Why they call it fishin' and not Catchin'

[Seven]

I liked perusing thru the inquisitive threads. Like rate the last movie, the friday five. etc. Learned a thing or two and some were very interesting.

Thought I'd start up a fishing thread. Maybe to swap techniques or specific gear for a certain species of fish. What kind of rig you use or your favorite one. Swap stories if you want. The fish always gets bigger everytime you tell it.

Me, I fish the rivers primarily. Mitchell reel with auto center and bailer trigger. A Berkley Cherrywood Ultra-lite rod 'bout 5'-6". (favorite rig). Panther Martin lures #2-4, copper blade with a black body. Sometimes use a mini crank-bait with a shad color to it. I'm usually succesful everytime i go out but none are more than 16-18" in length 2-3lbs depending what sex and time of year. I find the run-off to be the most active, hitting the banks and letting the current do the work. Find a nice 'bubbly' spot where there's plenty of oxygen or a deep pool or trough.


I fly fish as well. Use a Custom Fenwick @ 91/2' with a Pfluger reel. More work to it but that's what keeps me entertained. Tie my own flies which guarantees the fella next to me a fish or two due to my personal flair in tying usually scares the hell out of the fish. I've caught a couple on my own ties.........you could call it suicide but I landed them none the less. Dry fies are the toughest. Why they call 'em dry is beyond me. The best orvis flies, in my experience, last about 4-5 casts in a calm water before needing a mother nature blow dry.

I'll do a lake fish if my kiddos want to or I just don't feel like spending the day NOT fishing and in raging water up to the tip of my waders un-snagging lures. I don't have the patience to sit there and wait. I don't mind lake fishing in a boat...............that's another story.

Muskie and Pike are on tap for this season. Haven't caught either of these as of yet. Hell, I haven't even had one on my line. I got the gear. Steel leaders and some big-*** Mepps spinners/grappling hooks. There's two lakes near me with those two fish specifically. I can't miss, right? I think I may try live bait but not too sure what they would prefer and do you hook the live fish thru the lips?

Any storiess to share? What works for you? Any tips, tricks or dare I say, secrets? Who's got the best fishin' story and we could promote humor; truth or not.

 

[JohnnyHopkins]

I used to love traditional fishing, but spear-fishing has just flat out ruined that for me. When I was down in the Keys a few months ago, I shot a nice Red Grouper, a Hog-fish and a few Gray Snappers that I had to stalk for a while to get a good shot on.

Some of the "non fishing" highlights were getting to play around with a big sea turtle, swimming with some rays and nurse sharks and actually getting up close to some Dolphins. Just no experience like getting in the water to see all that.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Since I've moved up here, I mostly fish in the mouth of a river that empties into Long Island Sound. I use an Ugly Stick with a spinning reel and in-line spinning lures to catch baby bluefish. (Snapper Blues)

I enjoy fishing here, but I still far prefer bass fishing back in Texas.

 

[tomson75]

Great subject....don't have time to get in depth right now, but I will say that topwater fishing for smallmouth bass is about as good as it gets. Love pike and musky fishing too. Trout fishing is a passion I haven't had time for in a while, but it's hard to beat a good camping/fishing outing...whether it be for native brookies in Vermont/NY, or some big rainbows or browns out west. I'd love to learn more about walleye fishing and trolling for salmon/lakers/steelhead.

Not really a big fan of largemouth....fat fish, no fight, and little skill involved.

 

[Seven]

Since I've moved up here, I mostly fish in the mouth of a river that empties into Long Island Sound. I use an Ugly Stick with a spinning reel and in-line spinning lures to catch baby bluefish. (Snapper Blues)

I enjoy fishing here, but I still far prefer bass fishing back in Texas.

My older brother loves his bass fishin in Texas. He, like you, is on the missing end of it too. He lives in Wisconsin now. He tried in vain to get me Bass fishin' but I couldn't get into it. Lost a ton of crank baits, buzz baits and cyclops. Caught about a cord of wood tho trying to get to them .

Like Tomson, I crave trout fishin'. Fighters the lot of them.

I recently got back into bass fishin' literally 3 weeks ago and caught my first large mouth just yesterday on a Booyah spinner. 4 pounds. Not bad for my first Large mouth, huh? He hit it like a truck but didn't fight all that much on the way in. Caught my first small mouth too and she weighed in at 3.6 lbs. Guess that's pretty big for a small mouth bass.........according to the looks on the other guys' faces anyway.

I've fished in New Mexico most my life. Northern parts. I don't think I've missed a river, lake or pond there. Fished in the white mountains of Arizona on the rim and here in Colorado I've caught more, different species of fish than I have in my life time. I stumbled on a canal that links two lakes. Nobody goes there. Don't know why.

 

[Vtwin]

Fishing is one of my passions.

From brookies in the mountain streams to trolling for salmon and lake trout on the lake and everything in between.

 

[tomson75]

My older brother loves his bass fishin in Texas. He, like you, is on the missing end of it too. He lives in Wisconsin now. He tried in vain to get me Bass fishin' but I couldn't get into it. Lost a ton of crank baits, buzz baits and cyclops. Caught about a cord of wood tho trying to get to them .

Like Tomson, I crave trout fishin'. Fighters the lot of them.

I recently got back into bass fishin' literally 3 weeks ago and caught my first large mouth just yesterday on a Booyah spinner. 4 pounds. Not bad for my first Large mouth, huh? He hit it like a truck but didn't fight all that much on the way in. Caught my first small mouth too and she weighed in at 3.6 lbs. Guess that's pretty big for a small mouth bass.........according to the looks on the other guys' faces anyway.

I've fished in New Mexico most my life. Northern parts. I don't think I've missed a river, lake or pond there. Fished in the white mountains of Arizona on the rim and here in Colorado I've caught more, different species of fish than I have in my life time. I stumbled on a canal that links two lakes. Nobody goes there. Don't know why.

3.6# is a very nice smallmouth. I've been lucky enough to live and grow up fishing in some of the best smallmouth fisheries in the worldb (outside of Lake Erie), and I'd still consider a 3.6# a good day's work. My personal best is 6.25# on 4lb test ultralight tackle....I can relive every minute of that 20+ minute fight. I bet that 3.6# smallmouth fought like a 10# largemouth. I swear a 3# river smallie is as exciting as a 300# marlin.

Finding your own secret spots is one of the truly special experiences in fishing. I once had a honey hole that continually produced Brook trout above 1#...and for anyone that has fished for Brookies, they'll know how rare that is. My largest brookie came out of there weighing in excess of 2#...a large male with a fully curved kype and the most incredibly dark red belly you've ever seen. I must have fished there 50 times....and never saw another person outside of those that I brought with me.

Whenever I'm asked about my perfect world (or whatever), it always involves being at my lakehouse in vermont fishing for bass, pike, perch, walleye, and bullhead....or being on horseback out west for weeks at a time with little more than a flyrod.

...wouldn't mind catching another 300# sailfish or two either...but this damn oil spill is making things difficult down here in the gulf. My buddy used to be the first mate on a fishing boat out of VA beach that traveled as far as panama on the Pacific side. He offered me a job a few years back, but I declined because I thought I'd get too sick on a 50 footer. Damn if that isn't one of the two biggest regrets of my life....

 

[Bob Sacamano]

It's called fishing because more times than not, you don't catch anything. But you still fish a line anyways.

 

[Vtwin]

3

Whenever I'm asked about my perfect world (or whatever), it always involves being at my lakehouse in vermont fishing for bass, pike, perch, walleye, and bullhead....or being on horseback out west for weeks at a time with little more than a flyrod.

...

Whereabouts? What lake?

I launch 80% of the time out of St Albans Bay on Lake Champlain. NW corner of the state.

I have a 17' CC I fish from. Be glad to take you out sometime. Be nice to have a fellow Cowboys fan aboard rather then the blasted Pats/Giants fans I usually have to deal with.

 

[Zaxor]

I use to love to fish and did it every free minute I got... but things in life changed and I haven't fished for about 20 years...got a friend who is big into bass fishing he has something to do with a fishing magazine has himself a beautiful boat to fish in and has invited me to go on a fishing tour around the country with him on many occasions but it always seems like the wrong time.

my equipment is old now at one time it was top of the line, probably most needs to be replaced... but having said all of that...I think my best fishing times was simply with an old pole with a hook and worm off the bank on a nice day and watching the water without a care in world except if the piece of cork bobs up and down

 

[tomson75]

Whereabouts? What lake?

I launch 80% of the time out of St Albans Bay on Lake Champlain. NW corner of the state.

I have a 17' CC I fish from. Be glad to take you out sometime. Be nice to have a fellow Cowboys fan aboard rather then the blasted Pats/Giants fans I usually have to deal with.

Awesome! I'm south of you.....we have a place on the lake on Thompson's Point. I usually drive up north of Burlington when things slow in the south end. Usually Mallets and North Hero..haven't been to St. Albans in years....but everything seems close in VT.

I'd love to catch up with you next time I'm up there...should be sometime in late August. Especially if you're rigged for salmon and lakers. My little 14 footer is pretty limited in range, and I have minimal experience on the main lake with the cold water species. I'm dying to get into it...but my Crestliner/Lund dealer won't give me the 90% off I need.

I hear their catching a lot of steelhead out of the main lake this year. Brown's and Brookies have been popping up in deep water too....you don't happen to frequent the fishing lake champlain forum, do you?

 

[Vtwin]

Awesome! I'm south of you.....we have a place on the lake on Thompson's Point. I usually drive up north of Burlington when things slow in the south end. Usually Mallets and North Hero..haven't been to St. Albans in years....but everything seems close in VT.

I'd love to catch up with you next time I'm up there...should be sometime in late August. Especially if you're rigged for salmon and lakers. My little 14 footer is pretty limited in range, and I have minimal experience on the main lake with the cold water species. I'm dying to get into it...but my Crestliner/Lund dealer won't give me the 90% off I need.

I hear their catching a lot of steelhead out of the main lake this year. Brown's and Brookies have been popping up in deep water too....you don't happen to frequent the fishing lake champlain forum, do you?

The other 20% of the time I launch out of Converse Bay. We run down to Mallets and over to NH by boat from ST A Bay, not far at all.

I am set up for trolling. A couple downriggers and planner boards. Don't target the lakers much. Usually set up for salmon and sometimes troll for walleye at night.

The cold water fishery has exploded the last few years. A couple straight years of lamprey control and the presence of alewives as a new forage fish has seemed to produce a big increase in fish size. Seems like there have been a lot more steelies caught this year. The browns have been around for awhile.

I am a member of that forum although I don't post much.

If you're on Thompson's Point you have some of the best salmon fishing in the lake right out in front of you. Get a couple of those slide divers you can read about on the fishing forum and you'll be able to get down to them from your boat without riggers.

Spring and late fall/early winter are the best times to get after the salmon. They'll be deep in August but we should be able to find them.

 

[Seven]

I use to love to fish and did it every free minute I got... but things in life changed and I haven't fished for about 20 years...got a friend who is big into bass fishing he has something to do with a fishing magazine has himself a beautiful boat to fish in and has invited me to go on a fishing tour around the country with him on many occasions but it always seems like the wrong time.

my equipment is old now at one time it was top of the line, probably most needs to be replaced... but having said all of that...I think my best fishing times was simply with an old pole with a hook and worm off the bank on a nice day and watching the water without a care in world except if the piece of cork bobs up and down

You just described a perfect day, Zax..................

 

[tomson75]

The other 20% of the time I launch out of Converse Bay. We run down to Mallets and over to NH by boat from ST A Bay, not far at all.

I am set up for trolling. A couple downriggers and planner boards. Don't target the lakers much. Usually set up for salmon and sometimes troll for walleye at night.

The cold water fishery has exploded the last few years. A couple straight years of lamprey control and the presence of alewives as a new forage fish has seemed to produce a big increase in fish size. Seems like there have been a lot more steelies caught this year. The browns have been around for awhile.

I am a member of that forum although I don't post much.

If you're on Thompson's Point you have some of the best salmon fishing in the lake right out in front of you. Get a couple of those slide divers you can read about on the fishing forum and you'll be able to get down to them from your boat without riggers.

Spring and late fall/early winter are the best times to get after the salmon. They'll be deep in August but we should be able to find them.

Nice....I'd love to go out with you when I get up there. If you could show me the basics, I'd gladly make it worth your while....gas, grub, brew, etc.

The burlington area is my favorite place in the world...if I can find a firefighting gig in the area I'm going to be a very happy man, and you'll have one more Cowboy ally in your neck of the woods...

 

[Meat-O-Rama]

I've got a trout setup for when we go north to the mounatins, but most of the time I get out on the ocean for bass or barricuda.

We went out of San Diego last week down into mexican waters. Yellowtail all over the place, but they were not picking up what we were putting down, so came back with just a couple of calicos and a couple of sculpin.

 

[Vtwin]

Nice....I'd love to go out with you when I get up there. If you could show me the basics, I'd gladly make it worth your while....gas, grub, brew, etc.

The burlington area is my favorite place in the world...if I can find a firefighting gig in the area I'm going to be a very happy man, and you'll have one more Cowboy ally in your neck of the woods...

Give me a holler when you're ready to come up and we'll make it happen.

 

[Seven]

Nice....I'd love to go out with you when I get up there. If you could show me the basics, I'd gladly make it worth your while....gas, grub, brew, etc.

The burlington area is my favorite place in the world...if I can find a firefighting gig in the area I'm going to be a very happy man, and you'll have one more Cowboy ally in your neck of the woods...

Give me a holler when you're ready to come up and we'll make it happen.

Niiiice...............

 

[Wimbo]

I am a saltwater guy. Most of the fish described so far would make good bait.

 

[Seven]

I am a saltwater guy. Most of the fish described so far would make good bait.

:laugh1:


Dude!! Fill us in. I've never fished salt water.

 

[Wimbo]

:laugh1:


Dude!! Fill us in. I've never fished salt water.

Check this out... not me or my boat, but one of the few video's you will find without a lot of bad language from over excited fishermen.

[youtube]YTJZtuoqSH4[/youtube]