Tag Archives: fishing lures/baits

Have heard or seen comments from several anglers recently surprised at catching catfish, some of them big catfish, on artificial lures!  That really is not unusual.  In fact, catfish are more predators than they are scavengers! Before I go any further, let me define some terms:  Nebraska is home to three species of large catfish, channel, flathead and blue.  Two of those species, blue and flathead catfish are especially predatory.  By far the best bait for flatheads is a lively …

Chug bug. Jitterbug. Hula popper. Creek chub knuckle-head. Zara spook. They all have very creative names and designs by the companies that manufacture them. They imitate every conceivable critter that could be on, around or just under the surface of the water in a wild environment from baitfish or bugs to mice or lizards to frogs, toads or even small flying mammals. They are the “go-to” fishing lures of summer. They are top water lures or surface lures, some call …

A week ago I blogged about a favorite discussion topic among anglers–lure or bait color.  Actually, I did not blog about it so much as stole my buddy, Greg Wagner’s blog post on the subject.  That topic generates a lot of interest among anglers.  I have blogged about it before. That got me thinking.  I will always tell you that you should worry about a lot of presentation variables before you worry about color.  Anglers tend to jump to color …

Spring, open-water fishing is upon us in Nebraska and anglers are organizing their tackle boxes. Chances are they have an assortment of different colored artificial fishing lures in the trays of that tackle box; probably more than they’ll ever use. But if you want to get a good discussion going about fishing lures, start one on colors. WOW!  Anyone who fishes has an opinion about the color of the lures they cast for success. So, what about fishing lure colors? …

Chug bug. Jitterbug. Hula popper. Creek chub knuckle-head. Zara spook. They all have very creative names and designs by the companies that manufacture them. They imitate every conceivable critter that could be on, around or just under the surface of the water in a wild environment from baitfish or bugs to mice or lizards to frogs, toads or even small flying mammals. They are the “go-to” fishing lures of summer. They are top water lures or surface lures, some call …

Before I get to the point of this blog, let me post the disclaimer. . . . “My name is Daryl, and I have a fishing tackle problem.”  Yes, I have just as much fishing tackle as any, probably more than most. I had to laugh earlier this summer.  Driving down a street I saw a garage sale sign that said “Huge Selection of Fishing Tackle”.  Of course I had to drive by, in fact, drove by once, then turned …

I was listening to a podcast by KVD last week.  No, not Karl VonDibble, the other KVD, the real KVD.  Kevin is known for his rapid fire “power fishing”, and he often is throwing crankbaits.  One thing he mentioned in the podcast was confidence; we all tend to fish best with techniques and baits in which we have confidence.  I will always tell you that versatility is key to consistent fishing success, but there is no doubt we all have our strengths …

We are well into summer now, and most anglers will tell you that the fishing gets tougher during the summer.  As a pointy-headed fish biologist I will tell you that is true, but it has nothing to due with the fish feeling uncomfortable in “hot” water.  Yes, we have some cold-water and cool-water species of fish in Nebraska that do not prefer the maximum temperatures of summer and for some of those species, trout for example, they simply cannot survive …