People spend thousands of dollars on self-help seminars, videos, audio tapes and books. If you don’t have the time or money to spend on these types of materials, just to get better at fishing, this article will provide you with some quick tips that will help you better your strategies and catch more fish.

Remove the tail from your bait before putting it on the hook if you’re fishing with shad. Bait that spins on its way to the bottom is not only unnatural and has the potential of scaring off the fish, but it can also tangle your line. Fish find the scent of blood very alluring, so cutting the tail helps your chances of catching a fish.

Live, natural bait will catch more fish. Insects living near the water usually become fish food. Catching your own insects at the site where you fish can be more useful than a lure. Fishermen appreciate costly lures more than the fish.

Try fishing in deep water. When you are on the river, look for areas where the water is the deepest. Fish love to rest in pools of cool, deep water, particularly in the warmer months. Fish will also gather around rocks, ledges and debris. Be sure to make a note of a good fishing spot when you find one so that you can return to it the next time you go fishing.

Anyone graduating from earthworms should consider a spinnerbait. These lures work best for fishing in shady areas, when in cover, or in the murky shallow water near a dock. Bass can be attracted to both crappie and spinnerbait.

Make sure that your body scents, particularly the hands, are subdued. If your hands are heavily perfumed, or in some other way scented with an unnatural odor, that odor might transfer to the bait that you handle. The fish you are trying to catch could smell this odor, which could cause them to not bite.

Prior to going fishing, check the weather. You can never be sure what kind of weather there will be unless you check it first. If you don’t check the weather, you might find yourself in a bind that you can’t get out of. To be safe, check the weather before going out, and better yet, bring a weather radio with you.

Some fish, such as walleye and bass, are more bait sensitive. Increase your chances of catching a lot of fish by bringing a few dozen leeches as backup bait. Leeches can be kept alive overnight in ventilated Styrofoam containers that have an inch or two of water in them.

Fishing always has an end goal, and it’s usually to catch a fish. Being good at what you do, will mean that reaching those goals becomes much easier, and this article has provided you with a ton of great advice to help you do just that. Next time you fish, you’ll come back a success!