Michigan Fishing Is Catching On!
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Michigan Fishing is catching on! Your guide to learning how to fish Michigan’s world-class waters! michigan.gov/fishing Welcome! We are so happy you want to fish in Michigan! This booklet will help you learn the basics of fishing in our state so you can begin to experience Michigan’s more than 150 species of fish, 3,000 miles of Great Lakes shoreline, tens of thousands of miles of rivers and streams, and 11,000 inland lakes. Michigan and fishing are a perfect match! Take your family out fishing! Check out the DNR’s “Family Friendly Fishing Waters”! Find a great place to fish that is easy to access, has a high likelihood of catching fish, and is all- around family friendly! Visit michigan.gov/fishing and look for the red-and-white bobber to get started! Once there you’ll find a map of Michigan. Click on any county to find family-friendly fishing locations. All fish illustrations in this booklet are courtesy of Joseph A. Tomelleri. Michigan’s World-Class Fisheries The Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Fisheries Division is responsible for managing more fresh water than any other state, and these waters contain a variety of aquatic life, including more than 150 different species of fish. Unlike any other place in the U.S., if you are anywhere in Michigan, you’re never more than seven miles away from fishable water. These natural resources (in proximity to the large population base in Michigan and the Midwest) provide unmatched fishing opportunities and require state-of-the-art, scientifically-guided fisheries management to ensure their continued excellence. Michigan’s fisheries rely on the management actions taken by Fisheries Division, whose budget is funded by a relatively small direct user group (anglers). Nearly all funds come from license sales and federal match. At this time, tax dollars from the state’s General Funds are not used to support aquatic habitat protection, rehabilitation or management, even though all Michigan citizens benefit from these activities. Michigan’s world-class fisheries and aquatic resources are fragile and subject to threats from invasive species as well as increasing development pressures. Intensive protection and management efforts go well beyond fishing regulations and habitat protection. Without these efforts, the state’s fisheries would quickly decline. In fact, it was the rapid degradation of Michigan’s aquatic resources in the early 1870s that led to the establishment of the Michigan Fish Commission in 1873. As a direct descendent of that commission, Fisheries Division is now the second oldest administrative agency in state government with a strong reputation both nationally and with the public. Fisheries Division has the privilege of continuing to meet its long-standing responsibilities to protect, manage and enhance the state’s aquatic public trust resources for the benefit of all Michigan citizens, current and future. 3 The “Reel” Story Many anglers use a basic piece of gear: a fishing rod. A simple cane pole with a line tied to the end can work when fishing in shallow water, off a dock, or close to shore, but if you want to get your bait way out there on the water, you’ll need a rod and reel. There are many kinds of rod and reel options. A spin-casting reel is the easiest reel to use when learning how to fish. Anglers simply hold the button down and cast, releasing the button as the rod moves forward to throw the bait. The weight of the bait pulls the line off the reel and out into the water. The reel sits on top of the rod just above the angler’s hand. With an open-face spinning reel the angler must hold the line with a finger or by pressing it against the rod with their thumb. Release the line when the rod is moving forward. This reel is a bit more advanced than the push button of the spin-casting reel. The reel sits under the rod just above the angler’s hand. A fly rod and reel is used when fly fishing and is an advanced rod for anglers to use. This method of fishing actually uses the weight of the line to move the flies out to their intended spot on the water during a cast. It takes lots of practice to use a fly rod. An ice fishing rod is typically much shorter and the angler does not cast the line or bait but releases it down a hole in the ice. A tip-up is also used to ice fish and is set up above the ice hole and dangles the bait beneath them under the water. Tip-ups get their name from a small flag attached that tips up when a fish takes the bait signaling the angler that they have a fish. 4 Know your Knots The best fishing line in the world is only as good as the knot you tie. Make sure your knots are tied right so your line doesn’t break or you don’t lose a hook and a fish! Let us show you how to tie two simple knots! Improved Clinch Knot Palomar Knot This is one of the easiest knots you can tie to make This is another very easy knot to tie! sure your line retains its breaking strength. It is probably the most common knot used by anglers and can be used to tie a snap swivel, hook, fly or artificial lure to your line. Step 1: Double about 6” of line & pass it through the eye of the hook. Step 1: Put the end of your line through the eye of the hook. Step 2: Wrap the end of the Step 2: Tie a simple overhand knot in the double line, line around the other strand allowing the hook to hang loose. Avoid twisting the lines. 5 times. Step 3: Take the end & run it through the loop closest to the eye. Step 3: Pull the end of the loop down & pass it completely over the hook. Step 4: Run the line back through the large loop that was just formed. Step 5: Hold the end of the line & pull on the hook smoothly until the knot is Step 4: Pull both ends of the line to draw up the tight. Then clip off the “tag” knot & trim the excess “tag” end. end. 5 Tackle This You will need a container -- called a tackle box -- for your fishing gear. Tackle boxes come in many sizes and shapes. Some look like toolboxes, others like small cabinets, and many look like soft lunch bags or backpacks. Your tackle box should have all the things you need for fishing such as hooks, sinkers, bobbers or floats and lures. Hooks Eye There are many kinds of hooks, but the basic fishhook is shaped like the letter J“ ”. • At the top of the “J” is the eye (or hole), where the line is attached. At the other end of the hook is the point, which is part of the barb. The barb helps hold a fish on the hook when it’s caught. The main body of the hook is called the shank. Point Shank • Some hooks have multiple barbs and points. Other hooks are made in unusual shapes Barb and are designed to hold specific baits, such as smelt hooks or egg hooks. A jig is similar to a basic hook, but it has a weight attached to it by the eye so you don’t need a sinker. Sinkers Also called weights, sinkers come in many shapes and sizes. • Some sinkers are simple, round balls with a slice on one side -- called split shots. You put the line through the slice and pinch the sinker right on the line above the hook. There are also sinkers that slide on the line, called cinch sinkers. • Pyramid and bell sinkers are used at the end of the line when the hooks are higher on the line. Use only as large a sinker as you need to keep your bait on the bottom. Deeper water and strong currents require heavier sinkers. Bobbers These serve two purposes: • They control the depth of your bait and can alert you when a fish is biting. • When the bobber goes down, that’s your signal to set the hook! Artificial Lures • Artificial lures are designed to look like the real thing -- minnows, frogs, worms or even insects. • Artificial lures come in many shapes, sizes and colors. Some of them float on the surface and are called topwaters. Others, mostly those designed to look like baitfish or crayfish, float on the surface at rest, but dive when you reel them in. These are often called crankbaits. Topwaters and crankbaits are both called plugs. • Other lures, like spoons, jigs and spinners, will sink to the bottom. The angler controls their depth by changing the speed of the retrieve. These lures can be fished anywhere from the bottom to just below the surface. • Hand tied flies are often used by fly fishing anglers who are trying to match their bait to what the fish are eating that day. Dry flies float on the surface and mimic either emerging insects like mayflies or “terrestrials” -- bugs that usually live on land (like crickets) but sometimes fall in the water. Wet flies sink and are used to imitate frogs, leeches, insect larvae or macroinvertebrates that live underwater permanently or until they emerge as adult insects. 6 Rigging Live Bait There are several kinds of live bait. Here’s how to put them on your hook.