Since there are many different kinds of equipment involved in everyday fishing, this discussion will feature rods and reels. I have thousands of dollars invested in rod and reels and to ensure I don’t invest another thousands of dollars, I always do my very best to ensure that they are well cared for and properly used.

Rod Care & Storage - It doesn’t take a genius to understand that a rod is made for hooking and fighting fish and doesn’t double as a boat paddle or a samurai sword. Follow these simple rules and your rod may outlive you.

I cringe every time I see someone lay a rod down in a boat or on the ground. There should never be an instance when this should occur; it’s the number one way for damage to occur. Before you know it, you have stepped on the rod and broken it or smashed an eyelet. I have rod tubes mounted all over my boat to insure that mishaps such as these are avoided.

As far as rod storage goes, I have cedar rod racks at home that have sturdy and padded areas for each of my rod and reel set-ups and these also match the furniture in the room.

Come inside the Arkansas Fishing Forum to read more helpful fishing rod and reel care tips.

The answer is simply that — like many of you — I am a fisherman. I love and live to fish, and I’ll do anything humanely possible to chase and catch fish. No expense has been spared or activity shunned that would aid me in the hunt for fish. Having said that, one of the least expensive and most helpful aids to a successful fishing venture is the hand warmer.

Often overlooked, a small pack of hand warmers can bring instant relief to numb hands and fingers that will put a sudden halt to any fishing trip. Regardless of how warm the rest of your body stays, if your hands and fingers keep freezing, you can’t fish and be comfortable. This also applies to your feet and toes. A small warmer pack is available and can be slipped into your boots that will keep your feet from going completely numb. These packs are cheap and are activated by simply removing them from the packaging and shaking them back and forth for a few seconds. They quickly warm and stay heated up to 8 to 10 hours.

Several companies make this product and I have never found one to be superior to another. You can buy different sizes and place them inside socks, gloves, boots, pockets, toboggins…. really anywhere you get cold. They don’t get hot enough to cause a fire and slowly grow cold.

Check out the rest of this article by Arkansas fishing guide Shane Goodner in the Arkansas Fishing Forum.

I learned early in my fishing career the value of safe boating and this knowledge has made me a better fishermen — not to mention saving my neck more times than I care to remember. I think that discussing a boating safety checklist has value and will increase your chances of having a successful trip.

For most of us, we’ve’ been in a boat and on the water so long we don’t give safety a second thought. Things like wearing a life jacket are obvious. But there are several other safe boating tips you can exercise that will help you enjoy your time on the water, and more importantly, could possibly save your life.

Check out the full list of safe boating tips from Arkansas fishing guide Shane Goodner.

One of the most crucial aspects of any fishing trip is the performance of the chosen fishing line.

Modern technology has produced so many different types of lines that it can be very difficult to choose the right one for the job. Regardless of the situation, there are a few things that you can do to insure maximum performance from the line you choose to go with.

For example, monofilament lines are one of the most popular choices for anglers and offer the most flexibility overall; however, they are not without drawbacks. Line memory (circular coiling of line caused by being on a spool for long periods of time) can greatly hamper your ability to cast and fish effectively. One highly effective cure for this problem is to troll this spool of line behind your boat.

Simply pan out line without any hook or lure attached behind a slow moving boat until you are close to the end of the spool. Gently sweep your rod up and back with the tip close to the water as if you were trolling. The many twists your line has accumulated will be undone as the tag end of your line freely spins in the water.

For more tips on reducing fishing line memory, check out the full article in the Arkansas Fishing Forum.

The points I made earlier about fishing upstream instead of down are not etched in stone and unwavering.

To be sure, I have had many successful Arkansas fishing trips where I floated downstream with the current. And, not surprisingly, many long river holes have quality fishing in the very middle of them. However, they are always rock solid patterns and will greatly increase your chances of catching fish.

Two other reasons to base trips on fishing against the current involve using only one vehicle instead of two. Float trips usually require two trucks with one driven to the start of the trip and the other left in the area where you plan on ending. By floating upstream you can use just one vehicle and fish upstream and then pilot back down to the place where you started.

Equipping your boat with a strong trolling motor (take 2 batteries for safety ) and traveling against the current eliminates the other vehicle altogether. You approach the fish undetected and use very little time in the day coming back down to where you started. Secondly, you don’t have to have a fishing partner to assist you. I have very few people that river fish with me and the ones I do are not always available to go. Therefore, a man can go fishing by himself and effectively float a stream or river with no help using this river strategy. The trolling motor takes the work out of moving up and downstream and you can catch fish in the water you targeted on the way up.

Often other fish will move into structure where you caught fish earlier and as you return over that used water you can cast back into the area and catch even more. Rivers have prime spots where fish congregate to feed and rest so when one leaves the area another fish will quickly replace it — a very important thing to remember when maximizing fishing time.

Shane Goodner is a Central Arkansas fishing guide based in Hot Springs, Ark. To book a trip with Shane, visit Catch em All Guide Service.com