How to increase your chances of catching fish?

Jigging or twitching the bait to add more “action” to the bait usually up the action quotient for me. Vary the depth of the bait until you start to find the nibbles will make a difference as well.

@Cruiser When you say “Vary the depth of the bait until you start to find nibbles” what do you mean?

Are you fishing from the beach or a pier?

And vary the depth of the bait means finding how deep the fish are. You want the bait in front of their faces, not way over their heads or way underneath.

Are you a smoker? This may sound weird, but if you’re a smoker that messes with your chances of catching fish. A smoker’s (even a light smoker’s) skin is constantly leaking nicotine, and if you mess with bait with your bare hands it’ll be less appetizing to fish since they can smell/taste it. My dad always used rubber gloves when messing with bait, especially food bait when fishing because he was a heavy smoker. If he didn’t have gloves he would get me to bait his hooks.

@cornbird Let the bait sink to the bottom and try there and then reel it up a couple feet and again jig the bait at varying depths until you get hits! Fish the structure of where you are fishing as fish will congregate around weeds and rocks. I find the lower depths are where the fish will “hide”.

I’m not big on saltwater fishing… but I’ve learned that catfish will eat just about anything… like lunch meat (salami, ham, turkey.. bologna), and pike like shiny objects. Never wear chains in the water unless you want your gonads chomped off.

@NinjaBiscuit I am not a smoker. @jaytkay I fish from a pier and a boat.(saltwater fishing I am interested in) Does anyone have experience in catching red fish? And also, should I consider changing my bait for more success?

@cornbird By red fish I assume you mean the different kinds of rock cod, many of which are red.

Advice for fishing on a boat:
When I fish for rock fish, I use a shrimp fly setup with 3 hooks (We’re only allowed 3 hooks for rock fishing in CA), and usually a ½ pound or 1 pound weight at the bottom, depending on the current.

I use either a hunk of squid meat on each hook, or a live anchovy hooked through the eye. Frozen can work too. Let your line reach all of the way to the bottom, and then crank it up ~5–10 turns, just so you don’t snag anything on the bottom. Now just wait for the fish to come.

With this setup, I can usually catch my 10 fish limit in around 3 hours if we are on the fish.

Pier fishing it different, you really just have to get lucky. Squid here is another favorite, just try to have the stinkiest bait around to have the best luck catching fish.

the techniques every one above have listed are great. The key is being patient. If nothing is hitting it, change locations

Use garlic.

When you say red fish, do you mean Red Drum?
Learn about the fish you want to catch. Sharp hooks.Fresh bait. Sometimes old bait. Low light times of day.(Sunrise and Sunset) Good quality line, hooks and knots.Ask the locals what technique works for them, then listen and try that. Hire a local guide. He or she makes a living catching fish in that area. They won’t give away that knowledge but you can learn alot and increase your confidence.
Tips for pier fishing. When a wave rolls in, it rises up and breaks on the way in. The area just before the break is a deeper area of ocean floor.Fish in the deeper areas. The fish use this relatively calm water to sit and ambush bait that gets sucked back into the wash. Hold your rod when you fish from a pier. Sometimes the bite is so light that you won’t see the tip drop but you may feel the nibble. Fish do not just hang out in the middle of the ocean. There are “structures” that ocean fish use for protection and as ambush points. In the ocean this can be current,mudlines,a deeper than the surrouning area hole , pier and bridge pilings etc. Try to find these features, boat or pier.
Remember, it is called fishing, not catching. Sometimtes lady luck puts her hand on your fising buddy, sometimes she puts it on you.

use a fishfinder : P

@Draconess25 genius… I never really thought about it, but it makes perfect sense. Whenever there are fish at work that arent eating, i mix garlic in with their food and then its like i put crack i the water. I never really made the connect to use that when out fishing.

<smacks forehead>

@uberbatman Does garlic really work? I didnt know that. @alamo Thats great advice, but I have experienced fishing at the rocks where most of the fish are and my hook gets caught and I have no choice but to burst the line. That also is one of my problems with fishing…. and when I say red fish I mean those red snappers.

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