The United States is full of great fish to catch. Between the rivers, lakes, ponds, and coastal regions, everybody has something they can look forward to catching. Sadly, I usually only come across trout and bass anglers. This isn't to say that I don't enjoy trout fishing and bass fishing, I just think that people should be taking advantage of all the great fish out there.
I wrote this article to talk about a few of the other fish that anglers should set their sites to. The fish I'll cover are fish that both new comers and professionals can enjoy going after.
One of the most exciting fish to catch after trout and bass is catfish. You'll find that catfish fishing is easy since you don't have to worry about throwing out a great bait presentation. Catfish just want to eat bait that smells pungent. Because of the catfish's strong sense of smell, they mostly hunt by scent, so the smellier the bait, the more catfish you'll catch. This fish puts up a great fight, and is usually pretty easy to find.
Another great fish to go after is the pike. Pike fishing is great for people that don't have access to deep lakes and rivers. You'll find pike in many shallow bodies of water. They like to hang out in dense vegetation, so you'll know exactly where to look when you go searching for them. These fish can also get really long so they are pretty impressive to take pictures with after you catch them.
The sunfish is another fish that many people tend to overlook. Most people conjure up images of tiny fish swimming around in an old polluted creek when they think of sunfish. However, large sunfish like bluegill and carp can get really big and really put up a nice fight. Some people even eat the carp and bluegill that they catch.
Spring and summer is the best time to go bluegill fishing in shallow bodies of water. This is generally when they mate with each other and they are very hungry during this time. Fish during this time period and you will be in a position to drop just about anything in the water and they're going to latch on like its the best meal they've ever seen.
Carp can be a bit trickier to catch. They have an inclination to want to occupy deeper waters and will get frightened easily. This means you will have to be a bit craftier with your bait presentation. Websites like http://www.guide-to-fishing.com can help give you advice on how to present your bait so that you will not scare your carp away.