Post by Fishooked on Apr 20, 2009 21:22:20 GMT -4
by Jan Eggers, of course 
An Introduction to Practical Fishing, By Jan Eggers
HABITATS
If you intend to catch a certain predator with a Rapala lure, it is more or less a necessity that you know this species is present in the water where you intend to fish. If Jan Eggers intends to catch a salmon or say a nice wild brown trout, he'd better fish for these nice game fishes in Sweden, Finland or Scotland than in Holland. Why? Quite simple, in the Scandinavian countries and Scotland one finds the right habitat for trout and salmon. This habitat is not present any longer in Holland due to pollution and other reasons. If you intend to catch a nice largemouth bass, you'd better avoid the Scandinavian countries but give it a try in Spain, Italy and of course the USA. The cold rivers and lakes in the North of Europe are not the right habitat for this number one sport fish in the USA.
In general one can say each predator has a preference for a certain habitat. The more all the right factors like water temperature, pH of the water, structure of the bottom, current, level of oxygen during summer and winter, presence or absence of weeds, clearness or the salinity of the water and suitable nourishment, are available, the more the fish feel at home. If one or more factors are missing or disappear because of human activity, it can mean that the habitat is no longer suitable for certain species, which cannot survive in this changing habitat and they will therefore disappear. One can say that due to industrialization and pollution already a lot of excellent fishing habitats have been destroyed during the last 100 years. As fishermen we have a kind of responsibility to stop the decline of our fishing waters for everybody wants to see his grandchildren also enjoying fishing in the next decades.
THE MOST IMPORTANT HABITATS
There are many, many different habitats in the fishing world and biologists do come up with new habitats for special species every now and then. It is impossible to mention all the special habitats in this article and we had better concentrate on the biggest and most important ones:
- sea, including the ones with brackish water like the Baltic Sea;
- rivers, from the huge ones to the little brooks and creeks;
- lakes, including manmade reservoirs and little village ponds;
- canals, ditches and other waterways with almost no current.
Let's have a closer look at these habitats mentioned above and the most interesting predators feeling home there. Later on we will give more detailed information about where one can expect these predators and which lures and techniques are the best during the various seasons.
SEAS
The biggest part of Mother Earth consists of oceans and seas with saltwater. From the very cold arctic seas to the much warmer oceans around the equator, there are seas that are extremely deep, more than 8000 meters, and others that are quite shallow. Some have a lot of current, others no current at all and also the degree of salinity may vary a lot. All these differences have made the fish species more or less adapted to the conditions in their marine home.
Some predators like cod, halibut and more or less salmon and sea trout, prefer rather cold water. Others like tuna, sailfish, bonito and some members of the shark family, prefer much warmer water and are mostly found around the equator.
There are even species that can live in both salt and fresh water. Certain species like the sea trout and Atlantic salmon spend the greatest part of their lives in salt water but return to the rivers and creeks, where they were born, for spawning. Other fishes leave the fresh water for spawning in salt water, the eel is such an example. There are thousands of species living in the seas and it seems that each family has found a special niche in the sea that fits them the best. Some like heavy current, others don't. Some like to live at great depths, others prefer to hang around near the surface. Some prefer to hunt in the dark, others catch their daily meal only during daylight and I can continue for another half page, so many differences there are.
If you intend to fish for a certain predator, and hope to catch some, your chances increase a lot if you know more about the habits and habitat of this species. For knowing how, where and when this predator hunts for a special prey, for it has to eat if it wants to survive, makes you know better how to present the right lure during the right time in the right place.
RIVERS
Rivers have been very, very important for human beings from the very beginning mankind has existed. They provided drinking water, were excellent transportation systems and provided a lot of fishes as the necessary food for people living along the rivers. Catching fish from the rivers is as old as the human beings and also in the future people will fish in rivers.
Quite a lot of predators can be found in river systems and let's mention a few: salmon, trout, pike, zander, bass, musky, catfish, perch, sturgeon and grayling. Also here you see that certain species, like trout and salmon, prefer the cold, very fast running water while others like the pike and wels catfish prefer the quiet stretches of the same river. If you intend to catch a big pike, you'd better stay away from the strong white water near the rapids where several trout species feel at home. In the smaller streams and creeks, some only 2 feet wide, one should not expect the biggest members of the trout, pike, perch and salmon family. In these small brooks you'll find the juveniles and when they grow bigger, they will sooner or later find their final home in the big river. But quite often they go back to the small tributaries for spawning.
Some rivers are muddy because they stream through a soft bottom area. Others are crystal clear because the bottom is gravel and rock. In the more coloured river one will find other species than in the one with crystal clear water. Also here one sees that the fish population has adapted to the circumstances. Big rivers flowing into an ocean or sea, have most of the time a delta where fresh and salt water meet and this brackish zone creates a special habitat for special species which can survive in this changing water world. One can say that river systems are a very important and vital part for an awful lot of fishes.
LAKES
There are lakes that are as big as countries like Holland and Belgium. There are lakes that are extremely deep while others are so shallow they are covered with weeds and almost dry in summertime. Some lakes have a lot of food for the fish, some are oligotrophic and can only produce food for a limited number of fish. Some lakes are old, some are quite young in their existence, like the manmade reservoirs.
If a lake is situated in the very north or very south, or just in the middle nearby the equator, makes them also differ a lot and it is even possible to make a classification of natural lakes, reservoirs and the same can be done with rivers. This huge variety of lakes, no matter if they are big or small, deep or shallow, natural or manmade, eutrophic or oligotrophic, cold or warm, clear or muddy, also means that there are an awful lot of different habitats in these lakes, where certain species feel at home and others would never ever survive.
For us lure fishermen, lakes mean an awful lot of possibilities when it comes to catching predators. In almost every lake you'll find predators that will give you a lot of sport when you fish for them with the right tackle. A small perch on light tackle in a small shallow lake in the middle of the village can give a young fisherman just as much satisfaction as the dedicated fisherman catching a 40 pound musky from the huge Lake of the Woods. Lakes are not only important for the fishermen. More and more you see and hear that good drinking water, mostly coming from lakes, will become scarce in the near future. This might give us fishermen another reason to treat these lakes very well for without fresh water, it would become quite a problematic world and not only for fishermen...
CANALS
When it is not a sea, not a river and not a lake, it might be a canal, ditch or a similar kind of waterway made by human beings. In some countries there won't be many canals due to the structure of the landscape. I can imagine that the value of a canal in the high mountains of Switzerland is much less than in a flat country like Holland. In the past a lot of canals were made for transportation of goods and for linking two or more rivers to create more transportation possibilities. In other countries canals were constructed to alleviate the abundance of water during wet seasons and thus a huge drainage system was developed. In other countries they just needed water in dry periods and here irrigation systems were built. And we know that if there is enough water, more or less automatically fish species will find a suitable habitat there.
In the eutrophic canals, with almost no current and quite high temperatures, oxygen levels will drop fairly low, so species like trout, grayling and salmon cannot survive. But other predators like zander and catfish feel perfectly home here and a lure fisherman can have a lot of fun catching them. Probably there is no classification of canals and ditches, as there are of rivers and lakes. But it doesn't matter for the fisherman. There are plenty of books, magazines and not to forget local knowledge of the practical fishermen in the area, that can give you the necessary basic information about which predators one can expect. Take for instance the geographical situation. A canal in the north of Spain with the same pH, same depth, same clarity of the water as a canal in the South of Finland will probably contain a total different range of predators although pike might be found in both. There are so many factors that have a huge influence on creating the right habitat for special species that it is way too complicated to mention them in a general article like this is.
Understanding the fishes, thinking like a fish and knowing as much as possible of their basic behaviour is the key to success. In the next chapters we will give you much more detailed information about where one can expect the most important predators during the different times of the fishing season, no matter if these predators swim in the sea, a river, a lake or a canal.
An Introduction to Practical Fishing, By Jan Eggers
HABITATS
If you intend to catch a certain predator with a Rapala lure, it is more or less a necessity that you know this species is present in the water where you intend to fish. If Jan Eggers intends to catch a salmon or say a nice wild brown trout, he'd better fish for these nice game fishes in Sweden, Finland or Scotland than in Holland. Why? Quite simple, in the Scandinavian countries and Scotland one finds the right habitat for trout and salmon. This habitat is not present any longer in Holland due to pollution and other reasons. If you intend to catch a nice largemouth bass, you'd better avoid the Scandinavian countries but give it a try in Spain, Italy and of course the USA. The cold rivers and lakes in the North of Europe are not the right habitat for this number one sport fish in the USA.
In general one can say each predator has a preference for a certain habitat. The more all the right factors like water temperature, pH of the water, structure of the bottom, current, level of oxygen during summer and winter, presence or absence of weeds, clearness or the salinity of the water and suitable nourishment, are available, the more the fish feel at home. If one or more factors are missing or disappear because of human activity, it can mean that the habitat is no longer suitable for certain species, which cannot survive in this changing habitat and they will therefore disappear. One can say that due to industrialization and pollution already a lot of excellent fishing habitats have been destroyed during the last 100 years. As fishermen we have a kind of responsibility to stop the decline of our fishing waters for everybody wants to see his grandchildren also enjoying fishing in the next decades.
THE MOST IMPORTANT HABITATS
There are many, many different habitats in the fishing world and biologists do come up with new habitats for special species every now and then. It is impossible to mention all the special habitats in this article and we had better concentrate on the biggest and most important ones:
- sea, including the ones with brackish water like the Baltic Sea;
- rivers, from the huge ones to the little brooks and creeks;
- lakes, including manmade reservoirs and little village ponds;
- canals, ditches and other waterways with almost no current.
Let's have a closer look at these habitats mentioned above and the most interesting predators feeling home there. Later on we will give more detailed information about where one can expect these predators and which lures and techniques are the best during the various seasons.
SEAS
The biggest part of Mother Earth consists of oceans and seas with saltwater. From the very cold arctic seas to the much warmer oceans around the equator, there are seas that are extremely deep, more than 8000 meters, and others that are quite shallow. Some have a lot of current, others no current at all and also the degree of salinity may vary a lot. All these differences have made the fish species more or less adapted to the conditions in their marine home.
Some predators like cod, halibut and more or less salmon and sea trout, prefer rather cold water. Others like tuna, sailfish, bonito and some members of the shark family, prefer much warmer water and are mostly found around the equator.
There are even species that can live in both salt and fresh water. Certain species like the sea trout and Atlantic salmon spend the greatest part of their lives in salt water but return to the rivers and creeks, where they were born, for spawning. Other fishes leave the fresh water for spawning in salt water, the eel is such an example. There are thousands of species living in the seas and it seems that each family has found a special niche in the sea that fits them the best. Some like heavy current, others don't. Some like to live at great depths, others prefer to hang around near the surface. Some prefer to hunt in the dark, others catch their daily meal only during daylight and I can continue for another half page, so many differences there are.
If you intend to fish for a certain predator, and hope to catch some, your chances increase a lot if you know more about the habits and habitat of this species. For knowing how, where and when this predator hunts for a special prey, for it has to eat if it wants to survive, makes you know better how to present the right lure during the right time in the right place.
RIVERS
Rivers have been very, very important for human beings from the very beginning mankind has existed. They provided drinking water, were excellent transportation systems and provided a lot of fishes as the necessary food for people living along the rivers. Catching fish from the rivers is as old as the human beings and also in the future people will fish in rivers.
Quite a lot of predators can be found in river systems and let's mention a few: salmon, trout, pike, zander, bass, musky, catfish, perch, sturgeon and grayling. Also here you see that certain species, like trout and salmon, prefer the cold, very fast running water while others like the pike and wels catfish prefer the quiet stretches of the same river. If you intend to catch a big pike, you'd better stay away from the strong white water near the rapids where several trout species feel at home. In the smaller streams and creeks, some only 2 feet wide, one should not expect the biggest members of the trout, pike, perch and salmon family. In these small brooks you'll find the juveniles and when they grow bigger, they will sooner or later find their final home in the big river. But quite often they go back to the small tributaries for spawning.
Some rivers are muddy because they stream through a soft bottom area. Others are crystal clear because the bottom is gravel and rock. In the more coloured river one will find other species than in the one with crystal clear water. Also here one sees that the fish population has adapted to the circumstances. Big rivers flowing into an ocean or sea, have most of the time a delta where fresh and salt water meet and this brackish zone creates a special habitat for special species which can survive in this changing water world. One can say that river systems are a very important and vital part for an awful lot of fishes.
LAKES
There are lakes that are as big as countries like Holland and Belgium. There are lakes that are extremely deep while others are so shallow they are covered with weeds and almost dry in summertime. Some lakes have a lot of food for the fish, some are oligotrophic and can only produce food for a limited number of fish. Some lakes are old, some are quite young in their existence, like the manmade reservoirs.
If a lake is situated in the very north or very south, or just in the middle nearby the equator, makes them also differ a lot and it is even possible to make a classification of natural lakes, reservoirs and the same can be done with rivers. This huge variety of lakes, no matter if they are big or small, deep or shallow, natural or manmade, eutrophic or oligotrophic, cold or warm, clear or muddy, also means that there are an awful lot of different habitats in these lakes, where certain species feel at home and others would never ever survive.
For us lure fishermen, lakes mean an awful lot of possibilities when it comes to catching predators. In almost every lake you'll find predators that will give you a lot of sport when you fish for them with the right tackle. A small perch on light tackle in a small shallow lake in the middle of the village can give a young fisherman just as much satisfaction as the dedicated fisherman catching a 40 pound musky from the huge Lake of the Woods. Lakes are not only important for the fishermen. More and more you see and hear that good drinking water, mostly coming from lakes, will become scarce in the near future. This might give us fishermen another reason to treat these lakes very well for without fresh water, it would become quite a problematic world and not only for fishermen...
CANALS
When it is not a sea, not a river and not a lake, it might be a canal, ditch or a similar kind of waterway made by human beings. In some countries there won't be many canals due to the structure of the landscape. I can imagine that the value of a canal in the high mountains of Switzerland is much less than in a flat country like Holland. In the past a lot of canals were made for transportation of goods and for linking two or more rivers to create more transportation possibilities. In other countries canals were constructed to alleviate the abundance of water during wet seasons and thus a huge drainage system was developed. In other countries they just needed water in dry periods and here irrigation systems were built. And we know that if there is enough water, more or less automatically fish species will find a suitable habitat there.
In the eutrophic canals, with almost no current and quite high temperatures, oxygen levels will drop fairly low, so species like trout, grayling and salmon cannot survive. But other predators like zander and catfish feel perfectly home here and a lure fisherman can have a lot of fun catching them. Probably there is no classification of canals and ditches, as there are of rivers and lakes. But it doesn't matter for the fisherman. There are plenty of books, magazines and not to forget local knowledge of the practical fishermen in the area, that can give you the necessary basic information about which predators one can expect. Take for instance the geographical situation. A canal in the north of Spain with the same pH, same depth, same clarity of the water as a canal in the South of Finland will probably contain a total different range of predators although pike might be found in both. There are so many factors that have a huge influence on creating the right habitat for special species that it is way too complicated to mention them in a general article like this is.
Understanding the fishes, thinking like a fish and knowing as much as possible of their basic behaviour is the key to success. In the next chapters we will give you much more detailed information about where one can expect the most important predators during the different times of the fishing season, no matter if these predators swim in the sea, a river, a lake or a canal.
