Don’t forget about our new contest where you and a friend could win some fantastic gear from Water Gremlin! Here is a simple breakdown of the contest details.

1. Register for our Forums
2. Post in our Member Introductions Forum

Refer a friend to Fishing Fury Forums by having them and you could win! Winners are chosen every month for the rest of the year, with the year-end winners receiving a full weight set from Water Gremlin!

Continue Reading the Salmon Fishing Report

Wanna Go Fishing? – Debuts Friday, April 1st at 9:00 p.m. ET

Host Matt Eastman picks a random individual to join him on an all-expense paid fishing trip of a lifetime. While the jets and boats are standing by, the potential guest has five minutes and two phone calls to decide if he or she has “got the guts to go.” “Wanna Go Fishing?” travels to the best fishing locations on the planet, and the journey often becomes a life changing experience for one lucky guest. “Wanna Go Fishing?” is a two-time Emmy Award winner for Best Sports Series and Best On-Camera Talent.

The Bassmasters – Debuts Friday, April 1st at 10:30 p.m. ET

“The Bassmasters,” hosted by Tommy Sanders and Mark Zona of Outdoor Channel’s “Zona’s Awesome Fishing Show,” serve fishing fanatics with the most comprehensive how-to and where-to information about ways in which Bassmaster Elite Series pros tackle a body of water. The shows provide in-depth analysis on lure choice, fish management, the mental approach to fishing and countless other variables that affect the competition. The series has received critical acclaim, as the production of the “Bassmaster Classic” earned a 2008 Sports Emmy nomination for Outstanding Live Event Turnaround category.

Ultimate Match Fishing: All-Stars – Debuts Friday, April 1st at 11:30 p.m. ET

“Ultimate Match Fishing: All-Stars” takes twelve of the biggest names in professional angling and puts them toe-to-toe in the infamous Ultimate Match Fishing competition format. In this special edition of the classic series, all of the competitors are either returning UMF champions, fan favorites from previous seasons, or first-time UMF competitors who are considered “legends” in the world of bass fishing. Outdoor Channel mainstay Joe Thomas serves as host alongside Claude “Fish” Fishburne — former ESPN “Bassmaster Classic” host and current Outdoor Channel “The Fish Fishburne Show” host. As in the original UMF series, the anglers compete for a grand prize of $50,000.

And saturday morning you’ll be able to wake up to the Madfin Shark Series!

Madfin Shark Series – Debuts Saturday, April 2nd at 11:30 a.m. ET

The 5th annual “Madfin Shark Series” returns as the only nationally televised catch and release shark competition in the world. For its Outdoor Channel debut, the show follows four two-person teams as they brave the warm waters of the Florida Keys to search for dangerous sharks only to measure and release them over the course of three days. British actor Butler Yates returns as the dramatic voiceover, and outdoor star Tommy Sanders makes his first appearance on camera as the host. Breathtaking underwater and aerial coverage set the bar for the up close and personal experience for this winner-take-all affair.

Check you local listings or visit OutdoorChannel.com to find out how to get Outdoor Channel in your area.

Not unreasonably, most sport anglers want to catch trophy fish; the bigger the better (indeed, we all know anglers whose catches continue to grow in size long after the event, growing bigger with each recounting of the story of the fishing trip). However, this is Japan, where miniaturization pervades all aspects of life, in gardening, art, computers, electronics; we all have seen the clichéd ‘capsule’ hotels and bonsai pine trees you can pick up with two fingers. This also applies to sport fishing, in one of the oldest angling traditions in this country: tanago fishing.

Tanago is the generic term in Japanese covering the small freshwater fish of the Rhodeus, Tanakia and Acheilognathus genera; there are probably a dozen or so species that are considered sport fishing targets. In English, these fish are generally referred to as bitterling. Some species of tanago grow up to 15cm in size, although 5 – 10cm is more common. During spawning season, the males tend to develop a very striking pattern, a mixture of red and iridescent metallic colours, while the females, although ‘drab’ in appearance, develop a very long ovipositor, sometimes the length of their own body. A full description of the different species, and their very unusual mating habits and life cycle, is outside the scope of this text, but to me tanago are interesting fish for both ichthyologic and angling reasons.

Tanago are cyprinids, the carp family of fishes, and are generally omnivorous. They thrive in the waterways and channels surrounding rice paddies and lotus fields, sometimes in ditches no wider than a couple of feet or requiring a long slog through bamboo or reed thickets. I usually head to the lake system of Kasumigaura, a short journey north from Tokyo. Finding the spots holding tanago is part of the fun of the fishing, and there is always the distraction of the local flora and fauna if you do not; I have spotted a huge variety of waterfowl, and once even remarked a peregrine falcon – something most Japanese ornithologists can only dream of. Tanago are not fussy feeders and will take baits like bloodworm, commercially available starch or gluten-based pastes for carp fishing and even boiled egg yolk, on a simple float rig with a single hook. The main difference is of course, the size of the tackle, which is scaled to the size of the fish targetted.

Tanago anglers hold the belief that the smaller the fish landed, the greater the testament to the skill of the angler, and seek to catch the smallest fish possible. The prized catch of the determined tanago angler is the fish that can ‘fit inside a one yen coin’ i.e., is less than 20mm in length. After six months of tanago fishing, this prize still eludes me. A fishing buddy has taught me the ‘secret’ of sharpening one’s own tanago hooks: this is done under a microscope, with a watchmaker’s diamond file. It is not surprising then that most tanago anglers in Japan are considered eccentric, if not outright lunatics. Indeed, I once met a man who used to be a professional bass angler, but after winning several national competitions it ceased to amuse him.

He sold all his trophy bass gear to take up tanago angling on bamboo rods; now he travels the country year-round in the solitary pursuit of this new game. Tanago rods are made from bamboo and are usually 50cm to 1 metre in length, and the hooks 4 or 5mm long. In the Edo Period, the line used for tanago fishing was usually a single human hair, preferably taken from ‘a woman you love’. Allegedly, female hair has just the right level of elasticity and sinking characteristics necessary for tanago fishing, although perhaps a more prosaic explanation would be that the technology of the time could not spin silk thin enough, and that women wore their hair much longer than men did. Whether you choose human hair or the more readily available nylon, you can fit all your fishing tackle in a small pouch, or indeed your shirt top pocket; the rods usually break down in several pieces to about 20cm. There is a historical reason for this. In Edo, sport angling was considered a gross indulgence and in some periods, proscribed by law; one could hide a tanago rod easily in a pouch or bag slung from the waist. However, much like the use of hair as fishing line, history is subject to fancy, and whether the objective was to hide the rod from censorious authorities, or just to avoid the remonstrations of a scolding, non-fishing wife, is unknown.

In summary, tanago fishing has proved for me to be a most diverting form of angling. For those used to battling mahi mahi or tuna on a high running sea or epic plays with feisty trout on a fly, it may seem a highly eccentric past-time. I thought the same, until I tried it for myself. In the meantime, I have taken to making my own bamboo rods for tanago fishing, but that is another story, as is the various ways one can eat these fish. I have come close, once, to the holy “one-yen fish” but when I do succeed, I will be sure to remember it, and it will be one catch that does not become exaggerated in size with time.

On a lucky day in Tokyo

- Adam Guy

Adam, thank you very much for you entry into our 2010 Contributor Contest. Your amazing contribution has won FIRST PLACE in our contest and you will receive a one-of-a-kind Sportsman Trophy Plaque, as well as a copy of Fins & Skins magazine!

It was at that moment the shark regurgitated a human foot. Once back they contacted the authorities that discovered the remains of one headless young man now identified as a missing sailor.

Graphic photos can be found in the original article.

via Business Insider.

Construction & Appearance

The exterior of the Tack Pack is made from a light, durable nylon that’s stain and water resistant. The Tack Pack comes in several colours, I think the textured camouflage looks the best, but there is also a red and black vinyl, as well as a smooth black nylon. The edges are only single stitched but show no signs of wear after an intense three day shore fishing trip shuffling around my back pack as well as being pulled and picked for various items. The ring clip is riveted securely into position through a piece of solid material sewn into the tack pack’s center, and the exterior clip is your standard plastic release buckle.

Continue reading “Fishermen’s Tack Pack- The Review”

The grand prize is a 3-night, 4-day, all inclusive fishing trip to Waterfall Resort in Alaska! So if a legendary trip to Alaska to fish for huge salmon and halibut has got you excited get out your camera or favorite editing suite and upload your video!

For some weird reason, I feel very drawn to Alaska. Every time I see a photo or video of someone fishing in Alaska, I just want to pack up my bags and go. I bet a summer spent fishing in the great wilderness of Alaska would rival any other fishing trip on the planet.

Alaska Fishing 08 from Micah Ness on Vimeo.