Are there any anglers on here?

It’s Been over a decade since I got out to do any fishing and i decided this is the year imma get out an blow the cobwebs off the tackle and take the rods an reels out for a stretch,

in January I made a New Year’s resolution that no matter what I was gonna go fishing at least once a month this year if not more often, 

I’ve been exploring new to me bodies of water around my area and visiting some old haunts,

I also have been doin a lot of cleanup as I go behind my fellow man at one place I used to fish as a kid but that’s another story, 

on this thread I’d like y’all to share pictures of any an all catches big an small, and or share your fish stories!

Tips an tricks that work in your part of the world and what kinda fishing is popular in your area! 

I’ll start, here’s a little large mouth Bass I caught a little while back and then here’s a little panfish I caught about an hour ago!

TW, I've never been much of a fisherman.  So, I don't have much in the way of fishing related stories.  But, I can relate a type of fishing that is pretty uncommon that I did in my youth.

I grew up right on Lake Michigan in Chicago.  Sticking out into the lake or forming the shoreline in a lot of areas are breakwaters and piers made of large (5'-6' square) limestone blocks.  In the '50s folk would go out on these and insert a 2x4 vertically into the cracks between the blocks.  Then, They would throw an anchor (usually a pound or so of lead with 6 radial heavy wire tines sticking out to the sides) as far out as they could with a heavy cord attached to it.  The cord was the drwn tight and tied off to the 2x4.  Then a lead weighted trolley with 2 pulley wheels on it was hung on the cord.  Attached to the trolly was a fishing line with multiple hooks baited with minnows or other bait.  the trolly was allowed to run out into the water and the end of the line was held in the hand or attached to a bell on a spring attached to the 2x4.  When a bite was detected the trolley was drawn up and the fish removed.  Generally, the fish were yellow perch.

This was called "trolley fishing."  I don't know if it is still practiced today but I do recall my father and I bringing home enough perch for a meal for the 3 of our family.  My mother breaded them with corn meal and fried them in butter.  Yum.

Thanks for bringing this up.  I had to go into memories I hadn't thought about in decades.

GNM

  I haven't been fishing in several decades.  We used to have an airboat way back in the day and mostly went river fishing for cats.  We also ran bank lines.  A lot of tall fishing tales from those days.  

  My one of my best friends is an active, avid angler and he sends me photo's quite often.  He doesn't even slow down in the winter, he goes on the ice.  Actually, he makes and sells ice rods and tackle, does quite well at it.  He throws a fish fry a couple of times a year.  I miss them.

  I will say, the biggest fish I ever caught was a 50 lb Wahoo and have a photo of me holding it up somewhere on a chip.  I will look for it.

Our parents took us fishing a few times each summer when we were kids. I don't remember ever catching anything but my parents tell me I did. I took myself fishing only once as an adult - brought my little brother to fish at the Missouri River where we witnessed the aftermath of an apparent suicide before authorities had been notified. I'm not gonna pretend that it was that incident that stopped me from fishing - it wasn't - it just happens to be my last memory of going.

My little brother is still a very active fisherman and he's gotten his daughter into it as well. Gee, most times she's dragging him out there rather than the other way around! Once in awhile, he'll take one of the nieces or nephews to try to get them into the hobby as well. It never really caught on with the rest of us siblings so he's it, lol. I should try to get up there and go with him sometime. He's got a few holes nearby his place that he frequents. 

>> Are there any anglers on here? <<

Umm, yeah. I usually fish for bass (smallmouth & stripers), pike, walleye, trout, steelhead, and salmon each year. Occassionally I'll go after bonefish & tarpon or go deep sea fishing. I think I need to broaden my repertoire...

This one was a first. It's a Perca, one of the few fish native to Patagonia. Caught it last month trout fishing down there:

 

yes, but I'm not crazy enough to get out every month. From May to September (maybe October) I love going out for rainbows and lake trout (char) bull trout(another char) and brook trout are also common here, along with kokanee. in August and September they open a season for sockeye salmon with varying limits (depends on how many fish come up). might get a chance for northern pike this year.

M.J.Lampert

I don't fish much anymore, not in a couple decades in fact. There was something about being a field guy and living in a tent about 3/4 of the time that just took the need to get out in nature out of me. 

Dad and I used to do a lot of fishing, we'd take an annual trip into Mexico on the gulf side of Baja for deep sea I don't recall it's name the reefs near Loredo had some really delicious big mouth bass, Cabrillia I think. The Yellow tail and grouper were great too. 

We used to fish around the Channel islands, Anacapa being our favorite. Tuna species depending on season but grouper, various types of bass and some mystery fish, I even snagged a sting ray once. THAT was a fight! What I like best about salt water fishing is never knowing what you're going to catch.

We did a lot of stream fishing in the Sierras, one memorable time we were bringing rainbow trout in like we were harvesting corn. We were drifting single egg hooks and they'd lay behind obstructions that caused a back eddy and would hit the egg as it rounded the side. Anyway, I'm drifting an egg next to a partially submerged log and get a hit, a strong one but it's not fighting like a trout. When I pulled it into view it turned out to be a rattle snake who'd been eating drifting eggs.

A bunch of people no the stream bank started shouting and running. I yelled at Dad, "Hey I caught a rattler!" He turned, looked and without batting an eye or hesitation burned my fishing line with his cigarette and said, "Don't play with the rattle snakes." and went back to drifting eggs.

The real upside was open space on the stream bank for probably 50' each side. 

I'm sure there are pictures somewhere, maybe Shannon my little Sister knows where the albums are but I didn't bring any with me when I moved here.

Frosty The Lucky.

17 hours ago, George N. M. said:

bringing home enough perch for a meal for the 3 of our family.  My mother breaded them with corn meal and fried them in butter.  Yum

That’s how it was at my house growin up!

8 hours ago, Scott NC said:

a 50 lb Wahoo

Dude! That’s a big fish!! 
 

6 hours ago, Shainarue said:

it just happens to be my last memory of going

Shaina

thats terrible, a memory like that sticks with ya…

2 hours ago, Chenier said:

This one was a first. It's a Perca

That’s really cool!!! I’ve never heard of one of those!

1 hour ago, M.J.Lampert said:

yes, but I'm not crazy enough to get out every month

Lol, I imagine it gets colder where you live then it does here in eastern Oklahoma, i probably wouldn’t wanna go fishing year round there either!

we can reach windchills in the -20s -30s here but the bad spells only last a week or so then it gets back up to the 40s or so, an we have relatively short winters, 

26 minutes ago, Frosty said:

field guy and living in a tent about 3/4 of the time that just took the need to get out in nature out of me

I don’t need to get out in nature I live in the countryside and can walk to forest and streams from my house, 

what I need is to eat some wild caught fish this year!!!  lol

11 minutes ago, TWISTEDWILLOW said:

a memory like that sticks with ya…

It does - but I have a similar memory (murder, not suicide) that took place inside an Aldi grocery store and yet I still shop there - so obviously I can't claim it's the memory that kept me from fishing, LOL!

On 4/12/2023 at 4:47 PM, TWISTEDWILLOW said:

Dude! That’s a big fish!!

  I found the photo (proof) and now I have to have my sister photoshop my face out of it.  I'm shy.....   

Lol can’t wait

I used to do a bunch of surf fishing, but I've since moved further away from the shore. Favorite haunt was the point at Cape Henlopen in DE, right at the mouth of the Delaware Bay. I had a permit to take my truck on the beach. so I would drop my tire pressure to 12- 15psi and cross the dunes at one of the designated spots, head north up the point and have a peaceful day on the water. Mostly went after bluefish with squid or chunk mullet, and did catch and release. I was threatened with divorce if I brought any blues home. It seems several years previous, I filled an 80 qt cooler with filets and surprised SWMBO. She wasn’t  happy, thus the threat. I placate myself with a few yearly trips on a charter in the Chesapeake and I'm allowed to bring home whatever stripers I can catch. There's some decent freshwater spots I might talk myself into trying some day.

Steve

Got my grandson a peewee fishing rod for his 3rd birthday, then decided he needed something to catch while we wait for the water to warm up. Made him a school of magnet fish.

The Magnet Fly could be good for steelhead, no? Might be blacksmith related - I had to flatten the bottom of the hook with a hammer to attach the magnet to it

 

I used to fish a lot when i was younger but it has been almost 10 years since i wet a line myself. That was at Paintsville lake in KY. Caught a small mouth, little guy had to throw him back, using a Pop-r in the early morning as the sun was coming up. But the memorable part of the trip was watching a deer swim across the lake. 

Most of the lakes around here are either private, quarries, or pay lakes so we did a lot of river and stream fishing. Channel cat a pretty common and the occasional trout. 

My uncle Doe had a pay lake when i was a kid and we would go there to fish bluegill. Also the place where i ended getting my first trip to the ER for stitches when i was a wee tike. I was about 2 and fell off a picknick table and gashed my head open on a piece of broken glass. That was 1972.

 

  That's a pretty neat idea, Chenier.  I like the paint job on the fish.  You might need neodymium magnets for steelhead tho?  

On 4/14/2023 at 2:45 PM, TWISTEDWILLOW said:

Lol

Wahoooooo.....

nice fish i would love to get out on the ocean, but you know money is always a problem...

I haven't been fishing since I sold my bass boat probably 20 years ago. On the other hand Debi is an avid fly fisher and fly tier. She has used her kyak to fish from and several places on the White river to go wading with her fly rod. We have an ample supply of trout in the freezer. Like other places on the White river below the Beaver Dam, when you hear the horn, you had better hightail it out of the river. She also likes Roaring River State Park in MO.

Scott NC: Great photo(shop) of your Wahoo! Your avatar makes it perfect.

Those magnet fish I made aren't painted. I can paint worth bean dip. Got the graphics from the internet, scaled them appropriately, then glued them to a cedar board. Cut it out with a bandsaw, applied magnets and shellac. Voila!

Scott, the way the fish is hanging it kind of looks like you have a peg leg as well. Cool photo shop.

15 hours ago, Irondragon ForgeClay Works said:

She also likes Roaring River State Park in MO

Roaring River is BEAUTIFUL! My wife & I did a marathon of sorts of all the Missouri State parks back in 2017 with our elderly dog, Max. It was October so we didn't float but we did explore on foot.

That picture is so YOU Scott, great shot. Looks like it's eating your beard.

Frosty The Lucky.

On 4/18/2023 at 4:15 AM, BillyBones said:

it kind of looks like you have a peg leg as well

  Lol, indeed it does Billy.  Mayby I should have had her add a peg leg and mayby a pirate flag on the stern....  I had her do one of sgt. scultz too which was pretty good.  I might go around talking like a pirate today.  I'll practice on Jerry.

16 hours ago, Frosty said:

eating your beard

  Aye, yee old salty dog, it war a fight to the end.  A devil from the briney deep, was he.  The swivel tongued liar's last words was, me beard war "greasy as a launching beam and twice as smelly".  Arrrrr....  Fix him I did, from stem to stern, flew the sea beast home on a sky schooner.  

  Ahh.. Frosty, tis good to hear yore long windedness, it be like a giant bellows, filling me mainsail, blowing this old bilge rat out of the doldrums.  Warms an old squids heart, it do.  Harrrr, it be time to cut and rip.

Arrh, words from an old squid as ye be are toughest calamari to me ears. 

Frosty The Lucky.

  Good old Robert Newton.   His Long John Silver set the standard, but Blackbeard was so good. 

The ships doctor was taking a musket ball out of Blackbeards neck:  "Sawrbones, you keep diggin and I'll keep drinkin"....  

Bit of a fisherman, living in the Far North of NZ is pretty much a given that you are into fishing... caught these ones over christmas both a bit over 8 lb, the species is snapper