Freshwater Fishing

Having grown up in the State of Michigan for most of my life, I have been able to experience all different kinds of freshwater fishing without having to even leave the state.  Whether you’re fishing from a boat, using a public access or dock, kayaking a lake, or simply fishing on shore, there are tons of different species available to an angler willing to put in a little work.  Even though most of the known world is covered by oceans, most people don’t realize that nearly 40% of the fish population is made up by species that live in freshwater.  Here is a short list of the different types of freshwater that I have experience fishing.

Fishing Inland Lakes/Ponds

The most accessible form of freshwater fishing comes from small ponds and Inland lakes.  You can catch just about any species of freshwater fish right from shore without having to purchase expensive boats or tackle.  This style of fishing is relaxing, yet you can still have the possibility to catch a fish that makes your heart pump.  I always find that live bait is really hard to beat in smaller ponds and lakes since food may not be as plentiful and nothing can imitate the real thing.  That being said, artificial lures will always work and they are much more versatile in the ways that you can use them.  It doesn’t get much easier than fishing in these types of water conditions and it makes for a great time on the water.

Fishing Rivers

Admittedly, I haven’t had much experience with fast flowing rivers until about 5 years ago.  I was big into salmon fishing offshore and needed something to do in the offseason (October-April).  Since the fish I was chasing out there go into the rivers, it only made sense to follow them to the rivers!  The first couple years were very frustrating and it really tested my patience.  Learning an entire new fishery can be daunting.  While getting advice from others is great, nothing replaces experience on the water and that was clearly evident.  While most rivers/streams can be waded quite easily, there are many large rivers where it becomes difficult and even dangerous to wade-fish.  This makes access a little bit more difficult, but it’s still very possible.  This type of fishing tests your patience and requires a little bit of extra gear compared to fishing smaller inland waters.

Large Lakes

While still considered an inland lake, I like to place Large Lakes in it’s own category.  Simply because the tactics and gear change so drastically from any other types of freshwater fishing.  Without a quality boat and a boatload of gear, catching lots of fish isn’t realistic.  Usually trolling is the name of the game here to cover more water and run additional lines to further cover the water column.  For example, fishing for Salmon on Lake Michigan can be extremely difficult without the right type of gear.  Nothing about this type of fishing is cheap and which really limits the amount of anglers that are capable of catching these fish on a consistent basis.  The use of electronics such as fishfinders, downriggers, temperature gauges, and GPS is pretty much a necessity when hunting down big water gamefish.  While this takes much more time and money, once you feel the tug of a 20lb. King Salmon it’s hard to go back to bluegill fishing!  For more information regarding fishfinder reviews, please visit this page.