Tactical Angler: Fishing Tactics

Legendary surfcaster “Crazy” Alberto Knie preaches the idea of fishing “non-human” hours when chasing trophies. While everyone else is asleep in their beds dreaming of screaming drags and bent rods,…

You waited all week for your day off, you have the rods and gear loaded and ready to go on an angling adventure to the Eastern Shore millponds, and now the ever-changing weather report calls for rain…

We’ve all heard an awful lot about catfish in Chesapeake country the past few years, but even after all the bashing on blues and fixating on flatheads, we’re returning to the topic once more. Why?…

The month of Rocktober used to bring wide-open bites with frenzied striped bass churning water under diving birds all up and down the Bay. And this year we might see that happen, but during the last…

If you’ve never been waist deep in a river battling with an angry smallmouth bass as he barrels his way downstream, don’t fret. In just a few minutes, you’ll have everything you need to start wade-…

There was a time many years ago when surface plugging for striped bass was unheard of. Bob Pond, whom I knew well, introduced the Atom plug back in the 1960s. It soon became a favorite way of fishing…

When the tuna action is slow it's time to take a shot at deep-water bottom-dwellers like blueline tilefish and knot-head sea bass, and out Bass 'N Blue Offshore Bottom Fishing video shows how it's…

You say you can’t decide whether you want to focus on flounder, concentrate on cobia, or dedicate the day to black drum? One of the coolest things about fishing at the CBBT is that if you play your…

Welcome to August—the walk from the truck to the water’s edge will have you sweating, it’s a chore to breathe, and if you don’t apply sunscreen liberally you’ll soon look like a piece of overcooked…

Mahi-mahi may not enjoy the same status as tunas and marlin, but few things get the offshore adrenaline pumping harder than watching a school of green and blue missiles racing for your bait at warp…

FishTalk’s intrepid Production Director, Kayak Sharpie, and all-around Tech Wiz Zach Ditmars has a chronic angling issue: he changes lures about every five casts. Perhaps a reflection of the ADD…

You say you want to have a better shot at bagging a bigeye tuna while trolling a mixed spread this summer, but you don’t want to become so dedicated to the cause that you vastly reduce the chances of…

In the ever-evolving fisheries of Chesapeake country we see the good (more redfish!), the bad (booo blue catfish!), and the ugly (cutlassfish?!?). In the case of the snakehead, we get all three at…

With a bite pressure of four tons per square inch and dozens of dagger-sharp teeth, the mako shark jumps to mind when considering what species might be the most dangerous in the ocean. But that would…

If two steamed crabs were placed in front of you, would you reach for the jumbo or the medium? Odds are you would choose the jumbo (unless you’re very, very odd), so much like the appeal of jumbo…

As a chill creeps into the air pickerel fishing in spots like tidal tributary rivers and the Eastern Shore millponds will only get better and better. And wherever you live in the Mid-Atlantic region…

Don't fall victim to those winter doldrums, and don't start winterizing your boat just yet, because a popular winter fishery takes place on the ocean side of the DelMarVa Peninsula: trolling for…

December of 2023 and into January of 2024 was utterly epic striped bass action for Middle Chesapeake Bay anglers, as swarms of massive 40-plus-inch rockfish flooded the area and chewed on plentiful…