The total fishing manual: 317 essential fishing skills

[pt. I.] Tools. Use the 15 greatest lures of all time ; Meet 15 new classics ; Make over lures with toothpaste ; Do DIY custom lure colors ; Secure your lure ; Tune a crankbait ; Keep lures from hanging up ; Build a budget lure ; Make your own trout spinners ; Catch big bass with bunny fur ; Rig me softly ; Make spooks spookier ; Use an irresistible jig ; Soft-sell a muskie -- Give new life to old bass lures -- Fish the top 10 freshwater baits ; Harvest nature's bait bounty ; Buzz a worm ; Become a worm farmer ; Let some livies loose ; Score minnows with bubble gum ; Throw chum a long way ; Catch big fish with big lures ; Make your own catfish candy ; Go dark and deep ; Make a double-sided worm can ; Sweep for 'eyes ; Pick the best reel for the job ; Get some guidance ; Fish to live ; Perform emergency guide repairs ; Let the rod do the work ; Have a cane-do attitude -- Know your: bluegill : Put on the brakes ; Unravel backlashed line ; Feather a spinning reel 50 feet ; Overhaul your reel in 15 minutes ; Choose the right line ; Lead the way ; Match your fluorocarbon to your fish ; Tie a palomar knot ; Get into heavy metal ; Change hooks for better fishing ; Shake your head ; Adjust your bobber to the fish ; Play the baiting game ; Gain some weight ; Tie a clinch knot ; Make it snappy ; Properly sharpen a fishhook ; Rig a slip bobber ; Use the best trout fly for the job ; Tie a five-minute fly ; Make a seine ; Know your bugs ; Make the most of a springtime pond ; Practice animal magnetism ; Jig your buck ; Catch a trout's attention ; Tie a Clouser minnow ; Make flies, not bugs ; Join the bass bug revolution ; Experience fatal attraction ; Get the inside scoop on fly reels ; Understand your fly reel ; Get in line ; Buck the wind ; Master shorter casts ; Cast about ; Lose the tailing loop ; Control your wrist ; Point your shots ; Keep flies in mint condition ; Fish the cycle ; Make a beer-box stripping basket ; Accessorize your tackle box ; Make an essential repair kit ; Make the ultimate ice-fishing bucket ; Pick the most important tool ; Hit the ice two ways -- Know your: northern pike : Mind your monitor ; Get better sonar reception ; Pick a rod with reach ; Drift on -- Know your: blue catfish : Grub a spinner ; Net a hellgrammite ; Wade after your bass ; Drift a hellgrammite ; Release your anchor quickly -- Know your: rainbow trout : Cast from a kayak ; Tie a trucker's hitch knot ; Avoid river obstacles ; Pack and paddle for power ; Tie a canoe to your racks ; Get up the creek ; Be sneaky ; Go, speed racer (safely) ; Keep your footing ; Diagnose and cure a sick motor ; Avoid fouled outboards ; Save gas ; Back your trailer easily ; Protect your trailer lights -- Know your: steelhead : Fight corrosion ; Give 'em the slip bobber ; Belly up to a bass ; Drag a worm ; Have a g'day, mate --

[pt. II.] Techniques. Crank up your spring ; Build a better tube rig ; Catch bass without a boat ; Stock up on essentials ; Get the bass bugs out ; Dredge a bronzeback ; Tune up for shallow bass ; Wake 'em up ; Get more out of your frog ; Do the double dog ; Strike in the night ; Make the perfect pitch ; Hunt down largemouths in falling waters ; Work a worm in reverse ; Catch bass in the cold ; Do some heavy lifting -- Know your: largemouth bass : Shrink your jig ; Buzz a grug ; Fine-tune a Carolina rig ; Put a different spin on it ; Thaw out a trout ; Beat a cutbank goliath ; Spot and stalk trout ; Use copper to go deep ; Perfect the parachute cast ; Master the mend ; Shoot the breeze ; Drift a wet fly with a dry leaf ; Fly in the cold ; Dredge a fall steelie ; Multi-crank for crappies ; Follow the crappie highways ; Slide a grub ; Get into the grass ; Catch crappies under a bridge ; Dangle a bunch of livies ; Catch your biggest bluegill of the year ; Drop in on spring 'gills ; Tag-team winter perch ; Take a shot in the dock ; Get post-ice air ; Go long, wide, and deep for walleyes ; Fish a weed-cutter rig ; Hook walleyes in the hot months ; Weed out trophy walleyes ; Follow the foliage -- Know your: walleye : Fish the walleye weather report ; Test your deep-water skills ; Use a slow death rig ; Do a fall minnow double-take ; Go slow and steady to win a walleye ; Land a pike or muskie from your kayak ; Pack the pliers ; Hook a hard-to-catch trophy pike ; Rig it right for picky pike ; Lure a big, bad pike ; Read a pike bay -- Know your: chain pickerel : Go shallow for postspawn muskies ; Strike quick to get that muskie ; Dog a muskie ; Get lucky with a ducky ; Mesmerize a muskie with a figure 8 ; Make an L-turn ; Flip a muskie the bird -- Know your: muskellunge : Feed the kitty ; Use the right cat rig ; Use your noodle ; Watch the spines ; Catch a big cat from a small boat ; Get the blues in a river ; Go bullish on bullheads ; Catch a reservoir cat ; Go bobbing for cats ; Skin a cat ; Tackle carp on the fly ; Find them where they feed ; Sight-cast to suckermouths ; Shoot a carp in the air ; Dance with a spey rod ; Add flavor to your salmon lure ; Pick a pickerel fight ; Score a midsummer striper ; Give a dam ; Pull big live baits ; Work the inshore hit list ; Dance the jig ; Bob an eel ; Rig an eel for stripers ; Get loaded for stripers ; Go from pond to bayou ; Lose the spin ; Box in a red ; Call in a monster shark with D batteries ; Whip a Japanese jig ; Get the gaff! ; Vibe out your live bait ; Work a pencil popper ; Nail a weakfish ; Snap some rubber ; Sting a flattie ; Know your: striped bass --

[pt. III.] Tactics : Beat the weeds for fall trout ; Find a secret fishing spot

Know your: crappie : Sneak up on more fish ; Hold your breath ; Release fish unharmed ; Avoid double-haul mistakes ; Unstick yourself ; Get upstream

Know your: cutthroat trout : Master 8 minnow tricks for trout ; Stay with your trout river this fall ; Play to a surface-feeding trout

Know your: brown trout : Swim a spring ; Fish headwaters for autumn trout ; Drop right in ; Cut some slack ; Fish with your eyes ; Hook more rising fish ; Lift and lower ; Do it right on the river ; Paddle troll ; Execute a power pivot ; Ride the current in a canoe ; Drift and dredge

Know your: flathead catfish : Snag the best casting position ; Catch smallmouths with the bait that bites back ; Get the drop on bass ; Know your: smallmouth bass ; Pull bass from beneath the boards ; Shake the bed for giant bass ; Send jerkbaits down deep ; Send frogs undercover ; Rip a rattlebait ; Jig a worm ; Use monster tubes in the shallows ; Catch fish in the prop wash ; Learn to swim ; Skip a jig in tight quarters ; Keep on the grass ; Take it to the slopes ; Cast the cranks of spring ; Catch a big, fat perch ; Knock on wood ; Throw a one-two bass punch ; Enjoy a Carolina egg roll

Know your: yellow perch : Learn deep secrets ; Get the lead out for walleyes ; Take the long shot ; Go on the offshore offensive ; Catch walleyes 6 ways ; Find late-summer largemouths ; Get a jumbo on the rocks ; Get a big yellow ; Have a big bass after-party ; Catch nighttime smallmouths ; Find trout in the dark ; Flatline for crappies

Know your: carp : Slow down for nighttime muskies ; See a cat in the dark ; Adjust the contrast ; Troll with downriggers ; Get a walleye on board ; Grab a cold one ; Go spinnerbaiting for coldwater bass

Know your: brook trout : Crank pockets for prespawn bass ; Crank the creek ; Take swimming lessons ; Cherry-pick the trees ; Beat the draw-down ; Reign in the rain ; Cover the cover ; Go slingin' in the rain ; Give in to blind ambition ; Know when you're on thin ice ; Jig big lakers in skinny water ; Drill down on it ; Be a walleye puppet master ; Catch a shad-mad cat ; Hit the farm ice ; Power up

Know your: chinook salmon : Catch cold steel ; Assume the tuna position ; Get a jump on stealthy snook

Know your: red drum : Get the red out ; Ditch the wire ; Take 'em to school ; Pop on over ; Find stripers in the dark ; Mount your catch and eat it, too ; Scale fish with water ; Print that fish.