FishwithJD

The web's best fishing magazine

  • Start Here
  • Guided Trips With JD
  • Catch Steelhead
  • Store
  • JD’s Gear
    • Steelhead
    • Kokanee
    • River Salmon Trolling
    • Plug Fishing for Salmon
    • Light Tackle Surf Perch
  • Techniques
    • Bass
    • Boats & Boating
    • Cooking
    • Fly Fishing
    • Salmon
    • Saltwater
    • Shad
    • Steelhead
    • Stripers
    • Sturgeon
    • Trout & Kokanee

How to Tie a Tandom Egg Loop Rig

October 22, 2006 By JD 2 Comments

One you’ve got the hang of tying the basic Egg Loop, try the pimped version. It’s great for back-bouncing, side-drifting, mooching and more!

More Salmon Techniques

Filed Under: Best of FishwithJD, Salmon, Steelhead Tagged With: back bouncing, egg loop, mooching, Salmon, side drifting, Steelhead, Video

Backtrolling for River Kings

October 15, 2006 By JD 5 Comments

Flatlining kings
Flatlining Kwikfish for king salmon is one of my all-time favorite things to do. When a big chinook eats your plug and starts shaking his head, it’s a feeling like no other. Ready to get in on the fun? I’ll show you how.

First, a quick definition: Flat-lining refers to backtrolling plugs like Kwikfish or FlatFish without any weight — kinda like you would run a Hot Shot for steelhead.

Click here to read more…

Filed Under: Best of FishwithJD, Salmon Tagged With: chinook, flatfish, flatlining, king salmon, kwikfish, plug, sardine wrap

Catch More Trout on the Meat Rig

June 7, 2006 By JD Leave a Comment

Meat-rig mackinaw

Summer’s been here long enough now that you’ve probably gotten all the kinks worked out of your boat, you’ve fished a few of the local lakes, maybe figured out a couple patterns and…even trolled up a trout or two.

Right?

Well that’s great — good job. But, I’m here to tell you that things are going to get more and more difficult as the summer wears on. As they get pounded by legions of other anglers, the trout in our waters are going to get a little more skittish.

Warming water temperatures and intense sunlight will also make the bite tougher. That’s when you need an edge. Throw something at ’em that nobody else is using. I’ve got just the ticket: The Meat Rig.

Click here to read more…

Filed Under: Best of FishwithJD, Trout & Kokanee Tagged With: trout

Getting to know the American Shad

May 25, 2006 By JD 3 Comments

American Shad

Every year at this time there seems to be quite a bit of confusion about shad fishing – and shad in general – and I often have to field a million questions like: What the heck is a shad? and Shad are just small baitfish…why would anybody fish for those things? So, I figured it was time to clear a few things up. With that in mind, here’s my graduate crash course on shad and shad fishing. You will not be tested.

Baitfish vs. Gamefish

The first thing we need to set straight is there are several types of shad. In California, we have two varieties: threadfin and American and this is where most of the misunderstanding begins. Threadfin shad are small baitfish that live in most of our lakes and reservoirs and rarely top 4 inches. American shad, on the other hand, run anywhere from 2 to 7 pounds and spend their lives in the ocean and then come up freshwater streams to spawn in the spring of each year. Aside from the size difference, the two species look similar to one another – deep bodies, big eyes, large silver scales and forked tails. Neither is native to the West Coast.

Click here to read more…

Filed Under: Best of FishwithJD, Shad Tagged With: american shad, Shad

The Huge Kokanee of Lake Clementine

April 1, 2006 By JD 8 Comments

Clementine kokanee

I received a very interesting call the other day from Abril Tolo, a buddy of mine who works for Game and Fish. He asked if I could help him out with a research project he’s been overseeing for the past several years. Tolo (or “Island” as we call him, which morphed from when we used to call him “A-Tol” but I digress) said all I needed to do was tow my boat down to Lake Clementine where we were going to do a little “hook & line” sampling. He said to bring some light-action steelhead rods and he’d have everything else.

It sounded cool to me and I was particularly intrigued by the fact that he made a specific point to have me bring steelhead rods. I didn’t have the foggiest notion what we’d need them for at Clementine, considering the largest fish I’d ever caught there was a 2-pound smallie. So, it was with great eagerness that I met him at Raley’s in Train Village last Tuesday. As we slowly crept down the winding road to the launch, he gave me the full scoop.

Click here to read more…

Filed Under: Best of FishwithJD, Humor Tagged With: world record kokanee salmon

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • Next Page »
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

JD’s Top Gear Picks

  • Steelhead
  • Kokanee
  • River Salmon Trolling
  • Plug Fishing for Salmon
  • Light Tackle Surf Perch

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Copyright © 2025 Richey Sportfishing