The fishing thread

I love fishing, don't get to do it much, no one will take me more than once.

I waive my hands over the water and the fish jump in the boat!

I LOVE catching. Fishing's not too bad though

May 31st I guided my friend Craig down the Kalamazoo River from Albion to Marengo. This 20" smallmouth was the biggest of the day. We caught about 15 bass bigger than 14". We used Grandslam baits, a soft rubber fish on a worm hook.

Nice bronzeback! I need to find some of these big midwest smallies.

19" and followed with an 18" Brown trout from the pere marquette river

I caught this little guy on Sunday--- floating around in the Intercoastal. Mangrove Snapper--- just a little to small to keep. Caught him on a live shrimp.

He fought like an SOB. I had the drag set super low--- so I felt like Jeremy Wade pulling in a "River Monster"

I've never caught one of those, Joe, but I understand they are delicious.

I'm hoping to get out this weekend.

Just ordered a new reel, trying to get a decent set up together for surf, pier and jetty fishing here in SoCal. Previous years been using $20 walmart specials and only catching barred surf perch.

Any of you in southern Wisconsin? I grew up in Chicago, moving to Milwaukee this summer from Pittsburgh and quite excited about more fishing opportunities.

Taking three of the kids out tomorrow, going to Blewett Falls Lake just outside of Rockingham NC. Gonna be bank fishing for cats got some new Eagle claw circle hooks I want to try out. Even got the baby girl her first fishing pole, a disney princess zebco. That should terrorize the panfish enough to keep her happy.

Once I started using circle hooks with bait, I never went back to regular hooks.

And the results of todays fishing trip, my four yr old got her first fish followed by her second, third, and fourth (she almost got a fifth but it spit the hook about a foot from the bank. She kicked all our asses the most anyone else caught was one. It was all pan fish (perch I think)to small so they got released to grow some more. Strange thing though just down the bank from us within 5 ft of each other were 2 alligator gar washed up and dead. First time I'd ever seen that species here in NC.

We never made it to the lake we were on the south side of the blewett falls hydro-electric dam(Ive worked inside there in the past) fishing on the PeeDee river

I fished the Looking Glass river near Portland Michigan saturday. The river was clear and running fast. this shot shows a Smallmouth Bass throwing the hook as Mike tried to land it.

Joe Gearin wrote: I caught this little guy on Sunday--- floating around in the Intercoastal. Mangrove Snapper--- just a little to small to keep. Caught him on a live shrimp. He fought like an SOB. I had the drag set super low--- so I felt like Jeremy Wade pulling in a "River Monster"

Man, I miss that about FL. I used to live a couple blocks from an overpass of a mangrove channel w/ lots of pilings, a paved sidewalk underneath and plenty of depth. Couple dozen shrimp almost always turned up dinner. Cheaper than less fresh mangrove from the store.

OK, I'm headed to Wrightsville, NC for a week in early august. What should I be targeting for nearshore(channels) and surf fishing? I prefer not flounder. I've got a cast net and there are kayaks included w/ the house rental. A charter has also been discussed. Anyone happen to know of have a rec for the area?

There is a wealth of information in these two locations:

http://www.nckfa.com/forum/

http://www.ncangler.com

The intercoastal and creeks behind the island will have trout and reds.

I'll be at a different beach in early August, but not that far away.

I never did a report on this, but it was an experience.

Over the July 4th week I was visiting my family in Vermont. My brother and I went out on te nearby lake and had padded a good distance away from the boat launch in our kayaks when an unexpected, huge thunderstorm rolled up the valley, parked itself against the mountains and let loose. We took shelter on the shore. The storm was right over our heads, and there was lightning crashing down around us close enough that we had to cover our ears.

We were trapped that way for a while. Nothing happened to us, and we didn't catch many fish, but wow, what a sight to behold.

I am heading out of Grand Haven Michigan Salmon fishing with my 2 boys, my brother from Louisiana and 2 of his kids. I will report back shortly.

An eight or nine pound Steelhead on the pier at Grand Haven. Caught on a fresh Alewife under a lit up slip bobber. I did not catch it. Of 40-50 people on the pier 3 were catching fish consistently. It appeared that every time that they changed bait they used a cast net to catch a fresh Alewife. The people not catching fish were pulling bait out of buckets or minnow traps.

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In reply to pilotbraden: That fish was bleeding about as much as i was when i ruturned from our fishing trip.

The other night some guy with bright lights on his boats, a mask and a spear gun came up with a good sized Sheepshead from under my dock. I've seen plenty of small ones out there, but thought they were black drum. Even with water in my backyard I haven't taken up fishing as a hobby...yet.

T.J. - If you've got that kind of access (which many of us would love) it should be very easy to get started. Just grab an Ugly Sick combo, a few hooks and buy some bait and you'll be all set.

In reply to Brett_Murphy:

I have a couple fishing poles, some hooks and assorted tackle. Just no time to sit around and wait for a fish to bite. I have been doing a good bit of paddleboarding lately, and from that perspective it is easy to find schools of fish and follow them around for a bit. If I can spare a couple hours, I'd rather go paddle then fish. I do have a crab trap and can get blue crabs out of the back yard - not sure if that really counts for fishing though.

In reply to T.J.:

We got home from OI yesterday. After that rain Friday morning we went down to the Point to fish. I don't like waiting for fish to bite either, but I've been happy to go there for nearly 40 years. My kids were catching Pinfish on shrimp as fast as the hooks could get in the water.