Six Terrible Fishing Tips You Should Never, Ever Try

F&S readers reveal the worst fishing tips they’ve ever received.

▶ I asked a friend why he was catching fish and I wasn't. He told me I'd have better luck if I put the worm in my mouth to warm it up so it would wiggle more in the cold water. —Anthony Long

▶ "Just grab it by the tail; it can't bite you back there." Spinner sharks don't count in that category, apparently. —Douglas Fisher

▶ After four cold hours of hunting muskies, I caught my first big one. A dude I was with said, "Just lip it like a largemouth." The center tooth went straight through my thumb. I only made that mistake once. —Lloyd Ayers

▶ "When fishing streamers, prick your fingers with the hook so the trout smells blood and thinks it's a real minnow." —Tyler Straight

▶ "Hold on to your fish. The bears are more afraid of you than you are of them." —Chris Tracy

▶ I was given directions to a sewage pond and was told it was a regular pond stocked with trout. Brown trout. —Justin Holten