Fishing

While an entire tackle set-up is key to landing your fish of choice, few will argue the importance of using the right fishing line for each situation or application.

Having a basic understanding of common fish behaviors and habitats is essential to maximizing your time on the water and giving yourself the best chance for angling success.

While each species has its own specific habits and preferred habitats, there are a few universal themes that can often be applied to various types of fish.

While today’s angling community has access to a seemingly endless assortment of fishing lures and rigs for varying species, bodies of waters, habitats, water and weather conditions, and fishing techniques, here is a list of some of the more common lures and rigs utilized by anglers of all types.

Spinnerbaits are baitfish-imitating lures, and well-known for their ability to create aggressive reaction strikes from many species of fish.

• Suggested Seasonal Use: Year-round, open water

• Species: All species

Sound casting techniques will ultimately allow for a better lure presentation, more effective lure retrieve and a more successful and enjoyable time on the water!

To help get you started on your next fishing adventure, we’ve provided a few basic tutorial videos on casting various types of rod and reel combinations.

In the sport of fishing, an angler’s equipment and understanding of fish behavior and habitats are two of the most important elements toward a fulfilling fishing adventure.

Similarly, understanding how to properly clean, prep and cook your catch can also impact your fishing experience, as can knowing how to correctly release a fish back into the water to be caught another day.

A diverse assortment of baits, floating soft plastic lures come in a range of shapes, sizes, colors and textures.

• Suggested Seasonal Use: Open water; late-spring, summer and early fall

• Species: All species

Similar in concept to a split-shot rig in that this setup features a weight or multiple weights well ahead of a baited hook, a Carolina rig has become known as a great tool for efficiently covering various types of bottom structure.

• Suggested Seasonal Use: Year-round, open water

Vermont’s Master Angler program recognizes an angler’s accomplishment in catching a large fish and the fish's accomplishment in surviving and growing to an exceptional size.

Here’s a way to enhance your angling experience is by challenging yourself to catch a variety of "exceptionally-sized" fish species.

Fisheries biologists may tag and release certain fish species collected during fish population surveys or research projects. Currently, department fisheries biologists are tagging Lake Champlain trout and salmon with individually numbered plastic anchor tags.