Searched around & only found the video fishing & BassMasters threads, i know their are plenty of outdoorsman here, so i figured it'd be cool to draw upon the Planets vast experience in all things fishing.
I only use spincast reels & fish mostly large/smallmouth bass & cats. My choice of reels is quite the source of derision from many people i know 'duffer gear', but i haul in my share of 6 pound bass & 10-20 pound cats on that gear no problem. With a little know-how you can use just about any technique you want to on 'duffer gear'.
Berkley Powerbaits are a big part of my trick bag, the difference between those & regular stuff is night & day. My best action last summer came on Mister Twister scented white curly tail grubs, on one day fishing from shore to a bridge pier, i caught smallies, bigmouths, perch & even 1 carp believe it or not... great day. But my bread & butter is a texas rigged Berkley worm, it'll wiggle through any kind of cover without getting hung up.
With cats i strictly bottom fish, no bobber & bait is just as basic... but its always in 2's to give'em a real treat... a shrimp/with a nightcrawler, liver/chunk of cheese etc. Cats are mostly for night sport to me, time to kick back a lil...
So thats me style, how do the rest of you guys get your fish on? What do you fish for, what do you use? IIRC Missouri's trout season just kicked off, anyone getting anything? [Reply]
Originally Posted by Otter:
I've caught a couple Northern Pike in PA and they would die from the slightest misstep when removing the hook. Are Muskie the same?
If you're talking big Pike and Musky, it's not so much removing the hook as it is how hard they fight. A lot of people who catch them are not using the right combo to get them to the boat without causing exhaustion. Missing the net on the first attempt is often a serious mistake. They will literally fight until they have nothing left and at that point they require a very quick unhook and significant reviving before you can let them go. Barbless or crimped barbs help as every second counts on a fish of that size, and some lakes even require them, but when they're played out they're just played out.
It's why a lot of the world class Pike and Musky end up getting ate by people who would normally have no intentions of eating them. [Reply]
I fly fish alot here in Ireland. My area has has 2 lakes that the local fishing authority stock every year with a large amount of Rainbow and a smaller amount of Brown trout. The stockies are not generally good fighting fish when on the line but the last few years they have been excellent. Not sure the reason for that maybe new techniques at the hatchery has played a part but long may it continue. The best part of the year however is when the Salmon run (Sep & Oct) . There is a decent sized river a few Kms from our town. I tie my own flies so its always fun and deeply rewarding when i land a big one, no better feeling. The fight from a Salmon is one of a kind and its hard to get that buzz back when the run is over. Its been quite noticeable the past few years the later and later the Salmon have been running. Over 5 years ago we would be fishing them August & September and now its September into late October. Could be something to do with the climate or maybe its localised factors. Have yous noticed any changes in the USA? [Reply]
Originally Posted by IrishChief:
I fly fish alot here in Ireland. My area has has 2 lakes that the local fishing authority stock every year with a large amount of Rainbow and a smaller amount of Brown trout. The stockies are not generally good fighting fish when on the line but the last few years they have been excellent. Not sure the reason for that maybe new techniques at the hatchery has played a part but long may it continue. The best part of the year however is when the Salmon run (Sep & Oct) . There is a decent sized river a few Kms from our town. I tie my own flies so its always fun and deeply rewarding when i land a big one, no better feeling. The fight from a Salmon is one of a kind and its hard to get that buzz back when the run is over. Its been quite noticeable the past few years the later and later the Salmon have been running. Over 5 years ago we would be fishing them August & September and now its September into late October. Could be something to do with the climate or maybe its localised factors. Have yous noticed any changes in the USA?
I’ve been fishing in SW Alaska for >20 years and I don’t see that much of a variance in timing. The runs vary in quality from year to year depending on weather conditions during the year of spawning and survivability rate. So if one year there’s not as much rain, that can impact the number of eggs that survive. Historically, the Katmai eruption coated many streams with ash and soot and devastated salmon runs for years but that was a long time ago.
We also get runs of several different types of salmon. Largest runs are reds (sockeye) and those runs number in the millions. We don’t target them because they don’t take a fly so well. Silvers (coho) will and they’re a hoot on a fly as well as good eating. Kings (chinook) are good too but their numbers are tiny compared to the reds. We instead target rainbows, char (Dolly Varden), and grayling. The rainbows eat salmon eggs so we get monster rainbows. My largest rainbow was 32” and every year we get several >25”. Last year the largest one caught by someone in our group was 28”.
So our salmon runs are important but oddly it’s because they are such an important food source for our target fish. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Hog's Gone Fishin:
AND Skunked!
Ah shucks I was rooting for you.
The weather is so nice right now I'm itching to go fishing but I know if I do it will snow and blizzard just that day at the lake. This is a soft winter but I like winters to last from November too mid February and March 1st better be spring. Then mid March I like to start casting. April test the waters with Kayak if not too cold because I don't want to flip in cold water early May through June are my best months before it gets too hot in July and August fish don't bite as much but that's when I night fish. [Reply]
