10 Tips For Catching A Big Fish

The best ten tips for catching a big fish are on every angler’s mind when they cast that rod or motor-up their boat. Fishing tips should read like a cheat sheet that is emblazoned on your brain. If Shakespeare can invent a lure, then you can catch a monster fish!

1. Find big fish. You have to know where to find the big fish before you can even begin to think about catching them. Gain the advantage in finding a lake that has big fish by checking out your state’s department of natural resources website stocking data. All natural resource professionals keep data on fish size on the lakes they stock. If you can’t find this information on the Internet, you should be able to get a hold of this data by phone.
2. Where big fish live. Big fish enjoy certain types of habitat and you need to find this habitat in order to catch a big fish. Some big fish concentrate at buoys in deeper water, while others concentrate in weeds or sunken logs off from shore. They stay hidden while waiting to strike at smaller fish swimming by.
3. Sturdy reel. Don’t waste your time on flimsy equipment. Get your hands on a top quality rod to reel in the big fish. 
4. Razor sharp hooks. You will be severely disappointed when the monster fish grabs your hook and pulls out for a run, forever. What happened? The dull hook slipped out his leathery lips and he’s gone to live another day while your left with the big one-got-away story. Use the sharpest hooks available.
5. Use large bait. Once you’ve invested in a good rod, it’s time to secure the hook with sizable bait. Large fish eat large bait. Use a tempting piece of big bait to reel in the monsters. 
6. Hook the fish. When a fish feels the hook, it’s time to pull back and secure the hook in the fish’s mouth. Give it a few seconds before you jerk back. If you do this step properly, you’re ready to catch a big fish. 
7. Feel the fish. The fish will begin to try to get free by jumping, swimming out from you and reeling out line, or swimming around obstacles and tangling line.  Every species of fish fights differently to survive. While fish hooked in shallow water are more likely to jump and flip out of the water, deep water fish are more likely to swim to the bottom to secure safety.
8. Playing the fish. If you have hooked a big one and it makes a run for it, don’t panic and jerk up on your rod. Don’t try to reel the fish in as it swims from your line. Let it go while you keep the rod at approximately a 45 degree angle to the water pointing towards the running fish. 
9. Pulling in big fish. When the fish slows down gently pull the rod up and reel down as you lower it, using a kind of up-and-down pumping motion. Keep this fluid motion going as you keep the line tight. 
10. Patience is a virtue. Don’t get too anxious to pull the fish up on shore or on your boat. You might have to keep this process up for awhile before you can finally pull your big fish in. Realize that fishing is a meditative process and you are to become one with the fish. The fish can easily outwit today’s impatient generation. If you want to catch big fish, you must become smarter than the fish.