Nice pike caught by the commander near Albion michigan, trolling while tuning his outboard
Nice pike caught by the commander near Albion michigan, trolling while tuning his outboard
In reply to pilotbraden :
Ah, the ole J13 Rapala in the perch pattern. You'll often find one on the end of my line when I'm fishing up North.
In reply to Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) :
Nice fish! My 8 year old and I watch some fishing videos together, and she really wants to catch a bowfin.
We made it out to Little Beaver Creek this month (about a 3 hour drive) and spent a few days camping and fishing. We were casting spinners, floating worms, and generally trying whatever it took to get a bite. We caught a lot of fish, but the highlight was a new species for both of us. Some people don't like catching them but when doing catch and release I figure any fight is a good fight:
A sheepshead or freshwater drum. We each caught one, about 14.5" each, and they put up a nice fight. The kiddo was so psyched to catch a new fish, she shouted out "NEW SPECIES!!" which I think I recognize from some of those previously mentioned fishing videos.
Another day we hiked down to the river near our house and she caught a new PB:
A monster common carp. They get bigger, sure, but this thing put up a fight and she did it all except I handled the net for her. She cast it, set the hook, reeled it in, and measured it. I swear it was almost as big as her. The eye looks messed up in the pic but it's actually just looking down, it was a very healthy looking, strong fish.
That sheepshead looks nothing like our sheepies, and the black drum around here will wear you out quick! But FW vs salt. Great stuff!!!
I caught one of those carp when I was a kid. Was about 3' long and was a beast of a fight.
Top water fishing with Fish Huntress Amy EP3 - YouTube
Let me warn y'all Amy is Smokin Hawt.....just sayin.....enjoy?
In reply to solfly :
Seems like a good way to relax.
We played hooky today and took my FIL on a half-day charter on the Detroit River. Caught a few of what the captain called sheepshead, but Google tells me they're "freshwater drum":
and enough silver bass (no pix) to make a meal. We also saw a few freighters making their way up and down the river, which is pretty cool.
As we retired, camping is a huge part of what we started doing, so, naturally, reviving fishing has been part of that. because we are short on space, my wife got me a telescoping spinning set up that works really well. Have caught quite a bit with it- mostly with roostertail style lures, oddly enough. Anyway, I was thinking of adding a fly set up so that I can do small streams and rivers where spinning can be difficult (or impossible).
With my birthday being recent, my mom listened to what we do, and how we've constrained our equipment by size. And today, I got a Tenkara rod and fishing kit. This- https://tenkarausa.com/collections/tenkara-rods/products/tenkara-rod-hane-10ft and this- https://tenkarausa.com/collections/tenkara-rods/products/tenkara-kit-without-rod
Pretty interesting set up, and I'm wondering if anyone else has tried a fly fishing set that does not use a reel? I put it together and messed with it outside, and it seems pretty easy to cast. It will take some time to master, but given I've only done a little fly fishing +30 years ago- this appears to be quick to pick up.
Should be fun to go out and take this- and I'll probably carry it more than the compact spinning set since it needs so little water to fish in.
alfadriver said:Pretty interesting set up, and I'm wondering if anyone else has tried a fly fishing set that does not use a reel? I put it together and messed with it outside, and it seems pretty easy to cast. It will take some time to master, but given I've only done a little fly fishing +30 years ago- this appears to be quick to pick up.
Should be fun to go out and take this- and I'll probably carry it more than the compact spinning set since it needs so little water to fish in.
I've tried it, and enjoyed it. One thing I quickly realized is that the price of the rod doesn't matter all that much, since the load it gets when casting or fighting a fish is way different from a traditional fly rod. A budget setup will do it, but you can spend big dollars on gear since it got kind of trendy a few years ago.
Easy mode for this, depending on where you are in the country, is to just cut some green bamboo and tie a line to it.
I forgot to post:
We went down to the beach for a bit. The weather wasn't great, and the boat wasn't cooperating all that well until the last day, when it decided to run flawlessly.
We did catch some fish, but nothing to brag about. The only reason I got a picture of the flounder here was because my wife needed it for her citizen naturalist thing she does.
Other fish caught in the surf or from the dock: kingfish, pompano, pinfish, croaker.
We're down to the last few warm days of fall here, and last Wednesday was just too nice to work in the shop that afternoon. So I loaded up the gear and spent about an hour and a half sitting on the bank with a nightcrawler on the bottom of the lake, figuring I'd catch a catfish or something. I caught one nice largemouth bass and then this absolute unit of a hybrid bluegill:
At 11 1/2", it's the biggest one I've seen in person. I've seen videos of bigger ones but didn't know our lake had these beasts in it.
Then Sunday I walked down with the now-9 year old (!!) and joined about five people fishing unproductively from the dock. Ten minutes later and she's hauled in this monster, with applause from the crowd there:
It's not the biggest bass I've ever seen, but it's the biggest one she's caught and bigger than any of mine. I'd guess about 3 1/2 lbs, maybe 4 lbs given the winter weight it's put on. It ignored her rooster tail but took a nightcrawler set on the bottom a couple feet in front of it.
Way to go kiddo! That is a toad.
In reply to dculberson :
Nice fish!
My lawyer buddy bought a boat.
I like having a lawyer buddy.
Too bad the season is closed though. Caught this guy, his little brother, a small red grouper, and hooked a cobia that was 3-4 feet, but he snapped the line as my buddy was trying to get the net ready.
First fish of 2024; a nice ~14" - 15" largemouth caught out of a nice creek in very rural southern Ohio. The double win is that it was on a lure that my daughter and I found and replaced the hooks on.
dculberson said:The double win is that it was on a lure that my daughter and I found and replaced the hooks on.
Nice way to start the new year and knock the rust off. Now y'all have to hand tie a jig. It's really easy, but the satisfaction you'll feel about catching a fish on a lure you made is one of the best feelings ever.
Got into some white bass after work today. The biggest was about 11" but it was nice to be in the river in the sunshine. I caught 10 white or hybrid striped bass and one nice smallmouth. Most caught with a kastmaster except a couple were on a jig.
Had the worst walleye run I've ever fished this past weekend. Well, we missed the run. Walleye don't care about the weekend. Only one Walter came to say hello, though at 24" it was a solid one. We did get a few suckers.
The big news was Dads new boat is awesome, spot lock on the trolling motor is awesome, in-floor rod storage is awesome... it is astounding at how good the boats of today are compared to what I grew up fishing in.
In reply to mtn :
Lund makes good boats.
Spending a day on the water with your dad *and* getting some fish in the boat? That's a win.
Eight big catfish and one little crappie. Would be a pretty good day, except for the fact we were fishing for crappies.
Caught this stunner out of the Olentangy River the other day on a micro jig:
I think that might be just about the prettiest fish I've ever caught.
I think it's a pumpkinseed.
In reply to dculberson :
LOL, we used to catch and release those by the dozens as kids. They'd hide in the timbers of the crib dock and we'd get them with pieces of hot dog on a hook. If they hit a lure they fight pretty well for a small fish, you mentioned a Kastmaster a few posts back and that was always my go to for smallmouth bass in the clear water lake we're on. It's amazing how many fish went after that little lure.
In reply to dculberson :
It is indeed a remarkably pretty fish. I don't recall ever catching one.
Redbreast and Orange Spotted sunfish are also very nice looking fish. I could see people wanting to keep them in aquariums.
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