Best ways to catch fish from the freshwater's edge

[sugarsnap]

i dont have a boat but would like to catch fish from a local river/lake to add to our food supply (not into the sport just the food and i like being outdoors)

what is the best way to be able to grab a few fish here and there? i tried casting out bait (real and man made) and just caught a few bluegills for all my tries
(and they were alot)

any tips are welcome
we have bass here and trout and things

[OzarkMtnDaredevil]

i dont have a boat but would like to catch fish from a local river/lake to add to our food supply (not into the sport just the food and i like being outdoors)

what is the best way to be able to grab a few fish here and there? *i tried casting out bait (real and man made) and just caught a few bluegills for all my tries
(and they were alot)

any tips are welcome
we have bass here and trout and things

Since you didn't tell us where you are, that's a very broad question. Shall we keep the discussion limited to this time of year?
I'll start with what works where I live in the Ozarks of north-central Arkansas.
After a Spring rain, fish (particularly Bass) look for a free meal. Rains wash worms and other things out of creeks that feed the lakes, oxygenate the water, and the fish will congregate there. That's the place to be after a rain. Morning is best. Topwater baits are also effective as frogs compete for the same food. Fish eat frogs. If it is still raining, Buzz Baits are effective as they make more noise than the rain.
Remember... you can catch a big fish on a small hook but, it's hard for a little fish to get a big hook in its mouth.

If you're not into the 'Sport', you might appreciate this old joke...

An old man was well-known in his parts for his ability to bring in the limit of whatever he was fishing for. A game warden managed to win his trust and asked the old man if he would take him fishing so that he could learn from the best.
On Saturday morning, the old man and the warden shoved an old, beat-up, aluminum boat off of the bank and headed up into a creek-arm of the lake as the fog was lifting. In the middle of the creek channel, the old man lit a cigar, dropped the anchor and sat back down.
"Why are we stopping here?" the warden asked.
The old man didn't say anything but reached into an old Coleman cooler and withdrew a stick of dynomite. He lit the fuse with his cigar and tossed the stick over the side of the boat.
HEY! exclaimed the game warden. You can't do that! That's ILLEGAL!
The old man reached into the Coleman cooler, took out another stick, lit it with his cigar and tossed it to the warden.
"Boy. Do you wanna talk about the law or do you wanna fish?" :-X
*

[sugarsnap]

thanks
i am in new england (inland) and the conditions sound similar to yours
thanks i think i need more time outdoors and experimenting with the water-i am greener than green about this subject

[jim]

One thing that sometimes works, is filling an old burlap bag with hay, and tieing it to a bank hanging down into the water. It will start to ferment drawing smaller fish there to nibble. Bigger fish come for the smaller fish....

jim

[quack]

Do some research on "limb lines" and "trot lines".Best bang for your buck and time,if you're fishing for food.

[rae-dean]

Dear sugarsnap...this is an interesting post for me.when we had no boat-we caught hardly any fish on shore.then we got a boat and we caught no fish.then we left the boat home and fished off the shore and limited out.we have never limited out ever in our boat.
i don't know what i am trying to say here.it is just what happened.we are now selling our boat.it is just too much for us.good luck.rae-dean ;)

[gardenfay]

I agree that, if legal in your state, limb lines, jug lines and trot lines are the best way to catch fish for the table.
Check your state fishing regulations and make sure these methods are legal first.
If they are, one of us can explain or you can do a search for explanations on yahoo or some other search engine.
It would also help if we knew what fish are common in the areas where you fish. If it is all trout, i think you might have to try a different method. These methods are most used for catfish, in eastern ok anyway.

[hillbillygal]

You might also consider night fishing if that is an option. Probably not as much fun if you're not into the sport part but most of the from the shore catfish fishing and walleye-fishing take place here at night. They use the stinkiest bait available such as chicken livers and dough balls sprayed with stink sprays. I don't do the night fishing because I don't like eating catfish, walleye, or the larger fish. I'd rather have bluegill and trout. :)

[RangerRick]

Down in TX it's called grabbin and here in OK it's noodlin but it's all the same. Work the banks searching for holes and when found ease your hand in and grab a nice fat cat while he's sleeping. Give it a google.

Rick

[msta999]

I don't know what you have out in "New England", but for bass, a spinner works good. Cast it in the little inlets along the river, if you have any. For Trout, you can use a spinner, but many here use power bait and put a little fish smell or wd40 on it. For Norther Pike, I always had good luck with a dare devil or some call them a spoon. Crome/silver or a red and white worked best for me. The only thing I have ever caught Waleye on with is live bait, like chubs or a frozen haring. For purch I have used worms, but caught most using the white meat in the tail of crawfish. Blue gill, only caught them using minows. Bullheads are good eating, always used worms for them, *with a float/bobber.

[No_Trespassing]

And you threw the bluegill back? Hand sized bluegill are a little work to clean but we love em. The 2 of us just ate 10 bluegill for dinner last night and we're going back for more tonight. We just use a piece of nightcrawler for bait with a number 6 or 8 hook and very small bobber and splitshot.

Kev n Jena

[flatwater]

Di-no-mite works well and all you have to do is pick them off the surface of the water but ya really got to let the neihbors know when your going fishing so they can lock up the cows.
Flatwater