The waterside is a dangerous place; never take risks with it. Anglers around the world drown every year. Make sure that you don’t become one of them. Nearly all the advice here is simple common sense. Please follow it.

Do’s and don’ts
Learn to swim before you go near the waterside. If you do fall in, don’t panic. In a river, don’t swim against the current and don’t wave your arms around; keep your mouth closed and go with the flow until you can find shallows or overhanging branches to offer support. Be wary of steep banks after rain. Watch out for undercut banks, which might collapse after heavy rain. Be especially careful after dark.

Wading
When wading in chest waders, never go too deep and be careful of fast currents. As soon as you begin to feel uneasy, stop and retrace your steps. Always wear a personal flotation device when you’re wading. The best ones are life jackets that automatically inflate within a few seconds of water immersion. A wading staff acts as a 3rd leg and is a huge-support in quick currents. (more…)

The goal here is to fool the predatory fish into thinking your plug is a real, living creature. This means you’ve got to work it right: you’ve got to pick the correct plug for the situation and you’ve got to cast it into the right kind of areas. Here’s just a few tips to get you going.

Know your plug
Learn how the plugs work. Drop them into clear water where you can retrieve them and analyse their action. Sometimes plugs work best retrieved fast, sometimes very slow. Sometimes they’ll look good just hanging inert without you imparting any movement at all. Get to know your plugs like friends. Know how fast they sink. If a plug is buoyant, how fast does it rise back to the surface when you stop the retrieve? All of these factors are important to your success.

Visibility
Be sure your plug is going to be seen. This is more important if the water is at all murky. It’s at times like this when neon orange plugs do great. Or try black – in very clear water, in bright sunlight, a black plug can often outfish every other color.

Size
Perhaps you’ll have to use a bigger plug, which will be more easily seen and will send out more vibrations through the water. Possibly choose a plug that has a sound chamber in which ball bearings rattle, once again sending out enticing signals. (more…)