Fishing Thread

[Stretch]

Originally Posted by swamppirate

Not big fish, but these little native brookies are beautiful !

Biggest native speck I caught was in VA; Grayson Highland Park. He was at least ten inches. I felt bad, as he was spitting up grubs as I released him... Full spawning colors. He was old and probably his last season to... you know want I mean... dance with lady fish.

[Look. Don'tTouch.]

Originally Posted by Spinner

I've heard those sturgeon have a lot of fight in them.

They can make for a long fight, that's for sure. Additionally, I do 99% of my fishing off the rocks from shore. The other 1% is float tube. Have not ever managed to hook a dino in the tube, but I would expect a bit of ride.

My biggest was maxed at 6' and around 100 pounds.
I'm never gonna beat it because they lowered the limit since then.
This guy took squid and gave me a workout for over half an hour. He almost spooled me. The line was coming off so fast I thought it would fry the baitcaster. Got real close to losing him twice, once when I ran out of the braid line and got down to the mono backing, and another time right at shore when he actually snapped off. Luckily he was tired and I was able to jump in the water and wrestle him against the rocks until a buddy brought some rope.

For reference in the picture, I'm 6'1".

[Look. Don'tTouch.]

Now that I've dug out my old drive, I have access to years of pictures. I'll try not to overload this place with a million of them, but will post here and there when on topic with other posts.

The sturgeon above that I caught, when it bit I first thought it was a leopard shark. My wife had just caught a nice one a minute before the bite. Reeled that guy in on 14# mono on a spinning reel. Again, from the shore. I think he measured 56" IIRC. I'll try and edit the photo in a way to preserve PERSEC, but for now I'm unable to.

I'm uploading a picture of a speckled trout we caught in Louisiana to answer a prior question posted. Notice the nice front teeth on that thing. Was caught from a boat.

[MtnTempo]

Awesome pics in here.

I usually try to escape the hordes and get up to Wyoming to fish.

[MtnTempo]

Lets see if I can get these pics to work..

[RBS]

Originally Posted by Stretch

Redfish taste good!

Definitely. That one we had to throw back, because he was 29". Keepers have to be between 15" and 23" here.

[shady1]

[Quote] atreefunked "Awesome pics in here.
I usually try to escape the hordes and get up to Wyoming to fish. "

Ah ! Wyoming. Some of my most memorable trips are of the Snake River with the Tetons at my back. 20 + " Cutthroats from dawn till dusk. All the while sharing the area with Mule deer, Elk, Bison and the occasional Black Bear and very few humans.

[shady1]

Although FL does have a lot to offer. Put some blood in the water, throw a piece of meat out on hook and hang on !

[swamppirate]

Smallmouth

[Expatmedic]

Ignore my ugly mug, this fish looks better.

Large Mouth Bass east of Sacramento, caught on a 12" Purple/Fire Tail plastic worm, Texas Rigged. Love Gamakatsu hooks.

For reference am about 6' 4" or so with paws where my hands should be. I put him about 6 lbs, just a baby. Summer 2014.

[Stretch]

No pics, but just paid for plane tickets to Belize. I see bone fish, good food, good rum, and good times in my future.

[Gsniper]

Night fishing for walleye last night with topwater baits. Big fun. Caught a bunch of bass and 5 walleye. Here's the mac daddy just prior to his release into the Crisco Bay. The beer is in there strictly for size reference, not as an indication that I endorse the consumption of spirituous beverages.

[mdwest]

Wife and I caught these in Oklahoma 2 weekends ago.. Tons of fun!

I'm 6'4" as a reference to the size of the fish..

[Expatmedic]

Garfish?

[mdwest]

We caught a couple of gar that weekend... but the fish in the pic are spoonbills (also called paddlefish)..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddlefish

tons of fun.. not super hard fighters for their weight.. but any 40+lb fish is always fun once you get them on the hook :)

[Stretch]

mdwest,

We need details.

Rod, reel, line weight, leader, and bait.

[Instruct1]

Originally Posted by mdwest

Wife and I caught these in Oklahoma 2 weekends ago.. Tons of fun!

I'm 6'4" as a reference to the size of the fish..

MdW... I've fished my entire life, and pretty much have caught or have seen everything in the Atlantic and in fresh water down South. BUT I'VE NEVER SEEN THOSE THINGS. EVER!

What a catch! Are they legal? They just look illegal...

[Expatmedic]

They look like a Catfish at a Chernobyl cooling pond.

Are they edible?

[Ole crusty bastard]

We used cabbage as bait for spoonbill in Indiana. There were not quite legal at the time, still tasty.

[mdwest]

They are very much legal in Oklahoma.. you have to get a "paddlefish permit" added to your fishing license, but they are no additional cost.. you just have to ask for it...

you are allowed 1 per day.. you can catch and release as many as you want.. but once you find a keeper, you are done..

I cooked up my first fillets on Monday.. they were extremely fishy both in smell and flavor, but they werent bad.. there are certainly other freshwater fish I prefer.. but, I still enjoyed it..

Spoonbills are pre-historic fish.. my understanding is the only freshwater fish thought to be older is sturgeon.. they are also a caviar producing fish like sturgeon and their caviar is the second most expensive (about $50 an ounce wholesale) next to sturgeon..

You dont "catch" them like most fish.. they are algae eaters.. so they wont go after traditional baits.. you "snag" them..

basically throw a big, oversized, saltwater type line, on a heavy duty rod and reel with a large hook that doesnt have barbs.. and pull it in quick, jerking motions close to the bottom hoping to grab one by the side..

Season is pretty much over for them at this point.. they are done spawning.. so they arent in groups any longer and would be hard to catch.. supposedly the best time to go after them is between December and early May..

Until about 2 months ago I knew nothing at all about spoonbill.. I hadnt even heard of them before.. I was watching a video on youtube where Melissa Bachman went snagging for them.. found out that the lake she went to is only about 3 1/2 hours from my house.. and thought I'd give it a try...

FWIW Melissa Bachman is a cool chick IMO.. Big supporter of Wishes for Warriors.. a more recent spoonbill video than the one I saw is at the bottom of the page in the link below, where she took a couple wounded vets out spoonbilling with a guide service on the same lake we were just on..

https://melissabachman.com/fishing-videos/