Fishing can be fun and exciting and yes, there are shelves and shelves of "solutions". I for one was very lucky growing up and was able to learn to fish from family members. Using live bait is not just about throwing the bait in the water and waiting for a fish to come along and bite. Live bait fishing. can be very interactive and exciting. Try using a minnow and bucktail jig and fishing for walleyes in northern Wisconsin or Canada, now we are taking fun. Colors of jigs does matter depending on time of year, water clarity and water temperature. I agree that fishing can be very frustrating for some, but the only advice I can give is to find someone who has fished for a particular fish and be taught what they know. Fish for different species of fish until you find a personal preference before investing hundreds of dollars on equipment. Fishing is a wonderful past time and is a career for some. Good luck and happy fishing. Steve G.
''From personal correspondence ...''

Someone should write a 
Pattern Language for Fishing.  I go to the local Sporting Goods 
store and there are shelves and shelves of Solutions.  But they 
don't give you the Forces or Context, so I'm never quite sure 
when I should use which technique. 

Here's everything I know about fishing. You can fish with bait or 
you can fish with artificial lures.  In bait fishing if the bait 
is heavy (worms) you put a bobber a couple feet up the line so the 
bait doesn't fall to the bottom. And if the bait floats (power bait) 
you put a weight a couple feet up the line so the bait doesn't just 
float on the top of the water.  Bait fishing seems to be the easiest 
way to catch fish, but is awful damn boring.  You throw the line in 
the water, and then just wait until the tip of the pole jiggles.

When fishing with artificial lures, on the other hand, you are less 
liking to catch a fish, but its much more interactive.  With a spinning 
rod you cast out a little thingy that is shiny and has a treble hook 
on the end.  You reel it in and it wiggles like a small fish.  With 
fly fishing you cast heaving floating line with a long thin pole as 
far was you can.  On the end of the floating line is a little thin 
plastic line called Leader, and at the end of the leader is a hook 
with feathers and string tied to it to make it resemble a bug.  When 
fly fishing in a stream you let the fly float along the current, and 
in a lake you slowly pull the line back in, all the while hoping a 
fish will leap from the depths and grab the lure.

I personally would rather fly fish in a swimming pool than bait fish 
in a lake.  That's probably why I have so little luck. -- JimLong

----

Speaking of awful damn boring, I met my colleague Larry Taylor at the Y one day. He was coming out as I went in to play racquetball. I said I didn't know he went there and what was his exercise. He said it was swimming. I remarked that I had tried swimming and found it awful damn boring. Larry replied, "Yes, but my thoughts are fascinating." I let him live.  --RonJeffries