There we were, me and my new fishing apprentice at the lake. I was teaching him the rudiments of handling the rod and putting the bait and we were trying to catch a lake trout while discussing everything from sports to the most effective technique to escape from boring clothes-shopping with our wives. I got some good ideas, I must confess.

At some point he asked me if there destin fishing trips were some other fishing techniques or alternative styles. “Is it always just a fishing rod, reel, bait, and waiting in sport fishing?” he asked.

Of course it is the most common way to fish but it is not the only way to fish. In sport fishing, there are different techniques and tools for fishing depending on the type of fish you want to catch. There are even games you can play with friends or family.

One of Murphy’s laws says that if something can be used for something else besides its original use, someone will do it. Some techniques or methods are more dangerous or fun than others.

Before I could explain him about some fun ways to fish as well as others too dangerous to practice for a starter, I don’t know why it came to my mind a piece from the New Testament that says that Jesus is reported to have said to his disciples: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19). Then I said that in those times, fishing with a net in a group was considered an honest effort to make a living. I don’t know if he is a religious man, but he agreed with that idea.

Some of you might not like the techniques discussed here. Others will love them; it is a mater of diversity and sportsmanship.

One of the first fishing techniques we discussed and one I like, is HandFishing, also known as Trout Tickling or Noodling if you are fishingcatfish. Noodling doesn’t require any kind of fishing tool but your handand it is fun, just try it sometime. It is also possible to fish lobsterswhen you are diving or “Pearl” Fishing.

A variant of it is the Hand-Line Fishing. You just need a line and a small piece of wood or something to roll the line. I’ve seen this done at some beaches in Mexico but, as far as I know, this is illegal in Kansas.

Another “ancestral” way to fish is Spear Fishing. Traditional SpearFishing is restricted to shallow waters, but the development of the speargun has made this method much more efficient. Fishing can be done with anordinary spear or a specialized variant such as an eel spear or with along or short trident. You can be at a river shore or in the water withbasic or complete scuba equipment. A variant of this is “Bow Fishing”which might not be fun if you keep losing arrows!!Net Fishing is another method of sport fishing. All fishing nets aremeshes that are usually knotted by a relatively thin thread. Modern netsare usually made of nylon, although nets made of wool or silk thread werecommon until recently and are still used in certain areas. The casting net is circular and the diameter varies. The way to use it is sinking it at the same time you make a forward motion from surface-down to bottom and then up. There is a chance that you catch something else, but hey, some coracles are as good as fish, besides this is also the way they are caught.