Tips for Successful Private Island Fishing
One of the most popular activities of any island owner is fishing off the dock of your island. Whether you live on a tropical island surrounded by a lush coral reef or your island sits in a northern lake, islands in almost all regions provide excellent fishing for their owners. Here are some tips for being a responsible, environmentally friendly and 
successful fisherman or fisherwoman.
Tip 1: Keep it down
Staying quiet is the golden rule for fishing no matter where you are in the world. Noise tends to scare fish away, therefore if you make lots of noise you are not likely going to be successful at catching anything. One of the advantages of living on a private island is that you don’t have to worry about the noise created by other fishermen.
Tip 2: Manage Your Odor
Before baiting your hook keep your hands clean. If you touch liquor, cigarettes, bug spray or anything with an offensive odor it will transfer onto the bait repelling the fish who have an acute since of smell.
Tip 3: Manage Fish Odor
Upon removing fish from the water they can quickly turn rank. In order to keep fish boxes, ice chests and bait tanks less putrid put a charcoal briquette in an old sock and place in the storage container. Charcoal is a great absorber of odors, and will allow you to smell the lake and not your bait.
Tip 4: Know what your fish like to eat
If you are new to your island you may have trouble figuring out which bait is best for attracting fish. Investigate the local environment and ask the locals for advice. People who live in the region will be able to offer suggestions on what bait attracts what kind of fish. Alternatively, if you have a stronger stomach cut open the stomach of thecaught fish before cleaning it. Examining its contents will help you determine not only what it eats, but what it likes to eat.
Tip 5: Know the law
Every region has different fishing rules and regulations. Ensure that you are not using bait or techniques that are banned in the area. These rules exist for a reason, often to protect endangered or at risk species. In many cases if you are caught catching these fish you could face legal consequences, regardless of whether or not you knew it was wrong. T
Tip 6: Ask a Local
Asking a local or a neighbor for tips is always a good idea. If you want to be successful they are the ones to go to. They will be able to tell what fish you want to catch, which fish taste the best, and how to properly clean the fish.
Tip 7: Practice Proper Catch and Release
Taking a conservationist attitude is an important way to maintain the health and population of the fish around your island. If you practice catch and release it is important that you do so correctly. This means you need to take into account the amount of time that the fish is out of water, the duration of the “fight” to reel the fish in, the type of tackle you are using. For the last one, ensure that you are using materials that are not going to permanently damage the fish, if you throw an injured fish back it will likely die.
