If you have spent any time at a dock, you have seen what happens when a jet ski lives in the water all season: algae stains, barnacles, jet intake clogs, and faded gelcoat. We tested eight of the most popular jet ski lifts on the market across freshwater docks, garages, and storage yards to find […]

Learning how to find crappie in spring comes down to one thing: following the water temperature. I've spent the last decade chasing crappie across the Midwest, and the pattern holds from Minnesota farm ponds to Texas reservoirs. Crappie don't randomly show up in the shallows - they migrate on a tight temperature schedule, and once […]

Learning how to fish around docks is one of the fastest ways to put fish in the boat, whether you paddle a kayak, push off from the bank, or step straight onto the boards. Docks are year-round fish magnets in freshwater lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and saltwater bays because they deliver shade, vertical pilings, ladders, boat […]

I've lost count of how many times I've watched a school of bass scatter the second my trolling motor prop whirred into range. If you've ever cast to a clear-water flat and watched every fish in the cove bolt before your lure landed, you already know the frustration that comes with learning how to fish […]

Last summer I burned three hours on a 600-acre reservoir chasing visible bait on the surface before I finally dropped my trolling motor, fired up the unit at the bow, and realized the bass were stacked 28 feet down on a long creek-channel ledge I had driven over twice without seeing it. That was the […]

Yes, you can absolutely fish from a paddle board, and once you try it, it's hard to go back to fishing any other way. A stand-up paddle board (SUP) gives you the stealth of a kayak, the elevated view of a boat, and the portability of a backpack, all in a craft you can launch […]

To fish muddy water effectively, use bulky, high-contrast lures with oversized blades or rattles, retrieved slowly tight to cover. In dirty water, fish rely on their lateral line instead of sight, so vibration, sound, and silhouette matter more than realism. Match lure size and color to water clarity: chartreuse and black for stained, fire tiger […]

If you've ever asked how to fish points and humps with electronics and felt overwhelmed by sonar screens, you're not alone. I spent my first three years on the water guessing where bass lived offshore, until a buddy put a Humminbird Helix in front of me and pointed at a faint shadow 40 feet to […]

If you have ever wondered how to fish a crankbait for walleye and actually catch fish instead of just bouncing a lure off rocks, this guide is for you. I have run crankbaits for walleye on Great Lakes charter boats, inland Canadian shield lakes, and slow midwestern reservoirs. The techniques I cover here work on […]

Learning how to paddle board with a dog changed my weekends on the water completely. I started taking my Labrador, Pepper, out on flat lake water three summers ago after a frustrating first attempt where she jumped off mid-paddle and nearly knocked me in. Today we paddle 3 to 4 miles together most Saturday mornings, […]