Boat Control 101 - By fishing guide Jason Boser

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Boat Control 101
by fishing guide Jason Boser

I cant tell you how many times I have been out fishing with tag boats or other people around me and they will have 2-3 fish and we will be pulling them in right and left. Their #1 question is “what were you using”. Most of the time it is not what I was using but where I was keeping my boat. Keeping your boat on the fish is the biggest factor in catching fish.

Say you were fishing a lake like winnie and the wind was pushing you parallel to the shore and we were catching fish in 6.5 ft of water. The big thing is to stay there, use your motor and go forward or backward to keep you there. Whatever you do not let your boat drift into 8-9 ft or 5ft on the shallow end. That one foot difference in depth can mean the difference between catching fish and not.

Let me give you a couple circumstances. Say you were fishing a shoreline point and the fish were in the inside corner with the wind blowing right into the corner. A lot of times I see people go out deep and drift into the zone the fish are in and over them to shallower water. You will catch some fish when you go over the fish but think of all the wasted time you are not on the fish. The way to stay on the fish would be to drift into the fish, then put your motor into the wind and slide around the inside turn that way you stay in the zone a lot longer, meaning more fish in your boat.

Now lets look at a different situation. Say you are on a underwater hump on the main lake and you find a pod of fish right on the point of it. The wind is dead calm and the fish are in 15ft right on the edge of the hump. There is a couple of ways to handle this. You can slowly backtroll around the point or you can hold your boat vertically over the fish. Now if you are going to backtroll around the point stay in the 15 ft where the fish are do not be off the edge in 20-25 ft or on top of the hump in 10ft, also do not be fishing on the sides of the hump if the fish are not there, stay on the point where the fish are. If you are going to vertical fish them stay on them so you can see them on your graph and either jig the fish or run a lindy rig right in their faces, sooner or later the fish will bite.

I know staying on the fish can be a lot of work and you have to pay attention to your electronics, but if you follow these tips you will put more fish in your boat. Good Luck Fishing!

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2010 Guided Fishing Trip Rates
Number of Anglers	Full Day Trip	Half Day Trip
1 - 2 people	$340	$270
3 people	$420	$315
Tag Boats	$100 per boat
Shore Lunch or Shore Dinner	$25 per boat
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2010 Fishing Opener Dates

Walleye & Northern Opener - May 15, 2010
Largemouth & Smallmouth Bass Opener - May 29, 2010
Muskie Opener - June 5, 2010

2010 Fishing Regulations

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