With the Northwest experiencing the best Steelhead runs in years, the staff here at Hungryhook decided it would be a great idea to give you tips on how to catch these giant Rainbows.  Whether you are brand new to Steelhead fishing,  or a seasoned vet, we're sure you will be happy to use these tips.

1)  The Rig: We like to use 12 lb test Stren Extra-Stength Mono on a 7 1/2 ft fishing rod.  You need to ensure you have a longer fishing rod in order to have enough action and play to fight through the current.  We then use an 1/8 out pink or black jig hooked with frozen shrimp.  Make sure you hook the shrimp on like you would a grub on a jig.  Then attach a bobber-stop and bead on to your line, and use a weighted bobber to keep it straight in the water.

2)  Depth:  We like to test the bobber-stop.  On your first cast, you want to be able to hit the bottom of the river so that you can then raise the bobber-stop incrementally until you are 1-2 feet off the bottom.  If the fish are rising, you can obviously lower the bobber-stop to allow less leader.  If it is your first time out, find the bottom, and then lift the bobber-stop up your line about a foot.  You do NOT want your lure dragging on the river floor, or you will be cutting your line all day.

3)  Landing the Steelhead:  Make sure that you have crimped down all of your barbs, as most waters will not allow you to fish for Steelhead with a barbed hook.  Due to the loss of the barb, it is crucial that you have your drag set loose enough to let the fish run in the current without snapping your line, but tight enough to allow no slack in your line.  I like to tighten down drag as far as possible, and then loosed it about 3 turns.  Also, do not allow your fish to run with the bait without landing the hook.  The moment you feel a hit, reel down the slack, and HAMMER it!  Then hold on, fight the fish out of the current, and bag a lunker.

4)  Fishing Area:   Here in Idaho, we love to fish the Snake River, and the Dam in Orofino.  These are both hot spots, and capable of producing a great day of fishing.  Watch for the currents that drop into deep pools.  These pools will hold the most fish.  Finally, ensure that your Steelhead has a clipped fin.  This is a sign that they are a planter fish, and ok to take. 

Now get out on the river, get your rig set up, and land a lunker.  When you are done, submit a pic here at Hungryhook, and we will get you up on the wall of fame.

Happy fishing, and as always, respect the lake....

Congratulations to our Hungryhook Member, Cavebay, who landed this lunker on his dad's 67th birthday down in at Blue and Black in the Chain Lakes.  We hope you had an amazing day with your dad, and thanks for the pic.

Well my friends, sadly we are ending another year of Bass Fishing here in the Northwest.  However, you can still land yourself a lunker this fall with these tips below:

1)  Fish Slow, Fish Deep:  As the water temps drop, it is important to chase the bass into the deeper waters, and along boulders which will help to retain heat.  Often, you will see schools of bass laying up against the boulders, trying to stay warm.  Also, as the ice begins to hit the lake, the bass will head towards more oxygen...hence, the deeper waters.  As always, with cooler water, means slower presentations.  Metabolism really slows down this time of year, so it is important to leave the bait in front of their nose as long as possible.  Often times, you will get strikes only on reactions, so keep it slow and simple.

2)  Flat head Jerk Baits:  If you can find a flat head jerk bait at your local tackle shop, grab it.  These baits suspend in the water, and have a much tighter wiggle to them then the average jerk bait for plug.  This is extremely important during cold water temps.  Often times, anglers make the mistake of using an extremely flashy, wobbly lure at this time, and won't get bit.  These fish want that lure slow....The flat head is perfect for this.

3)  Retrieves:  Make sure you work the retrieve as slow as possible.  I like to jerk, then wait 8-10 seconds, and then jerk again.  The bass really need to see the presentation for a while before they get the energy up to hit it.  Manually count the seconds in your head to ensure you are going slow enough.  If you think you are going slow enough...You are going too fast!

4)  Your Lake:  Make sure you fish a lake that maintains its vegetation as late into the year as possible.  Vegetation means oxygen, and oxygen means more fish.  Look for boulders and rocks on the lake floor.  These areas will retain more heat, and retain more fish.

In conclusion...The bass year is running low on time, but the real fishing begins.  Make sure you watch for our articles on monster winter fishing in the near future.

Happy Fishing, and Respect the Lake.

With so many fishing lures on the market, and so many lcd tv's at the tackle shop trying to catch our eyes, it is important to write a review on a couple of these gimmick bass lures, in order to keep you from getting ripped off.

Let me first begin by stating the obvious.  When bass are very aggressive, as in the pre-spawn weeks, and during fall, I wouldn't be going out on a limb to say that bass aren't very selective during these times.  Take a look sometime at what marine biologists find in the stomachs of sharks.  Trash cans, shoes, lunch boxes, just about anything you can imagine.  In the same way, these "As seen on TV" products can be picked up by any indescriminate fish that happens to be on a hunger binge.  That is exactly what these TV commercials want you to see.  They introduce the bait to hungry bass in a controlled environment, and trick you into believing that bass or other fish "can't handle it."  This couldn't be farther from the truth, and in the end, you'll be out a pretty penny for these products.  Let's take a look at a few.

1)  The Banjo Minnow - Everybody's heard about this lure, and it has been around seemingly forever.  The commercial is well put together, and the product's action looks fantastic.  They show bass after bass hitting this lure, over and over again.  Then they offer it to you for a relatively low price, and hook you.  Being someone that has a passion for fishing and lures, I had to buy a pack.  Then, I received my package.  Let me tell you the results. 

First, the colors are completely ridiculous.  If you have ever read an article about "matching the fry", or "matching the hatch", these lures won't make the cut.  Ranging from a ridiculous pick between glowing chartreuse, and a mix between clear and crest toothpaste with sparkles, you are far from matching the baitfish in the lake. 

Second, the action looks good on tape, but far different in the water. The stars absolutely must align to make this bait perform the way you want it to.  I do have to say that the dying minnow look is special, and I have seen bass engulf this lure...but only during the MOST aggressive days of the year.  Your line tends to twist when using this product causing the bait to spin and whirl, instead of bolt and die.   The hook through the nose is a great idea, but must be approached with care, as the bass must engulf the ENTIRE lure before setting.  This does happen...once again...on highly aggressive days.  However, on the day where the bass just seem to be slapping your bait, you have a much higher chance of foul hooking it than landing it through the lip.

Last, these baits are cheaply made.  It is only a matter of a few casts, when the "life-like" eyes coming falling our of your lure, leaving nothing but a cold "Jaws-like" gray.  It doesn't really bother me, because these lures christened the bottom of my supply compartment anyways.

Conclusion?  Stay away from these lures.  Save your $20+ after shipping, and buy the basics....

2)  The Blade Dancer - I was eager to try these lures out after seeing an lcd tv commercial at my local fishing shop.  I believe Berkeley puts out great products for the most part, but these are absolutely garbage.  Of course, in the video, they are hammering bass after bass, and pike afte pike on this lure.  I immediately bought the tackle shop out of this lure, and tried them out.  Verdict?  Absolute garbage.

First, the lures are very expensive.  They give you only one spoon, which you attach the remaining lures to throughout use.  Lock this lure up on a log, and your whole pack is gone. 

Second, I've cast this lure out in the most aggressive times...I've worked on swimming the lure, jigging the lure, and doing everything universally that the video talks about, and all I did was foul hook a perch on accident in the side. 

Lastly, the action does look amazing, yet, the presentation is very hard to control.  Either you get a violent wobbling of the lure, or nothing at all.  This cannot work on days where you need to really slow your presentation.  I will say, that in late summer and early fall, I have had a lot of success landing Northern Pike.  Again, however, anybody who goes bass fishing during this time has inevitably hit a pike with a grub or senko on accident.  I'm not sold that this is the only lure for pike.  However, with the flash of the spoon, and violent wobbling, at the right time of the year, this can be a pike killer.

Conclusion, stay away from this lure unless you are singling out pike for the day.  Only work it during late summer, early fall, when pike are most aggressive.  When you see a TV advertising a lure...Keep walking!!!

Stick to the basics.  Buy yourself a few jigs, cranks, spinnerbaits, and plastics, such as a ribbon worm, and Senko.  These will keep the price down, but fill your tackle box with universal baits for anytime of the year.  Companies try to use these "As seen on TV" methods to make a lure "original".  I have only one comment for that.  There is a reason why these lures weren't sold in MASS quantites to sports and tackle shops...They would just take up more shelf space.

Happy Fishing, and Respect the Lake....

Wow...Another Hungryhook 1st.  Congratulations to our hungryhook pal, Erin, who landed her first ever bass this year.  She was fishing Hayden with a Green Pumpkin Flappin' Hog by Yamamoto.  She set the hook like a pro, with one foot on the side of the boat for leverage, she went from 6 o'clock to 12 o'clock in less than half a second.  Nice moves Erin, and we wish you nothing but the best on your future fishing adventures.

Throughout the rest of September, and into the third week of October, the Salmon will be running in the Coeur d'Alene River.  There is nothing like landing a 20+ lb. Salmon in just a couple feet of water.  Make sure you are working a bobber on a bobber stop with a Salmon Egg Sack below the bobber.  This is a great opportunity to bag yourself a lunker.  Happy fishing.

Our Hungryhook friend Dan had no trouble landing this Largemouth Bass at Hayden Lake, ID.  Using a 5" Yamasenko in Green Pumpkin with purple and copper fleck, he hammered this largie on his 1st cast of the day.  We were fishing docks in 12-15 feet of water.  This is his first bass.  Congratulations Dan!

Well, we are definitely beginning to enter the fall bass pattern in the Northwest.  If you can disregard the ridiculous fist pump, here are some fall bass tips that will help you bag more fish.

The shad and other baitfish are starting to move back up into the bays and creeks at this point.  This 3+ pound largie that I caught this morning was taken at Hayden Lake, ID, in a foot of water.  If you read our post entitled Late Summer Smallmouth, you will see that we have been fishing 25-40 feet deep jigging throughout August.  However, water temperatures fluctuate often in the Northwest, and can move fish patterns in just a matter of days. 

The Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass have moved up into the shallows once again, and present an excellent opportunity for anglers from boat and shore to capitalize on this opportunity.  The water temps are currently ranging from 72 degrees to as high as 80 degrees during high sun days.  With water temps still high, bass are very aggressive.  The largemouth from the picture above was taken on a 5" pumpkin pepper sinking worm by Mr. Twister.  I was also throwing a 7" Senko by yamamoto in Green Pumpkin color.  7-9 inch worms result in less hook sets by smaller bass, but can definitely help you find that lunker.  For those of you who have not tried a Mister Twister lure, they are excellent, high quality, and almost half the price of Yamamoto lures.  I love both Yamamoto and Mr. Twister, so pick by preference and wallet size.

If you launch at the back of Hayden, for fish the back of Spirit, Fernan, etc, you may be having trouble chasing the largemouth into the thick weeds.  Unfortunately there is a big millfoil problem at Hayden, causing much of sportsman's access to be unfishable.  I found size 2 Wacky, Weedless hooks at Cabelas for about $2.50.  These will help you fish your senkos or twisters wacky, while still hitting these high vegetation ares.  Buy yourself a couple packs, as you will use them.

Night time topwater will still help you land more bass during fall.  The bass are still rising and hitting bugs off the top, so take advantage of the opportunity with flies, jitterbugs, poppers, and topwater plugs.  Work varying retrieves, and make sure that you allow the bass to take the lure under before you set the hook.  The large majority of anglers set these topwater bates too quickly, resulting in a missed strike and wrapped line.

In conclusion, during the Early Fall Bass Pattern, take it to them in the shallows.  Match the bait with Green Pumpkin, and Pumpkin Pepper colors.  Finally, don't be afraid to swap out baits often, or change the size/color to make a better presentation.  Sometimes it takes a subtle change to bring the lunkers out.  Fall might be the best fishing time of the year if you approach the bass right.  Feel free to leave a comment should you have any questions, and most of all, respect the lake.

Further proof, as submitted by our Hungryhook friend James, that pike just can't handle spoons.  This 23 lb lunker was taken in Lake Coeur d'Alene near the chain lakes on a Silver Minnow dressed with a red Zoom kicker chunk.  Pike are very aggressive in the last weeks of August, so stick to large spinners, silver minnows, and the infamous Red and Yellow 5 of Diamonds.  Troll the back of bays in 12-20 feet of water, and work varying retries.  Black, red, and yellow are sure to bring the pike it.

Great job James, and here's to hammering the Northerns.

Congratulations to our Hungryhook pal on his first lunker smallie.  She was caught at 27 feet deep on a 5" Yamamoto Grub in Green Pumpkin on an 1/8 oz jig.  The smallie was safely released after the picture.  Awesome job pal, and I am sure this is just one of a lifetime of fish memories to come.