I moved to Red Hook in 2005 and lived directly across from the bar. Those were what O’Meara and others call “the crazy years”: the Bait & Tackle at its wildest, an ongoing party that always ...

We're out on the shoreline running an easy rig for catching carp - a finesse carp rig, or a sliding sinker rig. Bait your hook up (I used corn) and cast it out. The key is that sliding sinker. ▶ If ...

You can also wad up the fresh bread into a dense ball, pin it on the hook, and fish it on the bottom. How to Catch Carp with Oatmeal Oatmeal can be a very effective carp bait, but it does require ...

If you’re an angler — and not too high hat — there’s a lot to be said for good old garden-variety worms. After all, they’re ...

A round ball head jig, or “shaky head,” is an excellent way to present the Senko around sparse cover and rocky bottoms. Be sure to use a jig head with a 4/0 or 5/0 hook, then rig the Senko weedless. A ...

Insert the hook into the bait’s gills, gently bending the ballyhoo as the hook curves through the belly and then pokes out, making sure the hook exits in the center of the bait. Then run the pin ...

Hook, line and sinker. The thing about good bait is that it can stir your heart, spark your emotions and create unquenchable desire that overrides your brain. The bait that almost reeled me in?