes of Ontario, Superior and Michigan. On the other hand, many of our colleagues have found the Muskie along the water from the Hudson Bay to the Mississippi River. Meaning to say, Ontario and Manitoba are the two provinces that have the highest Muskie populations.

Muskie comparable to the Rainbow trout, are one of the fiercest fish in the Canadian lakes. The Muskie can weigh up to 65 pounds and stretch out to close to four feet.

One of the more intriguing aspects of the Muskie is that for the most part it travels on its own, except for if it finds a big school of food. When this scenario arises, the Muskie forms a school of its own, to eat more prey.  When the Muskie attacks its food, it has the ability to swim up to very high speeds. This in turn means that you are in for a fight if for no other reason than the Muskie is a fast swimmer.

 ICAST anglers in need of a challenge should look no further than the lake trout, as they are one of the toughest fish species to conquer. Many fly anglers from across the continent have travelled to the great lakes, in hopes of catching at least 10 trout on any given day. However, after going through several sets of fishing gear, anglers find themselves in a distraught state of mind, as the lake trout has overcome their human counterparts. Here is a guide on how to catch trout.

Mainly located in the great lake regions in Canada, the lake trout has become synonymous with a fight for your life, as once they latch onto your line; you will need to put all your energy into reeling them to the surface. The lake trout is a member of the Char family, and the largest trout ever caught was 102 pounds in Saskatchewan in 1961.

The peak points to lake trout fishing season, are end of fall and beginning of spring as right before the ice freezes the water and after it breaks apart, the lake trout changes locations from lakes to rivers. From September to November is mating and birth season for the trout. In the past, the female trout has spawned between 10 to 20,000 eggs at a time in this three month time frame.

As we noted earlier, the best time to catch the lake trout is once the ice breaks at the start of the spring. During this time, the 10 to 20,000 eggs have hatched and the baby fish are ready to swim around as adults. What’s more, once the ice is finished breaking, anglers simply need to cast their lines at the surface and just below the surface of the water, as the trout come up to eat the insects and minnows. Conversely, as the season progresses, you will need to use bait for deep water fishing, as the lake trout travel to the deepest part of the lakes to hibernate.