Dos and Don'ts of Fishing

News & Tips: Dos and Don'ts of Fishing

There are a lot of things you can do right in fishing and a lot of things you can do wrong, simply because you didn’t know there were such things to be aware of when fishing. To shed some light on these two subjects, I have listed a few of the ones you need to know.
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Fishing “Dos”:

  • Do fish in areas that are known to be productive areas but are not already being fished by others at the time you are there.
  • Do have a plan of where you’re going to fish and what bait you’re going to use.
  • Do know where to go in case of a storm or an emergency
  • Do use lures that are appropriate for that time of year.
  • Do keep a topo map of the lake in your boat in case you get lost. (Eventually, you will get lost.)
  • Do know the weather forecast.
  • Do make sure your fire extinguisher is fully charged.
  • Do fish with a degree of stealth. This will increase your chances of catching fish.
  • Do fish an area well before you move on.
  • Do check your boat before you leave home, including: fuel, oil, life vests, batteries charged, water, fishing licenses, boat tag, emergency equipment, your medications, etc.
  • Do keep your kill switch attached to you when running the big motor. If you don’t know what a kill switch is, you need to stay home.
  • Do take your kids.


Things Not To Do:

  • Don’t be rude to other fishermen by running your boat upon them or trying to fish the same area at the same time if they were there first.
  • Don’t throw your old fishing line in the lake.
  • Don’t throw trash in the lake -- especially glass items and Styrofoam products.
  • Don’t “hit and run.” This means don’t run from one area to another, making just a couple of casts and then running hard again.
  • Don’t keep fish you are not going to eat.
  • Don’t hot rod your boat so that you endanger water skiers, swimmers and water bikes or make them feel uncomfortable by your antics.
  • Don’t disregard “no wake” buoys just because no one is watching.
  • Don’t drink alcohol on the lake.
  • Don’t run your big motor without a life vest on that is fastened. Draping it over your shoulder will do no good.
  • Don’t fillet your fish in the lake to avoid the limit laws. Keep what you are going to eat, and know that you can’t eat more than the legal limit.
  • Don’t litter private waters you are allowed to fish on; leave them cleaner than when you found them.

Follow these “dos and don’ts,” and the fishing will be better for you and other persons.

by Jimmy Houston